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In May, 1939, Parents from Leipzig asked Adolf Hitler for permission to put their severely disabled child to death. Hitler used this precedent to help him establish the mercy killings of over 275,000 sick, disabled, dying, deformed and mentally challenged men, women and children of Socialist Germany.
That is all it takes in anything...one precedent for something.
When any person does anything...justification can be found for any act.
Called by code name AKtion T4 this act was for Aryan cleansing. Hitler told the German people "If we want beautiful healthy flowers to grow in our garden, we must destroy all the weeds which take all the goodness and give nothing in return." He called the sick and the disabled "useless eaters and life unworthy of life"
First Hitler and many other Germans focused on newborns and children under the age of three. Doctors and nurses were to report all births of babies deemed inferior. The babies were then either starved till death or given lethal injection. Doctors then used brain matter to perform studies "to help prevent more inferior births so this child's death was not in vain providing them justification in the murders.
Soon after disabled children were sent to "Special Sections" and their parents were told that they were going to recieve special care. These children were studied then the severity of their defects then voted on. Life or death by a mere vote! Lethal injections, starvation or other methods were employed. Parents were told their children died from "pneumonia." When some parents figured this out they were threatened if they did not comply.
Then the disabled, elderly and sick adults were added to this list. Over 275,000 died during Hitler's Aryan Cleansing Program. In his play "The First To Go" Nabil Shaban describes how the gas chambers were first used on Germany's sick and disabled. I found a compelling video of the disabled being sent to the Gas Chambers in Germany during WWII on youtube, it was chilling and depressing. We don't hear a lot about the euthanasia of the life unworthy of life. Why, is a curious question?
The question of euthanasia for the disabled and the sick is on going worldwide. In the UK even at the Royal College of OB GYN this debate continues weekly. In 2004 over 1900 mercy killings of sick and the disabled were reported in the UK.
You may say "Oh America will never allow this to happen!" In the United States it is reported that 90% of unborn babies with birth defects, etc. have been aborted simply because they will have a life unworthy of life. That means only 10% of these disabled babies are allowed to live. The precedent has been set. More than once. Justification has come in many forms.
In 2005 a 4 year old severely disabled little boy, Dylan Walborn died. He did not die due to his disabilities or even sickness. Instead the staff at the Denver Children's Hospital, a Social Worker and his parents made this choice for him. He was deemed to have a 'life unworthy of life' no matter how it is justified, that is how it was. He was not killed by injection the choice was made to starve him to death. He did not die in a day or even a week. It took over 23 days to starve him to death. A Denver Post reporter was present during most of the time it took this little boy to die. He was also supporter of this decision and documented the families great faith and love for Dylan that gave them the strength to do this act of love for their child. It only took Terri Schivao 14 days to die by this method. So for two people who lived lives unworthy of life, they had a lot of fight in them to live as long as they did.
In another American case, Chelsa Craig was given a lethal dose of drugs by her mother Rachel in 2001 and died. A judge ruled that Rachel Craig was not responsible in her daughters murder. Tracy Latimer, a disabled child was also murdered by her father. We all have heard of several stories of parents who have refused medical attention to their children through the years. There are several more. There are also examples of adult children choosing to allow the mercy killings of their parents in nursing homes. We have heard it all. BUT if you combine these stories then look at the picture, how do you feel about it then? Americans have become used to news stories like this so the shhock value is gone when you only hear of one or two mercy killings here and there.
Several laws have been passed that may give a hint of what might be in the future for Disabled Americans. Even Pro-abortion activist groups have said they would not oppose a bill that will help reduce the number of abortions of babies who are potentially afflicted with Down's Syndrome, etc.! Oregon voters approved the Death With Dignity Act in 1994 being the first state to do so. Washington voters voted to approve this Act in 2008. Now is it possible that doctors and nurses who do not agree with abortion will be forced to attend or perform abortions or lose their jobs. In this economy! Precedents have been set! Will Americans allow this to happen in America? We already are.
