"You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have."
- Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulae. He had both of his legs amputated before he was even one year old . Without having fibulae, his legs did not have the proper skeletal support, he would have been unable to stand. If his parents wouldn't have acted quickly, he would have been confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Because he had his legs amputated at a young age, he knew nothing else except prosthetics legs which he has used since. Oscar is an Olympic athlete despite his disability.
Some people think that Oscar has a disadvantage over other athletes because with his artificial limbs he gains height and doesn't have lactic acid build up that regular limbs would receive. Oscar says that his artificial limbs have disadvantages as well, such as, being difficult to control in wind and rain, more energy is needed to start running, it takes him longer to start because he must get his blades under control, he has to maintain balance in a different way because he has no feet, and his stride is less efficient because of the muscles being used. The International Association of Athletic Federations has taken measures to ban technical devices that could give an athlete an upper hand.
Some bio-ethical questions that arise from this case can be found below, the type of question will be in parenthesises following the question, legal, ethics, or scientific.
1. Do the artificial limbs give him an unfair advantage over other athletes? (Logic)
2. Should Pistorius be excluded just because he has a disability? (Ethics)
3. Will athletes try replacing their limbs with more technologically advanced versions some day in the future? (Ethics/Science)
4. Is it discriminatory to single Pistorius out over other athletes who use alternative means of competing? (Legal)
5.Should all athletes with artificial limbs be investigated as well? (Legal)
-Kyle-
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