Thank you to Vic Finkelstein for the Seminar Notes - I was unable to
read them at first as they did not readily appear on my screen, but
another student kindly re-sent them for me. I am currently reading
them, and hope to make a reply shortly, as there are things I would like
to comment on.
As to the Newspaper article regarding the child in Leeds, you could
give someone a heart transplant and they could go out and have an
accident or die soon afterwards anyway. Surely its about whether
society views the life of a disabled person as of equal value to that of
a non-disabled person.
As we do not yet regularly refuse people operations if they choose to
smoke heavily, and end up requiring amputations or longterm treatment
for lung disease, why do doctors then decide when there is a person who
is disabled just to say no? Can I ask, if someone was very wealthy and
had a child with Downs Syndrome and could pay for the transplant
themselves, would the medical people then refuse to carry out the
operation? Maybe I am not "living in the real world", but I am
struggling to weigh up such an attitude with a belief about the value of
all human life, and the rights of disabled people to equal treatment and
respect.
Janet Iles
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