May 12, 2006

DID JEWS CO-SPONSOR THE NUREMBERG LAWS?:

Stop trying to kill us off: The legalisation of premature death as a treatment option is a threat to disabled people (Jane Campbell, May 9, 2006, The Guardian)

Assisted dying is not a simple question of increasing choice for those of us who live our lives close to death. It raises deep concerns about how we are viewed by society and by ourselves. I have a severe form of spinal muscular atrophy, and require 24-hour assistance. Many people who do not know me believe I would be "better off dead". Even more argue: "I couldn't live like that." And some suggest that advances in genetic screening should be used to enable parents to choose whether to have a child with disabilities.

Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill, Lord Joffe's private member's bill, which will be debated in the House of Lords this Friday, feeds into that lack of knowledge (some might call it ignorance, others prejudice) by endorsing such views and legalising the killing of terminally ill and disabled people. The bill has the backing of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (recently renamed Dignity in Dying) and, according to their polls, the support of the British public.

Yet it has failed to get the endorsement of a single organisation of disabled people.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 12, 2006 6:46 PM
Comments

If only they had engaged the Nazis, started a dialogue, think what could have been avoided.....

Posted by: Robert Mitchell Jr. at May 12, 2006 7:34 PM

Robert, Neville Chamberlain tried to engage the Nazis in a dialogue, but alas they didn't want to chat, they wanted to conquer the world. Bummer that!

Posted by: erp at May 13, 2006 9:09 AM

No, they didn't. Hitler didn't much care about most of the world.

Posted by: oj at May 13, 2006 9:17 AM

Hitler committed assisted suicide. He wanted some Dignity in Dying too.

Posted by: Noel at May 13, 2006 9:57 AM

Well Mrs. Erp, Mr. Chamberlain must insulted the Nazis. There is nothing that honest dialogue can't solve!

Posted by: Robert Mitchell Jr. at May 13, 2006 10:45 AM

Robert, You may be right about insulting them, but more probable is that Neville infuriated the Nazis by demanding they make two lists -- one with all the good things about conquering and pillaging neighboring countries and the other all the bad things.

oj. Didn't Hitler want to be the modern day conqueror in the mold of Alexander, Charlemagne or some such biggee hero?

Posted by: erp at May 13, 2006 11:06 AM

Mrs. Erp, don't you see? That was the insult! The Nazi's weren't conquering and pillaging, they were bringing the benefits of German civilization to backwards peoples. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you know!

Posted by: Robert Mitchell Jr. at May 13, 2006 11:22 AM

The eugenic impulse is strong in the compassionate, progressive left:

Our survival depends upon our developing a population where everyone contributes. We don't need more cannon fodder. We don't need more parishioners. We don't need more cheap labor. We don't need more poor babies.

Posted by: Mike Morley at May 13, 2006 11:29 AM

No, Hitler thought of the Brits and Americans as natural allies.

Posted by: oj at May 13, 2006 12:30 PM

Right on that one, OJ. I believe that's why Hitler allowed Dunkirk to happen. People are not aware of how kind he was to the British on that day.

Posted by: Robert Mitchell Jr. at May 13, 2006 1:00 PM

Hitler should have sent a letter to Roosevelt.

Posted by: ratbert at May 13, 2006 11:31 PM
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