Ethicist calls disabled babies “defective,” says they should be allowed to die

By Sarah Terzo

BD Colen argues for withholding medical treatment from disabled babies and letting them die. He writes:

“Perhaps decisions involving the care of hopelessly ill and defective newborns should be left to those traditional processes, to parents and physicians who do the best they can under difficult circumstances.

Until such time as society is willing to pay the bill for truly humane institutions or 24-hour home care for all such infants, to offer families alternatives other than death or living death, shouldn’t these decisions be left to those who will have to live with them?”

BD Colen, Hard Choices, 1986, quoted in Is Infant Euthanasia Ethical? (Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1989) 215

Disabled people aren’t “defective” and our family’s lives aren’t “living death.” ALL human beings deserve basic medical care, regardless of level of ability.

Editor’s note. This appeared at Clinic Quotes and is reposted with permission. Sarah Terzo is offering a short, free pro-life eBook that exposes the pro-choice movement. Click here to get it.