The Value of a Human Life

Lately, I've been put in many situations where I was forced to look at human lives from a monetary point of view. It's unsettling and it feels taboo, but in this world we live in sometimes it's unavoidable.

Getting proper medical care costs money. Often, there's no guarantee that getting medical care could save the person in need of help, so you have to weigh out the pros and cons carefully. Most people can't afford to spend 10k on a relative who might die anyways.

I have a lot of family members who are poor and live in a developing country. Hospitals there are poorly equipped. A while ago, several of them got in a very bad car accident and some of them may be left crippled for life if they can't find money quickly. Yesterday another one started having chest pain that radiated down his left arm. They tested his EKG and let him go home, but he needs more tests. An EKG isn't sufficient, it only shows that there's something wrong if the heart has already been damaged. They didn't even do a blood test! And I have two other relatives over in another country who are getting care that is very inferior to what they could get in America. One of them may die of a heart attack soon if he doesn't get a pacemaker in the very near future and there's no guarantee that the doc will give him one. We're preparing for his death. The other one has trouble finding a doctor who is willing to deal with her because she's severely mentally handicapped and she won't stand still for tests. We don't know when she'll drop dead, but we've been expecting it for quite a while.

It feels like because of my greed, people I care about are going to die. I want to bring all these people over to America for treatment, but I can't. Even if I funded their healthcare it might not help, and then my sacrifice would have been a waste. I know it's not my fault. I know it's not my responsibility to take care of them. But I feel guilty anyways.

I hate thinking of people's lives in terms of dollar signs but it's just a fact that often, money = health and longevity. I'm scared. I don't like this world.