The right to live... and technology
Reading the news yesterday, what struck me most was an article on Haleigh Poutre, the 11 year old American girl who has been on life support after her stepfather knocked her into coma last September. Just one day after the state, who has legal custody over the girl, decided to terminate her life support, Haleigh started breathing individually again.
What do we have in this world except the 'knowlegde' that we are alive? Scientifically speaking, we do not have any notion of why we are here and where we are going. Are we just a physical process, that accidently got more and more complicated throughout the ages? (Was there evolution? How long did it take? Was there creation? How long did that take? Was there a mixture of both? Is evolution creation or the other way round?) Are emotions and free will just side effects of some chemical reactions in our bodies? Or is the soul what defines us as humans? I believe the latter, and if it turns out wrong some day, than I'll revise my opinion.
Speaking for humanity however, these are questions we can not, without faith, find answers to. All we know is that we are alive, even if the definition of being alive is unclear. It is something each of us has, a life. And in my opinion it is one of the most valuable things we've got.
History has shown us that the will to survive can enable people to do the impossible. It can give extreme physical strenght and extreme determination in 'hopeless' situations. What is the power that allowed Haleigh to start breathing again, after several medical tests had shown she could never recover? What is going on inside her mind? Is she still thinking? What is she living through in her coma? We do not know. All we know is that she has a life, like each of us.
I strongly believe that the right to live is the utmost fundamental right an individual has. When did we become so presumptuous that we allow ourselves to decide who owns this right and who doesn't? If giving people like Haleigh more time doesn't mean that other people lose their lives, than give them the chance. What does use of electricity or tax payers' money mean when the question is about life or death? If we have taken technology so far that we can 'artificially' keep people alive, then we should start taking the responsibility that comes with it.
What do we have in this world except the 'knowlegde' that we are alive? Scientifically speaking, we do not have any notion of why we are here and where we are going. Are we just a physical process, that accidently got more and more complicated throughout the ages? (Was there evolution? How long did it take? Was there creation? How long did that take? Was there a mixture of both? Is evolution creation or the other way round?) Are emotions and free will just side effects of some chemical reactions in our bodies? Or is the soul what defines us as humans? I believe the latter, and if it turns out wrong some day, than I'll revise my opinion.
Speaking for humanity however, these are questions we can not, without faith, find answers to. All we know is that we are alive, even if the definition of being alive is unclear. It is something each of us has, a life. And in my opinion it is one of the most valuable things we've got.
History has shown us that the will to survive can enable people to do the impossible. It can give extreme physical strenght and extreme determination in 'hopeless' situations. What is the power that allowed Haleigh to start breathing again, after several medical tests had shown she could never recover? What is going on inside her mind? Is she still thinking? What is she living through in her coma? We do not know. All we know is that she has a life, like each of us.
I strongly believe that the right to live is the utmost fundamental right an individual has. When did we become so presumptuous that we allow ourselves to decide who owns this right and who doesn't? If giving people like Haleigh more time doesn't mean that other people lose their lives, than give them the chance. What does use of electricity or tax payers' money mean when the question is about life or death? If we have taken technology so far that we can 'artificially' keep people alive, then we should start taking the responsibility that comes with it.
posted by Helena at 2:02 PM
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