By Judie Brown
In his book On Suicide, British philosopher David Hume argued, “We’re no more valuable than oysters, and because of that, then killing a human being is not all that big [of] a deal, really.”
Hume wrote those words more than 200 years ago, but this attitude toward the unique value of a human being has not changed much over the ensuing years. In fact, one might say it has worsened.
In the United States we treat preborn babies as non-humans, we treat babies born with challenges such as Down syndrome as undeserving of life, and in many cases when it comes to the elderly and infirm, society treats them no better than garbage.
It is from this absolute disregard for the value of the individual human person that such practices as euthanasia, assisted suicide, hastened death, “merciful death,” and other such moronic labels have evolved.
And as with all manner of evil, there is a history that sets forth the problematic nature of human intervention in the circle of life as ordained by God.
The history of so-called voluntary euthanasia began in 1935 in England, but the actual practice of prematurely killing the ailing, the dying, and the unwanted began ages ago. In fact, as long as people have been on the planet, there has been evil intent. The biblical account of the Garden of Eden makes that abundantly clear.
So fast-forward to our nation and the recent reports from various states, each of which make the case that mankind is running with increasing haste toward its own destruction.
Wesley J. Smith recently wrote about a 2023 Washington state law regarding assisted suicide, saying, “The ‘strict guidelines protecting against abuse’ aren’t meant to be permanent, but rather, are put in place to convince lawmakers or voters to swallow the hemlock. Once that is accomplished, activists shift tactics to steadily liberalize the guidelines—now redefined as ‘barriers’—to make assisted suicide ever easier to access. Because there apparently can never be enough.”
On that sobering note, we should feel relieved that West Virginia lawmakers have taken a solid step in defense of life, recently amending the state constitution to ban assisted suicide. It is the “first American state to proactively protect all its citizens and medical practitioners and institutions from the dangerous trend of euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) by a constitutional amendment.”
This should give us reason for hope as we continue to trudge forth in our educational programs across this nation. If you are reading this and wondering why you should be concerned, since you personally are devoted to protecting the lives of your loved ones, take note.
According to a Gallup survey, seven out of 10 Americans say euthanasia should be legal, 66 percent favor “doctor-assisted suicide,” and 10 states plus Washington, DC, already allow it.
That is a tragedy, but today we see states like Maine and New Jersey considering legal proposals that will expand the acts of assisted suicide. In these states, the proposed legal changes will permit an attending physician to waive the waiting period between a patient’s request to die and the doctor’s act to aid in that death.
In other words, if the patient requests physician-assisted suicide, she can count on her legal right to expect death to occur on her terms.
Actions that were once considered evil, wrong, and against the will of God have now been mainstreamed under the guise of personal right to choose. But really, as is the case with contraception, abortion, and other wicked acts, we have to ask a simple question: Does man have a right to enact man-made laws that contradict the natural law?
The answer is yes, of course, because every human being has free will. And sometimes with that free will, they commit evil acts.
Thus, we hope and pray that humans use their free will to do good works.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection ‘in seeking and loving what is true and good.’”
Yet when human beings choose what is false and evil, his or her advocacy of murder by mercy is but one byproduct.