Is this biased reporting?

[Chaerophon]

Who makes that assumption? I find that a hard concept to wrap my head around. My life is worth more than the life of a convicted murderer. My contributions far outweigh his in context of civil society's aims: a social framework wherein we pretty much get along. That matter of worth is subjective, not objective, in any case, and I don't think it sound to presume it to be absolute.

But where does your principle come from?

Is that really the way that we define equality in a constitutional state? Your murderer example is a bit of a red herring - on a personal level, I agree with your point, but I don't think that it ought to stand in the way of protective principle. When handing out donor hearts, does it make sense - is it 'just' - to always give it to the highest bidder? Is the 'worth' of a wealthy entrepreneur really calculable in that sense? Can policy be justified on that basis in a democratic society? Certainly America is a meritocracy of sorts, but its foundations rely on a certain populist egalitarianism. One person, one vote has implications beyond the ballot box.

Right to life is not conditional on one's means. This principle is what separates the liberal democratic state from oligarchy. If we attempt to defend liberal democratic structures on utilitarian grounds we end up with a mess. Simply put, we don't think about our rights, about our constitutional entitlements, in utilitarian terms. My rights do not exist as a means to the betterment of the whole; my rights are mine alone, as a condition of my citizenship. If the general betterment of the whole is some kind of a positive externality, then all the better.

Finally, if not some deontological liberal constitution-based model, then who is the judge? How do we determine 'merit' when it comes to the provision of health care? In capitalist society, the fallback is wealth, and wealth alone cannot be the arbiter of 'deservedness' in protecting the right to life. Sure, I'll accept that the surgeon has greater utility-based importance to society than the professional welder - but on what basis do we make such calculations, and who is the calculator? The deeper implications of such reasoning can become very troubling.