The answer is, (a)maybe and (b) scientists now have the technology to find out. But, here’s the question raised in this Philadelphia Inquirer article: Should we find out?
Here’s the long (Lincoln) and short (synopsis) of it. A small Philly museum has part of a pillowcase that has some of Lincoln’s blood and brain matter on it from after the shooting. There is strong scientific evidence to suggest that Lincoln was indeed dying of a rare genetic disorder:
John Sotos, a cardiologist, an author, and a consultant for the television series House, wants to test the artifact to confirm what eyewitness accounts and 130 period images already tell him: Lincoln had a rare genetic cancer syndrome called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B).
But Sotos’ request has stirred an ethical and scientific debate on the board of directors of the Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library, an off-the-beaten-path Civil War institution in the city’s Frankford section.
Should the museum grant permission for the testing and enjoy the spotlight when the results are announced?
Or should it reject Sotos’ request, avoid damaging the artifact, and honor the wishes of Robert Todd Lincoln to leave his father in peace?
The answers will come at a museum board meeting, likely to be held May 5, during a time of heightened interest in Lincoln. This year is the bicentennial of his birth.
The Beast Who Slumbers reaches out to the ethicists in his not insubstantial audience. Or even the unethical (you know who you are): If you were on the Museum board, how would you vote, and why would you vote that way?
‘Bulo expects answers. Don’t make him come after you…