The price of a human life has never been properly assessed, and a man as a value has neither been sufficiently learned nor protected. Though seeming illogical but, if the human life is under-evaluated, more extensively and lethally endangered, then it gives way to different approaches and methods to be developed in order to determine the man like a value (price) of material and social substance.
Extensive research is being carried out in different countries on the value of a statistical life (VSL). Determination of material values of a human’s life is claimed to be immoral, since it is having the highest and even undeterminable value. However, determination of the price of a human life is essential in legal proceedings, fixing compensations in cases of bodily injuries or even in lethal cases; in life insurance and social security; by planning and implementing health care and human security measures.
It is important to admit, that on one hand any approaches, methods and attempts to calculate the price of human life, especially from economic and political aspect, might be considered as unacceptable and immoral. Why? First of all, the human life is the greatest value and is undeterminable and cannot be assessed. Secondly, the human life is determined according to the age, professional affiliations, sex, acquired education, as well as the place of living and socially economic situation in the respective country. The price of human life is calculated also according to a person’s income and job position. To what extent is it acceptable? Statistics, mean indices and formulas used in calculations seem not to be related to our emotions and the scale of our moral values.
On the other hand, however, lack of calculations fixing the price of a human’s life and the corresponding methods can result in immoral and deeply problematic situation. How to evaluate the price of hundreds of lost human lives in traffic accidents? How to calculate the amount of remuneration for lost lives at the working place (in construction sites, in forests)? Or, what losses have to be covered and what compensations paid to the relatives whose dear ones have been killed in military missions or in warfare, or in terrorist acts? Would not there be still ways and need to define some specific approaches, as well as to recognize methods for determining the price of a human’s life?
In ancient Egypt male slaves were worth of approximately $ 32,000 (in current costs). During Roman Empire a gladiator (a slave) was worth $2,080, respectively. In America in 1850 –a 10-year-old boy (a slave) was worth $ 8,100. Essentially, it was not the price of a human life, but it was the man’s own material value. But, to a certain extent, a human’s material value was equivalent to the price of a human life. A potential price of a human life in Latvia has been set, as well.
According to a lawyer Gita Miruškina’ data, the lowest price for which a girl has sold herself by fictitious marriage is 200 EUR.
For the first time the approach in evaluation the price of a human life was developed in the United Kingdom and the USA in the fifties of the 20th century. The development of the method was targeted at assessing the costs in cases of traffic accidents, carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The price of a human life was attributed to the costs, the products developed and services rendered, which could not be acquired, or received in lethal cases, or as a result of disabilities in traffic accidents. The price of a human life, in fact, corresponds to the amount of human capital which can be equal to the value added what a man is accomplishing during his/her lifetime.
In the sixties of the last century, the average American or British driver was found to estimate his/her life six times higher, in comparison to the total income, which a person could acquire by working till the end of life. Taking into account these data, it has been calculated, that the average cost of a Luxembourg inhabitant was worth $ 5000000, correspondingly – Swedish $ 2600000, $ 2400000 – the UK inhabitant and Portuguese – $ 2300000. The estimates mentioned are based on the approach that the price of a human life is attributed to his/her wages earned during the lifetime. This approach provides that the average price of a human life is similar to the corresponding average national salary and the likelihood of death within a year. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget estimates the price of a human life in the range of $ 7000000 to $ 9000000.
In recognizing the price of a human life one can use different methods (resource use; statistical methods; a method to determine the human capital; questionnaires, etc.). In the fields of medicine, jurisprudence, economy, informative technologies and social services the price of a human life can be estimated on the basis of the respective work priorities and specificity of the field. In some countries special investigation methods are used. For example, in Great Britain Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) index is used – a human year of life in good health (£30,000). The price of a human life defined by Kinetic Energy (EK) is 3.1 million EUR, the USA – 4.8 million USD. In the cases of decline of life expectancy due to the death by EK calculations – one year bears losses of 73 000 EUR, which is related to a human’s age. The price of a human life is determined correspondingly to his/her age, sex, educational level, acquired qualification and social status.
The price of a human life is estimated on the basis of the balance of material benefits stored, as well as used by a respective generation. The respective generation’ profitability, its ability to provide for and store material values for future generations are determined. Statistical evaluation of the price of an average human life, considering the usefulness theory.
Premature death, loss of work abilities point to the decrease of a human’s public usefulness. Public usefulness promotes the rise of an individual and national income. The human economic usefulness is calculated also by determining Gross domestic product per capita. An individual’s premature death, especially the number of violent deaths, can decrease the GDP. R. Renemani’s in his thesis, by giving socially economic assessment of the Latvian oncology system, using DALY method, admits that mortality and incapacity for work (including disability) impose a burden to the national economy.
Setting one’s life and health values, people are ready to invest into provision of their life and health. Life and health security is organized basing on the individual assessments, by determining one’s own price of life, by personal life insurance, and also by corporative and collective insurance. If in the first case the investments into the life insurance depend on a human’s material capacities and subjective wishes, then in the corporative insurance cases, the life and health insurance in some fields is regulated by some laws and is done imperatively.
This is the method which is applied to estimate the prognosis of probability distribution, based on appropriate statistical databases when determining the quantifiable values. The price of a human life is calculated on the basis of average GDP indices. When calculating the price of a human life and using mathematical formulas, and determining the potential human life expectancy (death), there is calculated a human’s material value. Actuary approach method is most commonly used in the human life and health insurance.
Human life is considered to be a much higher value than movable and immovable property. Thereby, we can say that there is a difference between the post-Soviet value system and the Western European traditional culturally-historical system. In the context mentioned, the insurers are not interested in persons over 55 years of age, who are quite commonly perceived as “the walking dead men”. In earlier times there had been kept a coffin in the attic – ready for hard times. Such a kind of long-term thinking would be useful today as well.
The price of a human life can be evaluated, to a certain extent, by the medical criteria too. On one hand, they would include the expenses for health care, payments for medical and pharmaceutical services. Such expenses are quite individual and related to a series of different individual needs (inheritance, day mode, diet, type of work, etc.). With age the expenses for medical services and the use of different medicines for provision of good health increase. On the other hand, we have to consider the medical aspect, in which by recognizing the human as a value, one has to deal with the value of human organs as well, when looking for the donors and when undertaking the organ transplantations.
At present we have not got any data on how the people appreciate their health and for what sum of money they would like to sell some of their internal organs. At present the human organ prices are varied. For instance, the human retina costs from $5000 to 100000, spinal cord is evaluated from $15000 to 300000, part of the liver – $50 000, price for the kidney from $ 30 000 to 120000 (depending on the donor’s age and health),the ovum – $650–1000, the heart – about $250 000.
The known Russian criminologist Vladimirs Ovˇcinskis admits, that at present it is dangerous for criminal structures to develop the people killing conveyor with an aim to get the necessary organs from their bodies, since it is troublesome and time-consuming. But, now a new segment for the human organ restoration or transplantation is being organized – the human organ and tissue self-cloning. Cloned organisms or their elements might substitute damaged human organs, replacing criminal organs or tissue extraction.
On March 8, 2005, the UNO adopted the Declaration Nr.59/280 “On Human Cloning”, by which Member States were called on to adopt all measures necessary to prohibit all forms of human cloning in as much as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life. However, research ethics in respect to reproductive and therapeutic cloning is perceived and appreciated differently.
At the same time more and more commonly 3 D printers are used for different organ three dimensional printing. To do the necessary organ printing one needs: cells; biomaterial matrix and special culture medium. Cells are placed on the biomaterial and then kept in a special culture medium. Now 3-D printer is successfully producing animal bone elements, muscles, etc. The USA medical centre Wake Forest has developed the methods in the use of 3-D printer. Thereby, the number of human murders to get their organs or tissues for further transplantation might decrease.
Another, slightly different approach while evaluating the human price is based on the chemical elements which make up the human body. The French chemists identified the chemical substances which are in the human body. According to the estimates, the human body contains 860 g phosphorus, 300 g sulphur, 210 g potassium, 100 g sodium, as well as one gram magnesium, iron, fluorine, zinc, copper and several milligrams of iodine, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, chrome, selenium. A human body possesses only 5–7 kg of solids and 90% water. Thus, considering the present costs of chemical products, we can judge, that substances of which the human body consists of, do not exceed $145. Medical approach indicates that the human body, which consists of functionally very important organs, is undoubtedly much more valuable than the value of separate chemical components. Estimates show that by selling each body organ or tissues separately, all in all, it may reach up to $45000000! It is also possible to learn the price of the human life in relation to the still unborn persons.
One can state that possible harm which occurs as a result of legal and criminal abortions. In democratic society the human body is recognized to belong solely to a person himself/herself. It can be controlled only by a person himself/herself and not by any other forces. However, from the theological aspect – abortion is not only a sin, but a murder as well. Not only an unborn baby is murdered, but the person doing it gets deformed by performing abortion according to the spiritual value system. No doubt, that there can be exceptions in these cases too: a newborn might have a form of a severe disease; childbirth may be endangered by complications and the mother’s life as well, etc. Relatively, a still unborn baby’s price of life can be equalled to an average value of a human life. When referring to the price of a child’s health, in some sources we can read, that embryos of the unborn babies are used in catering, considering it as a special dish. The price of the respective food is from $ 430 to 570. From criminological and morally-ethical aspects it would be unacceptable.
It is possible to choose different approaches and methods for determining the prices of the human life. When applying them, and by considering a person’s age, level of education, and other parameters, we can define the average, as well as the most exact person’ price of life.. And yet – does the calculation of the price of the human life make a man more valuable? Does the society, by declaring a man as a basic value, sufficiently protect and take care of this value?