Tuesday, September 23, 2008

"Licensing People to Put Others Down" -- The End of Human Dignity

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_print.php?id=2542

[Albert Mohler's Blog] 23 Sep 2008--Baroness Mary Warnock is one of the most influential figures in British life today, and one of the most influential specialists in medical ethics on the international scene. When she speaks, the medical community listens. Given what she has just said, every single one of us had better pay attention.

The Baroness, known for her 1984 report that led to the legalization of so-called "test-tube" babies and embryo research in Britain, recently granted an interview to Life & Work, a magazine published by the Church of Scotland. In "A Duty to Die?," Warnock makes some incredible arguments, including her assertion that those suffering from mental dementia should be "put down," or euthanized.

Here is the most clarifying statement in the media coverage of the interview:

"If you're demented, you're wasting people's lives – your family's lives – and you're wasting the resources of the National Health Service."

In other words, if you are suffering from Alzheimer's disease or any other form of mental incapacity, you should simply die and get out of the way, freeing up precious resources and relieving your family of the obligation of your care.

This is a chilling argument, but one that is absolutely consistent with the direction of much modern secular thought.

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