Survival of the Fittest?

  Evolutionary ideas such as survival of the fittest results in attitudes towards the disabled, the elderly and the sick that encourage prejudice and even extermination of certain populations.  Euthanasia of those who are no longer able to contribute to society and abortion of babies pre-diagnosed with disabilities are just two ways that our society displays this evolutionary attitude.  Those of us who are “fitter” make the decisions about the “fitness” of other people without taking into consideration the value of life itself.

  Without a belief in the intrinsic value of a life, one assumes that the value of a person’s life is based on his / her abilities to function.   Value is then based on their ability to be educated or to reason, their ability to earn money, or to function successfully or their ability to enjoy life to our standards.  Darwin’s theory of Evolution is based on the ability to survive through mutations that improve a species ability to function, thus the value of the specimen or the person is based on its ability to function.  Health care decisions such as Euthanasia and Abortion are often based on the health care worker’s beliefs about the value of life.

  Euthanasia is not legal everywhere, but the attitude behind it is certainly seen in health care practices today.  The now famous case of Terri Schiavo, the woman who was allowed to starve to death is an example of this attitude.  In a country with socialized medicine, my own birth mother was taken off life support only a week after entering a coma due to an attitude that said her condition did not warrant life.  Sarah Palin has been criticized for terming the phrase “death panels” where non-medical professionals make decisions about who gets life saving medical procedures. 

  Some people in the health care community exhibit this attitude of the value of life based on ability to function in pre-natal medicine.  Abortions are regularly encouraged if a baby is determined to have a potential disability or disease.  The abortion rate of babies pre-diagnosed with Down syndrome and other disabilities reaches to 90%!  Some of the parents who have been counseled to abort, and chose life for their children find out later that there was no disability after all.  In some situations, babies born with disabilities are still allowed to die without proper medical treatment.  On the other hand, “normal” pre-mature babies are born and cared for from incredibly early stages of pregnancy.  These pre-mature babies seem to have a higher value on their lives than a baby with a disability.

   Somehow, our society seems to believe that we will be able to eliminate these sub par human beings.  Survival of the fittest.  How different is this from Hitler’s thinking?  How many perfect people are out there?  The average person’s problems can be far greater than that of a disabled person.  The wisdom and fortitude that comes from those older folks who have lived through suffering can be far greater than the average person.  Learning to value all people would be a much greater task than to eliminate those that are different.

  The survival of the fittest mentality needs to be left behind with World War II.  Those of us who live with these people who have been determined to be sub par will tell you that they have immeasurable value.  In the Bible, we see mandates to take care of these weaker people.   James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress  NIV  Obviously, their functionality was limited, but God put a high value on them. 

  Will the government’s health care reform consider the value of life?  Will these types of practices be increased?  Will health care become the survival of the fittest?