3. THE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF HUMAN DIGNITY, ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES, AND THE
3.4. HUMAN DIGNITY AS A CONCEPT IN THE AFRICAN DEBATE
3.5.4. HUMAN DIGNITY AS EQUITY
The idea of human dignity as equity has its roots in the notion of justice.659 It is closely related to the notion of fair distribution of benefits from health and social development, as Mamdouh Gabr put it in his presentation entitled: “Health Ethics, Equity and Human
656 Niebuhr, R.H., (1963), The Responsible Self, in Joseph Fletcher, Moral Responsibility: Situation Ethics at Work, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 231.
657 Ibid.
658 Ibid.
659 Department of Public Information, (2008), Human Rights Day: Dignity and Justice for All of Us, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 1948-2008, Geneva: UN Web Services, in http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2008/declaration.shtml, Posted on December 15, 20:27 GMT.
Dignity.660 In consideration of the subject matter, i.e. children with disabilities can actualize their dignity as human beings if there is fair distribution of the resources available. The nature of children’s status requires special attention and their condition makes them automatically qualify as beneficiaries of the available resources. By default, priority ought to be given to them. Based on the principles of justice, children with disabilities deserve what is due to them. Tillich once said, ‘You are a person and you will remain a person, and you are hence-forth and forever to be treated by your fellows as a person’.661 This is a quest for consideration which ought to be accorded to children with disabilities. The rules of social justice about children with disabilities call us to more concern and treatment.662 We may all need equal treatment, but on a higher level, others i.e. children with disabilities may need more urgent treatment. Tillich’s understanding of justice is rather different compared to the above notion of justice. He understood justice as two-fold: he says since I am a person like every person God has made, I therefore claim the right to be treated like every other person i.e. equally.663 This might be the ordinary sense of justice that we are all accustomed to and we always refer to it when things go wrong. We often tend to appeal to this notion of justice in matters and spheres of human life. Further to the above notion of justice, Tillich informs us of another form of justice which he called it equity by saying that since I am in my own person unique, distinguishable from all others, I claim the right to be treated as myself, unequally to others.”664 This is what we could consider as justice at a higher level. The understanding is that we are all created by God and this creation is a complex one. It has taken different forms in each person. The treatment accorded to each one ought to be equal, but also different, due to the basic needs of a person. Emil Brunner stated that it is only by comprehending the order of creation as the basis of all justice that we can understand why both the humanity shared by all and the specific nature of the individual constitute a claim, a right which must be acknowledged and in acknowledgement of which justice consists.665 To this note there exists a strong emphasis on the specific nature of the individual which claims a unique acknowledgement. Children with disabilities may belong to this category.
They require special social and medical attention, different from the ordinary. Their claim is
660 Gabr, M., (2012), Professor of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Paper Presentation on Health Ethics, Equity and Human Dignity at Cairo University, Egypt. 2.
661 Tillich, P., (1960), Love, Power and Justice, New York: Oxford University Press, 78.
662 Montano, F., (2016), Social Justice and Family Policy: Children with Disabilities, in http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-justice-family-policy-children-disabilities-franklin-montano, Posted on December 15, 20:44 GMT.
663 Tillich, P., (1960), Love, Power and Justice, New York: Oxford University Press, 78.
664 Ibid.
665 Brunner, E., (1945), Justice and the Social Order, New York: Harper and Brothers, 50.
grounded on the divine call to love which raises our response to this call.666 Importance ought to be given to the need to be aware of how to make a balance on how we execute the demands of justice.
The present research gave priority to the second option, i.e. justice as equity. Regarding children with disabilities, the concept of human dignity as equity fits very well to resolve the problem and therefore requires an ethical review, about other concepts given above. As Mamdouh Gabr puts it, justice as equity is one of the major issues that require all systems in the religious and government sectors to take seriously, to solve the problem of inequalities among people.667 There is a need to realise that we are living in a complex world, with millions of advances in the fields of medicine, bio-sciences, and bio-technologies, which have brought about serious bio-ethical questions that still need research. The concept of human dignity as equity could be one of the new ethical approaches to the current dilemma facing some of the families in KwaZulu-Natal who are living with children with disabilities.
This could be one of our human efforts to discover and justify some of our actions towards these infants. We ought to raise awareness among people concerning the plight of children with disabilities in the region. We consider that the concept of human dignity as equity may be pivotal in keeping the scale of justice balanced against the weight of absolutistic collectivism.668
3.5.4.1. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT
The idea of human dignity as equity ought to have an evolutional progression of the principles of justice, moving from equality to equity.669 It is more understanding justice and might be one of the best concepts that would consider the dilemma that exists which most families face when they are burdened with the birth of a child with disabilities.
Unfortunately, the understanding of justice as equity also poses a serious challenge. Specific decisions regarding the plight of children with disabilities in some cases over-look the concept, due to various medical limitations and health care infrastructures that could best be suited to deal with the existential problem at hand. It is often difficult to determine who is
666 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, (2004), Article Nos. 1934-1938.
667 Gabr, M., (2012), Paper Presentation on Health Ethics, Equity, and Human Dignity at Cairo University.
Egypt.
668 Stob, H., (1978), Ethical Reflections: Essays on Moral Themes, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 133.
669 Montano, F., (2016), Social Justice and Family Policy: Children with Disabilities, in http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-justice-family-policy-children-disabilities-franklin-montano, Posted on December 15, 20:44 GMT.
the most vulnerable group of people that may require to be given priority. For instance, Gabr asked:
“Who are the sick people? Are they those who are the most socially deprived or is it a certain group of people such as children with challenges? Are they those who exhibit congenital disabilities or those who are deaf whose inherent vulnerability renders them powerless?”670
There is a serious problem with how to gauge equity especially in the context of other existing socio-economic and cultural challenges. This brings about other complications regarding the determination of health care services and the beneficiaries.
On another level, the concept of human dignity as equity may create another problem, i.e.
the various forms of biases that might result in social divisions and hatred. The concept may leave us with another dilemma, how do we consider the needs of the most vulnerable people in society without overlooking the other basic needs of the community at large, in view of the limited resources available? The present research acknowledged the positive progress of the different concepts and, at the same time, realised the limitations associated with each concept so far studied.