Keith Burgess-Jackson

To the Editor:

Peter Singer (“A Convenient Truth,” Op-Ed, Jan. 26) supports subjecting “Ashley,” a profoundly intellectually disabled girl, to surgical and hormonal interventions to keep her small.

In backing her parents’ decision, he asserts that she has value only “because her parents and siblings love her and care about her.”

By denying Ashley’s equal moral worth simply for being human, Mr. Singer opens the door to the potential for terrible oppression.

After all, if we must demonstrate minimal capacities to earn full moral status, the entire concept of universal human rights becomes untenable.

Wesley J. Smith
Castro Valley, Calif., Jan. 26, 2007
The writer, a senior fellow in bioethics at the Discovery Institute, is the author of a book about medical ethics.

Here is Peggy Noonan’s latest column. Here is Peg Kaplan’s latest post.

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