Sci Fi's terrifying reality

I was reading some news this morning and came across an article where some researchers are postulating it may be possible to chemically scrub away bad memories. Why does this sound like the first step on the slippery slope to a truly terrifying science fiction novel?

From the story:

"There are several major concerns" about creating these kinds of drugs, said Felicia Cohn, a medical ethicist at University of California at Irvine's School of Medicine. "Is the act of altering memories even an appropriate medical intervention?" she asked.

Another set of "issues is related to consequences. What are the effects of altering a particular person's memory but not changing the context the person is living in. We might erase a young girl's memory of a rape, but people around her will still know and inadvertently remind her," Cohn said.

"It becomes a genie in the bottle question. Once a drug is available for use, it gets used appropriately and inappropriately. People could start going to physicians to forget they love chocolate. … Is it just for post-traumatic stress disorder and rape victims? Where do we draw the line? Who gets to decide what is horrific enough?"

I happen to believe we are the sum of our memories, good and bad, and anything that eliminates those memories steals part of us. In the end, the only things we can really claim to own during our lifetime are memories – anything else can be taken away.

I empathize with the people who have had horrific occurrences in their past, but hasn’t that molded their current self? If you take away those memories and experiences, don’t you, in effect, erase that person?

Those are just a couple of the ethical concerns with the intended uses of such a drug. Thinking about possible misuses of such a drug is enough to promote nightmares on its own.

My conclusion: Just because we can doesn’t always mean we should.