Does Society Value Some Lives More Than Others?

          We may loudly claim, "All persons are created equal" and "No person is more valuable than another," but as a society our actions often condradict these words. There is no getting around it. Yes, we are indeed created equal by God  but the sad fact is that in this world countless inequalities exist.
          To illustrate my point, this very morning of the day I am writing this, I received a "no" response in the mail to an earlier request to have my vitamin supplementation continue to be covered by my insurance carrier. Currently, I'm almost past my childbearing years. In my prior appeal letter, I pointed out that my long-term use of anti-convulsants for seizure control put me at an increased risk for osteoporosis and liver failure than the average person. I also pointed out that I was diagnosed with Marfan's Syndrome which affects one's heart, eyes and connective joints. Throughout the years, my insurance carrier had covered my request for vitamin supplementation by covering prenatal vitamins. I was, after all, a woman in her childbearing years and was able at any time to bear another life. My insurance carrier had denied my request to be switched to a more age-appropriate vitamin supplement simply because of my age. My point? Because I am "getting older" and "can't get pregnant," my life was not as valuable as it was when I was younger.
          This sad phenomenon for us to value some lives over others is seen in the eugenics movement, which pushes for the prevention of any life deemed as less worthy than others. Those with disabilities are sometimes discouraged, even by their doctors, from getting pregnant because their offspring "may inherit what you have," and this gives the unspoken but very hurtful message that the lives of disabled people are less worthy than the lives of those without disabilities. The push to offer certain prenatal tests to certain pregnant women for the purpose of identifying certain "birth defects," and to encourage abortions in the case of "birth defects," is the most glaring example of this! During my childbearing years, I was discouraged from seeking pregnancy. When I did get pregnant, abortion was "offered"  to me as an "option." And now autism is being added to the mix of "birth defects" that mark a life as less worthy! According to history, women with special needs were often sterilized against their wills or given cerain forms of birth control. Today, this may no longer be done but certain groups of people are still asked or told to not reproduce "their own kind." I realize, first-hand, that having special needs and raising children with special needs, are both difficult and can often be heartbreaking. But that does not mean that these don't come with rewards if we receive these with grace, courage and maturity.
          Poor and low-income people are often discouraged from reproducing "their own kind," and like disabled people, they are much more likely to be "offered" abortion as an "option" to carrying to full-term. When Nadia Suleman, the "Octomom," gave birth to octuplets (8 babies in one pregnancy), there was  outrage over this. Suleman was a low-income young woman and in debt, with outstanding student loan debt and already she had six other children. I understand the outrage over this and the concern that these children will probably know lives of lasting disadvantage. And in many other cases of poor women choosing to have large families, there has been outrage. I would not ever want to minimize the difficulties that children born to poor and disadvantaged parents face and the lifelong disadvantages that such children often face. For I know of this from experience. My point is that all lives are equally valuable, no matter what the circumstances of conception.
          It's clear that if you are young, attractive, healthy, under age 40, talented, white and successful, your life is seen as somehow more valuable. This certainly holds true in searches for missing people. On Facebook, for many weeks I had been sharing a page that is devoted exclusively to bring missing children home. Since people generally value the lives of children and are touched by their vulnerabibility and their cuteness, we tend to take children's disappearances more seriously than the disappearances of adults. Thus, I saw the numbers on this page climb at a good clip as people joined it and shared the page with their own social networks. On the other hand, for monts I have been sharing a Facebook page that is devoted exclusively to missing adults. I saw the numbers on the page climb much more slowly because fewer people joined the page or shared it. And whenever I shared that page, I would include a text header like: "Every missing adult is also someone's missing child and loved one!" As for missing persons, I recall that about a year ago, the case of a certain man tugged at my heart as he was said to be suicidal and to have a seizure disorder. I would post and repostthe link to this missing man's photo and information on Facebook. I saw few signs that my posts on this man were circulated. Then one day, someone commented under one of my posts simply that "He was found deceased" and gave the date. It was like this man's life somehow did not matter because he was an adult, male, and had a stigmatizing medical condition and mental health issues at the time of his disappearance. I've seen this sort of response toward especially missing adults when they they are over 40, have special needs, troubled pasts, or are male or Black. On the other hand, many of us take acute interest in the disappearances/murders of those who are young, attractive, talented, successful, and Caucasian. Isn't this why certain names of certain people (Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard, Chandra Levy, Polly Klaas, Laci Peterson, Caylee Anthony) are household names? How many people are familar with names like Alexis Patterson, Jameshia Conner, Toni Lee Sharpless, Khoi Vu, Michael Weinkoop, and the names of so many other missing or murdered persons?
          This phenomenon of valuing some lives above others is true in health care. Top-notch health care, like that found at the Mayo Clinic or at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, benefit what kind of patients? Those with the money or with good insurance who can pay for this excellent care! Who generally gets the finest health care, especially preventive care? Those who can afford to pay for it or who have good insurance! In other words, the wealthy can afford to assign top value to their own lives by their unlimited health care options. The health care that US polticians get is said to be the best. In stark contrast, what sort of health care do so many poor and marginalized people get? Often they get none at all because they can't afford insurance or because so many doctors and health care settings will not participate in their state's Medicaid program. This is understandable because of low government re-imbursement and government "red tape." But this is so unfortunate for so many poor people, as so many of them are more likely than more affluent people, to die of preventable diseases because of their lack of access to affordable health care. In plain terms, you can die from the lack of health care!
          This sad tendency to prefer some some lives over others is seen in the dollar amounts in settlements. In one case, years ago, one woman stepped in front of a train, waiting for the train to run over her. However, she survived. Claiming postpartum depression as her defense, she won a huge settlement of $13 million! On the other hand, I have seen cases of wrongful death suits where the plaintiffs won far smaller settlements of $100,000 or less! Why? The deceased persons involved were older and had underlying medical or mental health issues. Message? Our lives are seen as more valuable when we are young and healthy.
          This sad phenomenon is seen in the ever-present tendency of life insurance companies to deny coverage to applicants who have underlying health issues or unhealthy lifestyles. I can understand denying coverage to those who choose basically unhealthy lifestyles. But medical conditions are not the choice of the applicants or the choice of those whom they are taking out life insurance policies for. The sad fact is that medical conditions are seen as financial liabilities for life insurance companies and so their lives seen as less valuable. And this is also seen in the tendency of many health insurance companies to to deny coverage to any person with a "pre-existing condition." President Obama's health care plan is set up to address this, as when "Obamacare" takes effect, as expected, in 2014, health insurance companies are expected to accept new members with pre-exising conditions and not make them go through a waiting period.
          This phenomenon is seen in our criminal justice sytem. Who are able to hire to best attorneys to represent them and to compel judges and juries to rule in their favor? To net them the biggest cash settlements? To defend them in criminal cases? To spare them the death penalty, long prison sentences or even any prison? The wealthy and celebrities! O. J. Simpson is the prime example of an accused murderer who was able to avoid a murder conviction because he could afford to hire a "dream team." Yes, he is now in prison because he was convicted of an armed robbery. On the other hand, many poor people, especially those who are minorities, with invisible disabilities, find themselves convicted much more often than their counterparts. Also, they are much less able to afford good attorneys and othen have to use public defenders in criminal cases. Sadly, it is they who are much more likely to be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Currently, a young man with autism and friom a poor family of color, Reginald "Neli" Latson, is serving prison time, being convicted of assault on a police officer. This is even though Neli steadfastly maintains that he did not have a gun in his possession and was acting in self-defense. He is just one such example.
          Death shows us that we are all equal, as every one of us, no matter who we are, will die. As I write this, the singer, Whitney Houston, has been dead for hours and at the age of 48. This is today's ultimate illustration that we are all equal, not only when we are conceived but when we die. It is too bad that it takes tragedy to make us see things more clearly and most of all, to see people as they really are. And even more, it is sad that it takes tragedy to get us to see our need for God Who has created us as equal.
          The death of Whitney Houston is tragic, not because she was a very talented celebrity with a gorgeous voice but first of all, because she was a human being. Just as would be and is the case with each of us.