I heard today that the governor of New York is making it a priority to legalize assisted suicide in her state in the coming year. It would make New York the 13th state to legalize it. When this bad idea is rolled out for marketing, it is always framed as compassionate and merciful. But is that really what it is?
This is what happens when the basis for human dignity and purpose grow dim in a society. As our nation has become more secular, as Christianity has waned over the last century, and the influence of Jesus Christ has diminished, scores of other ailments have increased. Assisted suicide is one clear example.
This only makes sense, because with the loss of the Christian worldview has also come the loss of human worth. After all, if humans accidentally evolved from slime as secular thought affirms, what is there to ground the dignity of the person? James Sire has authored several editions of “The Universe Next Door,” a book that outlines the major worldviews in play around the world. I clearly remember that one of his points was that a godless, secular worldview, known as naturalism, will inevitably slide on a slippery slope toward nihilism. Nihilism is the view that there is no God, no meaning, no inherent value, no intrinsic purpose, no right or wrong to the world we live in. The result is the inevitable conclusion that life is meaningless.
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It is this kind of nihilistic thought that is behind the push for the right-to-die because, if life is meaningless, then what viable reason could there be to make suffering and hardship worth it?
Consider the hypocrisy of this line of thinking. First, the medical profession is supposed to be about health care, but this “dignity in dying” is the plain, intentional killing of a person. That’s not health care. Second, we rightly affirm the tragedy and wrongness of suicide, but “medical aid in dying” says in some cases, suicide is a reasonable and good choice. Third, we affirm that everybody’s life is equally important and valuable but then assistance-in-dying clearly signals that some lives are no longer worth living.
But not only is the position self-contradictory and hypocritical, it’s also deeply problematic because it is built on a slippery slope. In every case where the laws have been carved out to make room for medical intervention to hasten death, the right-to-die morphs into the duty-to-die. These laws begin by touting strong protections against abuse … guardrails like “only those who are in excruciating physical pain,” or “only those with untreatable medical conditions” would be eligible for assistance in dying. But inevitably, the boundaries expand. For instance, about two years ago, the Dutch government broadened the scope of its assistance-in-dying laws to include terminally ill children up to 12 years old, who can now be put to death without consent. In Canada, a 27-year-old woman was granted permission to end her life, not because she had a terminal medical diagnosis but because she had autism. For more examples, search Belgium.
None of this is surprising considering the dwindling influence of Christianity on our society. However, we must fight this bad thinking because the truth is that all people are deeply loved and valuable because all people bear the image of God and are of inestimable worth. Let’s not be duped by lies and bad ideas. Instead let’s look to our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ made clear each person’s worth and value when he gave his life on the cross to save us.
LifeNews Note: David Pool is the senior pastor at Grace Point.
