God save us from economists and bioethicists

A little while back, over at DailyKos, Yucatan Man noted the case of Tirhas Habtegiris, a terminally-ill young woman who was conscious and responsive when removed from a respirator and allowed to die, since she couldn’t pay her hospital bills. According to WFAA, Dallas-Fort Worth, the woman was entirely prepared to die, but asked to be kept alive until her mother could be brought from Africa to say farewell. Pursuant to a law signed by George W. Bush when he was governor of Texas, Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano apparently refused the request and pulled the plug.

This morning, in Slate, we have Steven Landsburg, carefully missing the point that Yucatan Man is trying to make.

Yucatan Man, of course, is trying to point out the massive hypocrisy of people who will turn the world upside down to save the life of Terri Schiavo, a woman who tragically would never again be sentient, but won’t spend a dime or a nano-second to protect the life of a woman who is eminently aware and knows very well that she is being told to die because she lacks the cash to be kept alive a few more days.

Yucatan Man is telling us to remember these events the next time we hear from the so-called "moral" or "Christian" right.

I am not prepared to say that we should pay everyone's ventilator costs forever. Nor did Yucatan Man. I’m not naïve enough to believe that infinite resources exist. But Steven Landsburg's ability to frame all of this in strict economic terms is, quite frankly, terrifying. As bad as the religious right is, if they were at least consistent, their views would be preferable to Mr. Landsburg's icy view of the world.

My prayer for today: God save us from economists and bioethicists.