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From: psuvm%cjc@psuvax.UUCP
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Subject: 
Message-ID: <550@psuvm.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 17-Mar-84 15:56:36 EST
Article-I.D.: psuvm.550
Posted: Sat Mar 17 15:56:36 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Mar-84 08:22:57 EST
Lines: 42


 >>      What constitues a "human being" worthy of all the rights,
 >>      priviledges, and protection "under the law" given to the
 >>      members of our society??

      I would like to include an accompaning question:

    What is it about HUMAN that makes HUMAN more worthy than CHIMPANZEE
or WOLF or WHALE etc.?

      If we come down to something like 'a human being is any living
offspring of human beings' then is the statement 'a human is more worthy
of living than a chimpanzee is' not merely the generalized version of
 'I'm more worthy than you because I'm me and you aren't'.


      I also question the belief that every human existence should be
preserved as long as possible from a different angle:

>>First, the aged Mother who is totally senile.  She cannot recognize
>> anyone- even her own daughter.  She cannot feed herself, ...
>> dress herself, use the toilet, carry on a converstion, do any work.
>> She simply sits there waiting to die.  She is a burden on our society.
>> Is she human?

    Consider, not the viewpoint of the society, but the viewpoint of the
woman in this condition. What is your understanding of death that makes
you feel that such a terrible travesty of life is preferable?
    I apologize for decending to a personal, not philosophical level, but
this is one of my personal nightmares.  I come from a background of large
farm families and in the last 10 years quite a number of my relatives have
died of various causes; one spent several years in just the condition you
describe.  If, when I approach her age, I detect any indication of such
a condition, I have specific plans for ending my existence, and if I do
end up like that I fervently hope some kind person ends it for me. If
there is some form of afterlife, I do not want to enter it stark raving
mad, as I would be after that.
    Until recently suicide was a crime and a person who unsuccessfully
attempted suicide was open to prosecution & numerous penalties: if all
human life must be preserved as long as possible do we return to that?

                                        C. Clark
                                        CJC@PSUVM (BITNET)