The Sanctity of Life

[flashl]

American conservatives preach about the sanctity of life, yet do not promote programs that would help millions of low income citizens get health care. Cutting through the hypocrisy to get to the hope, the author calls for more accountability among the "pro-life".

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Conservative rhetoric preaches about the sanctity of life. Unfortunately, and vexingly, this "profound respect for the life within the woman" is code for fetal life, not necessarily the mother's. Voices shout out for the well being of fetuses, begging women to overlook their own inalienable rights to self-determination, health, and life in favor of preserving those of their fetuses, but these same voices are eerily silent when the lives of individuals who live outside the womb are in danger. The message sent by the Gonzales v. Carhart ruling and anti-choice rhetoric is that fetuses are valuable Americans—the welfare of women and ex utero children are rarely, if at all discussed.

The sad case of Deamonte Driver illustrates American conservative' hypocrisy. Driver's February 25, 2007, death was preventable. Any untimely death is a tragedy, but the Driver family's story is especially heart wrenching. Like many working poor parents, Alyce Driver held down multiple jobs, but none provided health insurance for her or her children. They relied on Medicaid, but eventually the family lost its coverage. Unable to get adequate dental services for her children, her sons' teeth rotten in their mouths. Her youngest son, Deamonte, died as a result. A simple $80 extraction of an abscessed tooth would have saved a twelve-year-old's life.

The question any rational, compassionate person asks how this could possibly happen. Isn’t the government full of compassionate conservatives who believe in the sanctity of life and family values? Ironically, those same conservatives rail against life saving insurance programs and services despite the obvious help it gives struggling families. The conservative philosophy regarding the sanctity of life seems to be that it ends at birth—once one is out of the womb, it is every human for her or himself.

The blame for Demonte's death rests not with his mother, but with America's nonsensical and broken health insurance system. Health insurance is difficult to get, and not all jobs provide it. Getting health care is not as simple as "getting a better job," a comment often heard from conservatives. The most effective solution to this problem is for the government provide health care (although the Walter Reed debacle makes one a bit reticent to entrust the current incarnation of the American government with such a task). Conservative would-be Cassandras warn socialized health care will be nothing but a socialist quagmire. Conservative blow-hards like Sean Hannity brag that America is a country with second-to-none medical facilities and providers. Warnings abound that socialized health care will destroy the American medical system. However, if a young boy like Deamonte can be killed by a tooth abscess, the system's already broken.

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There's got to be a bean counter somewhere tracking the number of preventable deaths.

[NMMNG]

1. "Sanctity of Life" only applies to the preborn if you're a conservative

Afterward you're on your own, no matter how many obstacles life throws your way.

[flashl]

4. I strongly believe you are right.

Demonte's story sadden me.

[nomorenomore08]

2. I think it's because, from the fundie perspective,

unborn embryos/fetuses are the only "humans" who haven't had a chance to sin yet. Anyone else, most especially an unwed mother, is already tainted by sin, and therefore just another hellbound reprobate no one should give two shits about. Sometimes I think that the lack of concern for the downtrodden is simply a matter of separating the "wheat" from the "chaff," the fit from the unfit - it's like Calvinism and social Darwinism rolled into one.

[flashl]

3. The meritocracy myth?

The Meritocracy Myth

According to the ideology of the American Dream, America is the land of limitless opportunity in which individuals can go as far as their own merit takes them. According to this ideology, you get out of the system what you put into it. Getting ahead is ostensibly based on individual merit, which is generally viewed as a combination of factors including innate abilities, working hard, having the right attitude, and having high moral character and integrity. Americans not only tend to think that is how the system should work, but most Americans also think that is how the system does work (Huber and Form 1973, Kluegel and Smith 1986, Ladd 1994).