http://www.cornellsociety.org/2007/11/conscientious-objectors/ Unity in charity, diversity in truth Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:48:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.cornellsociety.org/2007/11/conscientious-objectors/#comment-24136 pomofo Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:30:49 +0000 http://www.cornellsociety.org/2007/11/conscientious-objectors/#comment-24136 This is the same quandary I found myself in as a cashier at a drugstore the first time someone came to my register to buy condoms. I had to remind myself that there's nothing inherently immoral in purchasing condoms, as they may or may not be used in an immoral manner. They may spend their lives in a medicine cabinet before being thrown away, they may be turned into water balloons, etc. Obviously it would have been a little different with birth control pills or abortofacients, and had anyone attempted to purchase those from me I would have quit on the spot. Of course, the few times that people brought their pharmaceutical purchases to my register they were always in a sealed bag, so for all I know I might have unknowingly sold someone birth control. The question you bring up of where to draw the line is a tough one. Let's say that I decide that ringing up condoms is immoral and that I'll work as a shelf stocker but not as a cashier. Wouldn't it be immoral for me to draw a salary as a shelf stocker from a firm that profits from condom sales? Wouldn't it be immoral for me to purchase goods from a store that sells condoms, thereby implicitly supporting their decision to sell condoms? They're tough questions, and I don't think there's been nearly enough thought given to establishing some general guidelines in this area. This is the same quandary I found myself in as a cashier at a drugstore the first time someone came to my register to buy condoms. I had to remind myself that there’s nothing inherently immoral in purchasing condoms, as they may or may not be used in an immoral manner. They may spend their lives in a medicine cabinet before being thrown away, they may be turned into water balloons, etc. Obviously it would have been a little different with birth control pills or abortofacients, and had anyone attempted to purchase those from me I would have quit on the spot. Of course, the few times that people brought their pharmaceutical purchases to my register they were always in a sealed bag, so for all I know I might have unknowingly sold someone birth control. The question you bring up of where to draw the line is a tough one. Let’s say that I decide that ringing up condoms is immoral and that I’ll work as a shelf stocker but not as a cashier. Wouldn’t it be immoral for me to draw a salary as a shelf stocker from a firm that profits from condom sales? Wouldn’t it be immoral for me to purchase goods from a store that sells condoms, thereby implicitly supporting their decision to sell condoms? They’re tough questions, and I don’t think there’s been nearly enough thought given to establishing some general guidelines in this area.

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