My adopted son was born premature, and I'm currently doing a daily sabbatical to check on him. By all rights, he shouldn't be alive. One of the brighter moments of being an American right now is standing in a room full of babies whose lives hinge on our willingness to fund Medicaid. Every one of these beds is costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours to maintain. And people are dedicating their entire careers to bringing early newborns off the brink of death.

Its put a whole new spin on the ideas of natalism and anti-natalism. So easy to see some chud troll on the internet saying we should pull the plug, because none of these kids "consented" to keep breathing. But then you've got rooms full of compassion and care and joy, as these medical workers weenie all these little guys and girls into the world with the power of modern medicine. Stunning and majestic. The NICU Ward should be on the god damned American Flag. Its a testament to our greatness.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Just to clarify, I'm not advocating for any baby to be taken off life support, that's a pretty abhorrent thing to accuse me of, if that's what you meant.

I work in critical care and routinely bring people back from the brink of death. With a living being, unless otherwise stated, their consent to life saving treatment is implied, and I'm happy to give it.

Philosophically, I'm just not convinced that there is such a thing as an implied consent to "make me exist when I don't exist already".