By The Culture of Life Studies Program Team
Just over a year ago, the world watched as Brittany Maynard took advantage of the Oregon law which allowed her to legally take her own life. As more and more states pass laws legalizing physician-assisted suicide, there has never been a greater need to teach students about respecting all human beings, especially those who are sick or suffering. American Life League’s Culture of Life Studies Program is taking a proactive role in combating the culture of death with a new supplement on end-of-life issues.
Entitled Euthanasia: An Introduction, this supplement is written with the expertise of pro-life leaders such as Bobby Schindler of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network and Julie Grimstad of the Pro-Life Healthcare Alliance. Euthanasia: An Introduction provides students with a basic understanding of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Using guided classroom instruction and assignments, this supplement explains to students what the Catholic Church teaches about end-of-life issues, suffering, and caring for the terminally ill.
As with many other moral and ethical issues, language is especially important when discussing euthanasia. In classroom discussion, students examine ambiguous terms from the right-to-die movement and learn how language promotes the culture of death. Students can then see how the culture of death twists language to hide what really happens during end-of-life procedures.
Culminating in a scenario discussion and comparison of the two types of euthanasia, the supplement examines the fairly recent cases of Terri Schiavo and Brittany Maynard. Through the use of current events which guide classroom discussion, students learn how these issues affect their day-to-day lives.
This short supplement can be completed in one or two class sessions and is meant to be used in an ethics course, a religion course, or a philosophy course. The Euthanasia: An Introduction package includes an Instructor Guide with presentation notes, discussion guide, and student assessment materials, as well as a CD-ROM containing ready-to-print student handouts and instructor presentation slides. Visit all.org/store to order your copy of Euthanasia: An Introduction and start training your high school students to respect all human beings, from creation until death.
The Culture of Life Studies Program has a plethora of fantastic resources for children of all ages. Visit our site at cultureoflifestudies.com to see what we offer and to find more information on our program.
