Australia: Children With Down Syndrome Not Wanted
This is shameful eugenics, morally akin in my view, to laws in the USA that barred disfavored nationalities and Jews in the years running up to World War II. A German family has asked for permanent residency in Australia and the country said no because their son has Down syndrome. From the story:
A German doctor hoping to gain permanent residency in Australia said Friday he will fight an immigration department decision denying his application because his son has Down syndrome.Of course it is discrimination, the new eugenics bigotry justified by "health care costs."Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with his family two years ago to help fill a doctor shortage in a rural area of Victoria state. His temporary work visa is valid until 2010, but his application for permanent residency was rejected this week. The immigration department said Moeller's 13-year-old son, Lukas, "did not meet the health requirement."
"A medical officer of the Commonwealth assessed that his son's existing medical condition was likely to result in a significant and ongoing cost to the Australian community," a departmental spokesman said in a statement issued Thursday by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. This is not discrimination. A disability in itself is not grounds for failing the health requirement--it is a question of the cost implications to the community," the statement said.
If you think not, let's try a mind experiment: Would Australia ever deny permanent residence to a family whose child had HIV? The outcry would be heard in the States.
This eugenic tide is flowing, not ebbing, and people with Down are prime targets; of eugenic abortion, of medical neglect after birth, of infanticide, of health care rationing, of futile care theory, and now of refused immigration. Such are the consequences of rejecting human exceptionalism and embracing the bigotry intrinsic to the "quality of life" ethic.
Labels: Down Syndrome. Discrimination. Human Exceptionalism. Australia.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 9:20 AM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Yes Wesley, We in Oz are not immune to the Futile Care theory. The people gave "The Greens" party a couple of seats in the senate and they have been busy spreading Euthanasia and Abortion bills.
I can't say i'm surprised at this decision. As noted, the idiot greens are causing all sorts of problems (can't we just make them truly green, perhaps using a woodchipper and letting them "get back to nature" as fertilizer ?).
But in one sense, I think the decision is reasonable. We have socialised medicine in Australia, so a child with Down's Syndrome is a tax burden. I agree the decision is disgusting, but this is inevitably the price you pay for socialised medicine.
This is another danger of a healthcare system which is publicly funded - the tendency of governments to regard their citizens as financial ciphers.
Insurance companies have nothing on governments for budget-conscious cruelty when they feel like cutting costs.
sparcvark - true. I've heard of some indefensible things insurance companies have done, but I've never heard of one denying payment and suggesting suicide, as the State of Oregon did.
Why doesn't the fact that 90 percent of unborn kids with down syndrome are aborted not change the public's outlook on abortion? Does the 'woman's right to choose' mantra trump ethical and moral considerations? When I found out the disturbing fact in my first sentence, I can't help but feel that abortion is an extremely cruel practice.
Jason-I'm shocked that you would give any credence at all to such blatant hatred/discrimination.
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