Specifically, it will unfold the hypothesis that a theological reading of selected Genesis narratives enables us to formulate an anthropological account of the good life which resists attempts to diminish the grave nature of illness, on the one hand, and approaches which devalue life with a disability, on the other. Hence, the paper will address different scholarly proposals concerning the relationship between disability, happiness, and abortion. As noted above, the issue plays an important role in discussions of selective reproduction. Furthermore, this theologico-ethical matter should not be investigated in theoretical isolation. This will help us to a) resist a mere historical-exegetical approach and to b) add an eschato-logical viewpoint to our analysis. Specifically, I will study selected Genesis narratives presenting a proto-logical vision of the good human life within a salvation-historical framework of creation and redemption. In the present paper, I will examine the assumption that the absence of suffering constitutes a “good life” worthy to be lived by biblically and theologically investigating the properties and characteristics of such a life. Moreover, it raises the question of how Christians should understand and delimit this significant concept.
In discussions of issues such as prenatal screening, selective reproduction, or the choosing (or not-choosing) of children with diseases, scholars often presuppose that the experience of disability or prolonged suffering hinders well-being and cannot be reconciled with the concept of the “good life.” Such reasoning not only degrades the lives of people with disabilities as unworthy to be lived but also puts women under pressure to undergo screening and possible termination processes in order to prevent the existence of a purportedly not-good life. The “good life” represents an important concept for bioethical thinking.
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