In his essay, Schneiderman accepts the premise that a system that provides medical care based upon judgments of an individual’s ‘social worth’ would be problematic. He argues that his view, which defines each person’s ‘decent minimum’ package of care based upon features of her life, does not create a “hierarchy of ‘merit or wealth or social worth’ as a standard for distributing life-sustaining benefits.”
Based upon the way Schneiderman writes about it, what does ‘social worth’ seem to mean in this context? Carefully consider the way Schneiderman’s view works, including his answers to other objections he anticipates. Is he correct in his self-defense? If so, what more should he say to make clearer how he avoids the trap of employing judgments of ‘social worth’? If he is not correct, and his self-defense fails, explain how ‘social worth’ is still creeping into his system.