Cruelty is the worst of all human vices. The intentional infliction of pain upon others, when done at the individual level, is called murder, manslaughter, or assault and is illegal under domestic law. On a mass scale, when directed against an ethnic group, it is genocide under international law. Both are wrong and illegal.

The Trump administration and congressional decisions to cut USAID, as well as many domestic social welfare programs, will result in the injury, suffering, or death of millions. This is policycide. It should be illegal. Policycide is the policy choice to pass laws or enact programs that either intentionally or reasonably should be seen by government officials as harming people, even causing their deaths or serious bodily injury.

Let us consider some facts. According to the British medical journal The Lancet, a significant cut in USAID funding—such as that proposed by the Trump administration—could lead to millions of additional deaths, particularly among children under the age of five. The study estimates that more than 14 million........

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