It is a bit callous. I’m old enough to have seen this pop up a dozen or so times.

Every time the depression, weight gain, acne and libido changes are deemed too severe for approval and women are sitting here like… yeah, it’s all that plus increased occurrence of stroke and heart attack for us, but ok.

Callous or not, it's hard to justify trials ethically for that reason. Yes, it would be better for society as a whole, even if it could potentially be worse for an individual; but is it ethically right to burn up an individual for the sake of society? And now if you'll excuse me, I have to walk away from Omelas.

Edit: Pre-empting a question: Yes, I walk. I recognize that the trolley would be quicker.