Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - Upholding the Value of Disabled People

Episode Date: November 1, 2017

Alan describes the significant shift that is occurring in our society that affects how human beings are valued. Download the mp3...

It's sad but unsurprising that many people advocate the killing of unborn human beings through abortion. What's more shocking is that people now advocate the killing of born human beings in their infancy. And this is due to a growing trend to disqualify disabled infants from being valuable and deem their life unworthy. I first heard this argument from Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer. So he argued that it's morally permissible to kill a disabled infant for up to four weeks after she's born. And what's his rationale for this? Happiness.

And here's how he explains it. Quote, When the death of a disabled infant will lead to the birth of another infant with better prospects of a happy life, Man, that is chilling. But it gets worse. This noted evolutionist, Jerry C Coyne agrees with Singer. But he writes this, quote, If you're allowed to abort a fetus that has a severe genetic defect,

microcephaly, spina bifida, or so on, then why aren't you able to euthanize that same fetus just after it's born? He says, I see no substantive difference that would make the former act moral and the latter immoral, end quote. So both Coyne and Singer believe that birth is an arbitrary dividing line and that nothing substantially changes when the unborn passes through the birth canal. Now, tragically, they are both consistent. On their view, if you can kill a disabled person before she is born, then you can kill the same disabled child after she is born. And I believe

such barbaric, really, views are justified because of a shift in the way our society values human beings. You see, historically, human beings were believed to have intrinsic value. Now, something has intrinsic value if it has value in itself. In other words, its value is inherent in its own existence. So, for example, friendship, health, and love are things that are intrinsically valuable. And human beings have intrinsic value because of one reason. They are made in the image of God. This is what we see taught in Genesis 1.27. Now, notice that being made in God's image is not a degreed property. You can't have more or less of the image of God. You that being made in God's image is not a degreed property. You can't have more or less of the image of God. You either are made in God's image or you're not. And so, if our value

comes from being made in God's image, then notice we cannot lose that value if we lose our limbs, our physical abilities, or our mental abilities. Nothing can change our value because it's not dependent on our abilities or on any external factor. Now, society is abandoning this view of intrinsic value. And what remains is the view that human beings have instrumental value. Now, something has instrumental value if it's a means to an end. In other words, it doesn't have value in itself, but it's valuable only because it can get you something else that has value. So let me just give you an example. A $1 sparkler is not inherently worth $1, but rather it's valuable because it can get you something else that has value, you know, entertainment, happiness, fun, or whatever

on the 4th of July. Now, how much is that same sparkler worth once it's burned and been used? Well, the answer is obvious. It's worth nothing. And that's because then it has lost its ability to get you that other thing that has value. And so when an instrumentally valuable thing loses its ability to get you something else that has value, then it ceases to be valuable and you can throw it away. Now, most things that we own have instrumental value. You know, cars, phones, computers. These things are only viable because they are a means to some other valuable end. The problem is that this is increasingly more common to believe that human beings are instrumentally valuable. And so therefore, they are only valuable because they can achieve some other valuable end.

Like, you know, human beings can create art or they can raise children or work at a job or contribute to society in some way. But the moment they lose their abilities is the precise moment they lose their value, and then they too can be thrown away. And in a society that treats human beings with instrumental value, the strong will prevail and the weak will be discarded. People with disabilities are at risk because they have lost some of their abilities. And so if instrumental value is the only value they have, then their diminished function diminishes their value. And that's why Singer and Coyne advocate

for infanticide of disabled newborns. They reject the idea that we are made in God's image, and so they don't have a way to justify a disabled person's value apart from what that person can do. And so it's critical then that believers bring back the concept of intrinsic value into our society. We need to show that every human is valuable because they are human and not because of what they can or can't do. This, by the way, is consistent with our country's formation, right?

If you think about it, our founding documents say things like, all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, you know? And so an intrinsic value system provides a foundation for human rights, for equal rights, and it gives an imperative to protect the weak, the vulnerable, and the disabled. It also serves as a bulwark against racism, discrimination, and bigotry. And in fact, that's why Martin Luther King Jr. was justified in his case for civil rights of African Americans.

He was a Christian who believed in the image of God, the only thing that grants every human being intrinsic value and equal value. So may believers have the confidence then and the courage like Martin Luther King Jr. to stand for this truth and to protect the disabled.