EVERY LIFE IS IMPORTANT
I’m pro-life. I believe that every life is important. That means that a 22-year-old does not have any more right to a ventilator than a 77-year-old. That means that life is more important than the stock market. That means that the life of a banker is not worth more than the life of someone with an intellectual disability. If a person is really pro-life, then they believe that every person has a right to receive adequate healthcare.
So many people who have described themselves as pro-life in the past are now calling for medical rationing during the Covid-19 pandemic. These people should no longer be viewed as pro-life. They probably never should have been considered to be pro-life. They are people who seek wealth and power; people who have enjoyed a level of privilege that has made them believe that their lives are worth more than the lives of many other people.
Too many times, the pro-life movement has been nothing more than institutionalized misogyny. When people call for defunding Planned Parenthood, they are not merely calling for an end to abortion; they are calling for an end to vital free preventative health services that save lives.
Mammograms, pap exams, screening for STDs, and providing contraception help to preserve life. Many women in this country must use contraception, not just to prevent unwanted pregnancy, but to help regulate their menstrual cycles and even to preserve fertility. This is the case for nearly every woman who suffers from endometriosis. I have never identified as being for abortion, but I would not want to see this country return to the days of unsafe back alley abortions as I believe it would result in more lives lost.
To me, all life is sacred. It is why I have chosen a vegan diet; it has preserved my life. No animal is being sacrificed in the name of dinner. A life is a life is a life.
I believe that basic food and shelter should be a right too, as these are required to sustain life. The United States is a wealthy nation that can afford the guarantee of food, safe shelter, clean air and water, and healthcare to all people in this country. But bankers and legislators had decided long ago that if we identify something as a need instead of a right, then we can assign a price to it. If you can’t pay the price, there must be something you are doing wrong. What a horribly un-Christian way of thinking.
Medical professionals have devoted their time and talent to saving lives. Choosing to save some people while letting others die is not a situation that any decent person wants to be in. Medical professionals who have served in war zones have had to make such decisions, and the results weigh heavy on their minds for the rest of their lives.
We are not living in a war zone despite the way the Administration chooses to portray things. Executive privilege could be employed to guarantee that there are enough test kits, respirators, masks, and gowns. If only the President cared about human life as much as he cares about his tweets, no doctor would be faced with such a decision.