| A closer look to the state of affairs of the elderly in Indonesia has disclosed the fact that the Indonesian elderly facing what this paper is coined as “multiple vulnerabilities.” On the one hand, Indonesian demographic is showing that the Indonesian people are getting old. The fertility rate has significantly decreased since 1970 when the total fertility rate decreases from 5.0 to 2.1 in 2025. This alone gives rise to various problems of the elderly, among whom are the dependency ratio, aging index, potential support ratio, and the feminization of aging. These problems show the level of vulnerability of the Indonesian elderly. From the perspective of the dependency ratio, for example, the number of people under the age of 15 and above 65 who depend on the labor force (15-64 years) has increased since 1970, from 7.0 to 29.0 in 2050. Again, this shows the high level of vulnerability of Indonesian elderly given that the dependency ratio itself has influenced on health care, living arrangements and family support, and so on. Aside from that, the economic burden will be very visible in the workforce. On the other hand, the policies on the elderly are still far from maximum realization. Law on the Welfare of the Elderly (13/1998) has recommended that every hospital must have geriatrics and gerontology section, yet only 8 hospitals fulfill the requirement. The situation is worsened due to the lack of adequate medical staff at the health center, which can serve elderly patients in a professional and humane way. Again, this brings forth the other side of the state of the elderly in Indonesia, which indicates the high level of their vulnerability. In this paper I will analyze the state of vulnerability of the elderly people in Indonesia from the perspective of ethics of vulnerability and personalism. I consider these two approaches as representing all ethical discussion about the ethical treatment of the elderly due to their characters of valuing the elderly as persons with dignity. Thus, this paper will show that the elderly in Indonesia is in danger of not being treated humanely. |