From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Wed Jul 13 2005 - 00:13:45 BST
On 12 Jul 2005 at 13:49, Platt Holden wrote:
>
> msh 7-6-05:
> I didn't formalize it because it is obvious, or should be. When
> someone dies as a result of being refused life-saving treatment,
> they are being deprived of life. If the government allows this
> to happen without showing legal cause, then the government has
deprived
> someone of life without the due process of law.
platt 7-10-05:
If someone dies as the result of his neighbor refusing to donate
blood and the government fails to force the neighbor to give blood,
then the government has deprived someone of life without due
process. Hard to believe that anyone would make such an argument.
msh 7-10-05:
No one is making that argument. We're talking about taxes, not
blood. Governments, through due process of law, collect taxes to
provide any number of things: police, fire, and other emergency
services, roads, sewage systems, water systems. Not to mention
less critical services such as schools, libraries, museums, parks.
My argument is that, unless life-saving health services are included
in this list, our government permits the deprivation of human life
without the due process of law.
platt 7-12-05:
That's precisely the argument you're making because once you go down
that road of forcing others by law to "save lives," there's no
stopping. Thankfully there's no such law and thus your due process
argument is absurd.
msh 7-12-05:
Your slippery slope has proved to be non-existent. We already
collect taxes for police, fire and EMT services, and thus are
"forcing others by law" to save lives. Why should a tax-based system
for providing life-saving medical services be regarded differently?
In fact, since most police work is about protecting property, it
could be argued that a tax-based health system that will positively
affect millions of lives is an even higher moral priority than most
police services.
What is your MOQ-based moral justification for tax-based police and
fire services? And why does it not apply to life-saving medical
services?
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
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