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Deborah James has had 17 tumors in her life (Photo: Rex Features)
A former Supreme Court Justice and colon cancer activist told a woman with stage four colon cancer that her life was worth less than anyone else’s.
Speaking today on the big issues, Lord Jonathan Sumption told podcaster Deborah James that he believes not all lives are worth the same and that people should be able to live normally while the elderly and vulnerable are isolated.
Miss James is the host of the You, Me and the Big C podcast and is a survivor of 17 tumors. His last cancer surgery was only six weeks ago.
During their conversation, Mrs James pointed out to Lord Sumbur that he had declared that his life was not worth living because of his cancer diagnosis. He said: I didn’t say your life wasn’t valuable, I said it was less valuable.
He also made a comment during the show: Not all lives have the same value: the older you are, the less yours is worth, because there is less left.
said Ms. James in response: Who are you to enjoy life? From my point of view, and I think from the point of view of many others, life is sacred, and I don’t think we should be making these kinds of decisions. Every life is worth saving, no matter what kind of life people lead.
I am fully aware of this and have seen with my own eyes and said goodbye to my closest friends about the stakes Covid causes, but at the same time I am grateful to be someone who is kept alive by the NHS.
Lord Sumption served in the Supreme Court until 2018 (Photo: )
Just six weeks ago, I was in intensive care for cancer surgery that got me back on my feet, and without it, I wouldn’t be here. We need to protect the NHS to ensure a minimum guarantee for all medical conditions.
Lord Sumption stated that there is no correlation between locations and a reduction in coronavirus deaths. He said: Instead of isolating the elderly and the weak who need it, we decided to isolate everyone.
The argument is that if young, healthy and fit people take Covid, they will pass it on to the old and the weak, but that is not true, because the old and the weak can isolate themselves if they want to.
He is 72 years old and will serve on the Supreme Court until 2018. He has long been critical of ministers who control much of daily life. He said Boris Johnson and his war cabinet had gone further than the leaders with their restrictions.
Mrs James believes life is sacred (Photo: )
In response to Mrs James’ criticism, Lord Sumption then insisted that her comments had been taken out of context. He continued: I strongly resist any suggestion that Ms. James was less valuable because she had cancer.
I thought she was responding to my earlier comments about protecting the elderly with a total lockdown that is very damaging to the young and the uninvolved.
This damage may be related to their mental health, either from working with students or from losing their job. I said that young people should not be forced to protect old people like me.
If Ms. James misinterpreted the situation, I can only apologize to her, because I did not mean to imply that it was less valuable. Sometimes it can be difficult to hear what the other person is saying during a video call.
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