Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Peter Singer: Why we must ration health care

Why We Must Ration Health Care - NYTimes.com: "The debate over health care reform in the United States should start from the premise that some form of health care rationing is both inescapable and desirable. Then we can ask, What is the best way to do it?"
-------------
Who is Peter Singer, you may be asking? He is one of the most famous ethicists in the world. His critics say that his views on many issues put him very close to advocating eugenics.

Here are some of his other views:

--all animals capable of suffering like humans should have equal rights with humans, or it is "speciesism"
--it is possible to have mutually satisfying sexual relations between humans and animals
--a fetus is incapable of having preferences, so abortion is morally permissible
--killing a newborn baby is not equivalent to killing a person who has self-consciousness and wants to go on living

And now he is advocating health care rationing, which means that if you are old and sick you will be less likely to get expensive procedures. This is exactly where Obama's health care plan will lead, of course. There is no way to expand coverage and cut costs (or even avoid runaway increases in costs), given the same number of doctors and hospitals, without rationing.

Maybe Obama can make Prof. Singer the Health Care Rationing Czar.

No comments: