The Dutch continue to stun with their fall off a vertical bioethical cliff: In this installment, a television show will soon air in which three ill contestants vie for the right to the kidney of a terminally ill woman. From the story in the UK’s Guardian:
In the show, due to be broadcast on Friday, a woman identified only as Lisa, 37, will select a recipient based on their history, profile and conversations with their families and friends. Throughout the 80-minute show, viewers will be invited to send Lisa text messages to advise her.
This is voyeurism on a scale that boggles the mind. It turns the serious issue of the ethics of organ transplant into a game show. It denies intrinsic human dignity in that it pits desperate people against each other, clawing and kicking—metaphorically speaking—for life. What kind of a physician would be willing to be part of such a spectacle?
Hey! Here’s an idea: Maybe in the next show they can tie the organ contest with a televised assisted suicide! That would garner the ratings.
But, why worry: It’s just “choice,” right?
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
