Are all cultures equally valid morally?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Are all cultures equally valid morally?". Your opponent's style: Christopher Hitchens

Ethical considerations in STEM research ate frequently compromised in the pursuit of progress.

You've got the premise backwards. Progress *requires* ethical compromise—the question is whether the benefits justify it. Polio vaccine trials involved risk. Manhattan Project scientists had moral qualms. Yet millions lived because researchers didn't let perfect ethics paralyze them. The real problem isn't that ethics get compromised—it's that we pretend they don't, then act shocked when it surfaces. Honest trade-offs beat sanctimonious hand-wringing every time. You need institutional review boards and transparency, sure. But if you think STEM advances without someone getting hurt, you're naive. The question isn't "should we compromise?" It's "are the lives saved worth the lives risked?" What's your actual standard here—zero risk, or proportional gain?