Of course, they don’t call it murder – it is mercy killing. But not really even mercy killing. In fact, now, doctor-assisted suicide has moved to a place that is a bit hard to categorize.
We have all heard the arguments of those who think terminally ill patients who are in pain should have the right to commit doctor-assisted suicide. But as horrible as that is, Belgium has gone one better. That country allows any person who is over the age of 18 and wishes to die, to be put to death legally by a doctor.
In fact, last month (December) two deaf twin brothers, 45 years of age, who were otherwise completely healthy, decided to end their lives. They had a cup of coffee together, said goodby to family members, and walked away to their deaths at the hands of their doctors. Their reason for doing so …? They were diagnosed with some kind of eye issue and were going blind. When they realized that they would be unable to visually see each other ever again, they decided to just end their lives.
Do you think Belgium is an anomaly? Not so much. Doctor-assisted suicide is also legal in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. But that kind of thing could never happen in the U.S., right? Wrong again. While it has not yet moved to suicide for any reason, doctor-assisted suicide is already legal in Washington, Oregon and Montana. Somebody needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
Does anyone else here see the slippery slope? If it can be justified for one reason you can bet it will be extended to other reasons. It started with killing people in pain and moved to killing anyone who wants to die. And if you think it could not go any further, Belgium is now considering a law that would extend euthanasia to dementia patients and children whose families and doctors consented.
The naturalistic worldview has already become the foundation for much of American society. Naturalism includes such belief systems as Atheism, Secular Humanism and Postmodernism. It doesn’t accept the existence of God and thus acknowledges no objective moral framework. In Naturalism, morality becomes what society wants it to be. So, even human life has no special value other than what the society deems it to have. With this belief foundation, doctor-assisted suicide for any reason becomes a logical possibility. And logical possibilities easily become legal realities.
We are headed down a very dark road. The only hope is a revival of massive proportions where the nation turns back to belief in the God of the Bible. We, as Christians, have our work cut out for us.