The Non-Negotiable Goodness of Saving Lives
From Anne C.: "why is it that whenever a group characterized at least in some part by its members' vulnerability stands to benefit from some emerging development, it is assumed that the impetus falls on the vulnerable group to 'prove' its worth? More to the point, why is it not assumed instead that individual lives are of primary value, and that the socioeconomic complications which may arise from saving more lives are just things we're going to have to suck up and deal with? ... You don't (unless your name happens to be Ebenezer Scrooge) sit there playing numbers games, trying to determine whether saving this old person will mean that maybe 10 younger people don't get a big tax break that year, or whether a healthier elderly population might 'hurt the job market' for young people. ... Put another way, the acknowledgment of the goodness of saving lives when possible should be non-negotiable. In this framework, no project claiming the goal of 'improving' conditions in the world can hinge upon the necessity of people dying by a particular age."
Link: http://www.existenceiswonderful.com/2008/06/non-negotiable-goodness-of-saving-lives.html