# An ethical dilemma (sci-fi bodyswap related) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974 "2016-11-14T17:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/21 "2016-11-15T18:00:20Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I just want to know what happens if you go through that gate by yourself. Your personality gets reinstalled in your own body, but upside down. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/22 "2016-11-15T18:21:52Z")
Finders keepers, losers weepers. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/23 "2016-11-15T19:26:20Z")
Reminds me of a story in _Analog_ from many years ago concerning body switching, goes something like: The first thing men do when switching to a woman’s body is feel their breasts. The first thing women do when switching to a man’s body is pee standing up. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/24 "2016-11-15T23:35:44Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Too tired to do it myself right now, but, if you could, it might be interesting to see what parts of the story you could change to make it where people would not mostly say Yes. > > Like, what if there was only a 90% chance that it would swap them back? Or what if the woman had known exactly what it would do and orchestrated the whole thing, but then regretted it later? > > Stuff like that. I agree, I wasn’t really expecting such a general consensus on the issue _(in fact I thought it would be the other way around)_, but that’s an interesting result in itself. > [@Mangetout](#): > > You stated “the effect is the same each time for an individual Gate” - implying a sense of reliability to the process. If there’s considerable risk, then I guess the answer might be different, but hypothetical risk within a wholly hypothetical sci-fi scenario is probably too much nesting for me to make a meaningful reply. > [@Mangetout](#): > > If they have sex (I mean, just to relieve the tension) while swapped, then when they swap back to their original bodies, it turns out she’s pregnant… well, I was thinking I’d have a question to end that sentence with, but… nothing. Sorry, I put the OP together fairly quickly while the thought had struck me, I probably should have worded it more carefully. Regarding the second part, there is a scene somewhat like that in the movie 'Being John Malkovich" where a woman fathers a child with another woman while inhabiting John Malkovich’s body. That movie makes the premise in my OP look positively mundane. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I just want to know what happens if you go through that gate by yourself. Perhaps if a person goes through by themselves they receive a straight-forward sex-change, that might be a solution to the problem, depending on how adamant or not the protestor was in getting her original body back and not just on being female again. A person would need to be pretty brave or curious to go through a gate without knowing the outcome, wouldn’t they? _(but I’m sure like everything else there would be plenty of volunteers)_ > [@Quartz](#): > > IMHO she does not get her body back. She has to live with the result of her actions. Indeed, since she is likely now in a men’s prison after a conviction for assault or worse, such a suit could be seen as a pretext for being moved to a women’s prison and thus better treatment. I wonder what she would be charged with? She caused the cop to undergo a pretty traumatic experience but its not technically an injury is it? _(well not physically at least)_. And yes, I don’t have much sympathy for her either. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/25 "2016-11-15T23:47:22Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > I wonder what she would be charged with? Assault is the obvious charge: you don’t need to cause actual injury. Actual Bodily Harm would be another contender as he’s been harmed by the brain-switch. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/26 "2016-11-16T01:28:32Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I just want to know what happens if you go through that gate by yourself. Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich! Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich!Malkovich! ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/27 "2016-11-16T17:52:35Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > I agree, I wasn’t really expecting such a general consensus on the issue _(in fact I thought it would be the other way around)_, but that’s an interesting result in itself. It’s a pretty standard feature of most legal systems that the goal is to restore people to their original status. If that’s impossible, you look for some kind of restitution that at least minimizes the harm caused. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/28 "2016-11-16T19:23:41Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > It’s a pretty standard feature of most legal systems that the goal is to restore people to their original status. If that’s impossible, you look for some kind of restitution that at least minimizes the harm caused. Ethically speaking, it’s hard to see the advantages of solutions other than returning these people to their original bodies and then allowing the man to go through male -\> female transition. Other solutions would appear to harm one or the other person in the scenario more than the above. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/29 "2016-11-17T22:03:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Assault is the obvious charge: you don’t need to cause actual injury. Actual Bodily Harm would be another contender as he’s been harmed by the brain-switch. I see, thank you. > [@dracoi](#): > > It’s a pretty standard feature of most legal systems that the goal is to restore people to their original status. If that’s impossible, you look for some kind of restitution that at least minimizes the harm caused. Thank you, for a rather out there premise I’ve actually learned something from this thread. > [@wevets](#): > > Ethically speaking, it’s hard to see the advantages of solutions other than returning these people to their original bodies and then allowing the man to go through male -\> female transition. > > Other solutions would appear to harm one or the other person in the scenario more than the above. I’ve actually softened my original stance somewhat because of the arguments displayed here, I hope he could at least sue her for emotional trauma or something along those lines. Thanks for the answers everyone! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lewis47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@Lewis47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lewis47)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974/30 "2017-02-09T03:00:56Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > I find the concept of physical transformation interesting, if you don’t that’s fine, but you may not want to read any further. 🙂 > > The scenario is that in the near future a number of mysterious Stargate like objects have appeared in random locations around the world. They have different effects on people who pass through them, some act as teleports to similar Gates on other worlds or in different parts of Earth, others physically transform people who pass through them, decreasing their age, removing disease and so on, the effect is the same each time for an individual Gate. > > A male cop _(who is young, fairly attractive and healthy)_ is guarding a newly located virgin Gate, no-one has passed through it so its unknown what it does, suddenly a female protestor _(also young, fairly attractive and healthy)_ runs forward from the crowd, the cop tackles her but they stagger and fall through the Gate together. > > When they regain conciousness it is discovered that they have swapped bodies, he is now in her body and she is in his. Although initially shocked and disturbed he _(I’m going to keep the same pronouns, it would probably get confusing otherwise)_ gradually comes to realise that he loves his new form, the protestor however hates hers and never adapts. A few months later she launches a legal challenge demanding the return of her original body and that the cop should be forced to go through the Gate with her again in the hope that they will swap back to their original bodies. Needless to say he doesn’t want to do this. She states that she didn’t realise what effect the Gate would have and she would never have done it had she known. > > What would be your judgement on this? Should he be forced to swap back or not, and why? > > There is no gender subtext to this thread, feel free to make the cop female and the protestor male if you like, or even both the same gender, I just added the gender-swap thing as I thought it would be more interesting. He shouldn’t be forced to take any further risks by being forced to attempt to swap back. She basically set the wheels in motion for the accident buy running forward and the cop was just doing his job in reacting to her actions. I would say that the female’s body is his now and his body now belongs to her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-ethical-dilemma-sci-fi-bodyswap-related/771974.md?page=1)