Princeton professor calls for killing disabled infants under Obamacare

[KamaAina]

http://www.examiner.com/article/princeton-professor-calls-for-killing-disabled-infants-under-obamacare

Several times during the interview Singer argued the health-care system under Obamacare should openly acknowledge health-care rationing and that the country should acknowledge the necessity of "intentionally ending the lives of severely disabled infants." Singer also repeatedly referred to a disabled infant as "it" during the interview....

Singer contends that the wrongness of killing a human being is not based on the fact that the individual is alive and human. Instead, Singer argues it is "characteristics like rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness that make a difference." When asked by Klein whether he envisions denying treatment to disabled infants to become more common in the US under the new health-care law, Singer replied: "It does happen. Not necessarily because of costs."

"If an infant is born with a massive hemorrhage in the brain that means it will be so severely disabled that if the infant lives it will never even be able to recognize its mother, it won’t be able to interact with any other human being, it will just lie there in the bed and you could feed it but that’s all that will happen, doctors will turn off the respirator that is keeping that infant alive."

"I don’t know whether they are influenced by reducing costs," Singer continued. "Probably they are just influenced by the fact that this will be a terrible burden for the parents to look after, and there will be no quality of life for the child. So we are already taking steps that quite knowingly and intentionally are ending the lives of severely disabled infants. And I think we ought to be more open in recognizing that this happens."

[sharp_stick]

1. The examiner is sure good

at finding nutcases to advance an idiotic agenda.

This particular wackjob doesn't make Princeton look too good.

[jeff47]

2. Uh, Obamacare would actually keep that respirator going

instead of the insurance company dropping the baby's coverage and the hospital turning it off because they aren't getting paid.

So why is this about Obamacare other than to stoke "Death Panel" bullshit?

[pansypoo53219]

3. since my uncle & his wife had to deal w/ a severely disabled child for 18 yrs. i think maybe it

would be a blessing to not extend life for some.

[KamaAina]

5. People with disabilities face that attitude all the time

I know several wheelchair users who have been told, to their faces, "I'd rather be dead than be like you."

[jberryhill]

4. "According to an article published Sunday by World Net Daily..."

Why, why, why, why must we wade through the fever swamps every day?

[KamaAina]

6. I left that part out on purpose

but this doesn't look like one of World Nut Daily's usual fabrications.

[jberryhill]

8. Obviously....

Whatever kernel of fact may underlie this second-hand account of a WND article does not seem to be top news elsewhere.

Much of what WND publishes are not "fabrications", but they have a knack for finding the obscure and embroidering it quite a bit.

You left that part out for what purpose?

[KamaAina]

9. To avoid a WND-related flamefest

that would obscure the actual point being made.

[jberryhill]

11. "the actual point being made"

....being that for every loon, there is an amplifier in one of the internet scare machines which ensures that said loon can be perceived as influential or representative of a significant body of thought.

[Igel]

7. Peter Singer is well known.

In some ways he's a bit of a loony. But he's a prominent loony, neither purely to the right or to the left, and very well known for some controversial pronouncements.

He's very explicit about his definitions, utilitarianist in philosophy, and has been mostly, in my experience, derided by those right of center. Seldom has anybody right of center found an ally in his thinking, but from time to time somebody left of center has.

For example, while he looks at costs, IIRC at some point he was all-in for animal rights. Useful life is useful life.

I moved from Oregon over 20 years ago. He was already pissing me off when I lived in Oregon. He must be quite advanced in years by now. Or he was precociously exasperating.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer
It's good to see that my memory's not quite failing. He is pretty much as I remember him, to the extent I paid any attention to him.

[lpbk2713]

10. Dr Mengele I presume?

OMFG