By Judie Brown
I have nothing against having a pet, rescuing animals, or caring for them when they are ill. These are all kind gestures and actions. But I do have a problem with the apparent double standard in our society today in which people seem to care more for animals than human beings.
For example, the Humane Society of the United States is working to end the use of what it calls gas chambers on sick or ill pets. The organization says this “inhumane euthanasia” takes place in dark boxes within a chamber and that these boxes are often filled with the smells of dogs and other animals that previously died in them. This can be terrifying for animals.
Not a pretty picture to be sure, but I have to compare this grim scenario with what goes on in our world today. And it is at that point that I get nauseated.
A 38-year-old woman in Belgium, where assisted suicide is common, opted for death in 2010. Tina Nys was, according to her family, “heartbroken and suicidal after a relationship ended. So she visited two doctors and a psychiatrist, claiming to be autistic, and said her suffering was ‘unbearable and incurable.’” Just two months later, Nys was euthanized.
Her doctors are on trial, but no matter how that turns out, it doesn’t change the fact that a vulnerable young woman is dead because assisted suicide is common and accepted in her country!
In Canada, the idea of euthanizing children to eliminate their suffering is being seriously considered. Bioethics expert Wesley Smith, of the Discovery Institute, opines: “Once the determination is made that one legitimate way to eliminate suffering is to eliminate the sufferer, and when you transform killing into a mere medical treatment, then there’s no way you can limit it to adults.”
The Canadian medical establishment has clearly signaled its acquiescence. Earlier this year, the Canadian Paediatric Society issued a position paper entitled “Medical Assistance in Dying: A… https://t.co/R3QK5z3OU2
— Wesley J. Smith (@forcedexit) November 5, 2018
In the United States, all that we need to do is examine the “state ‘futile care’ laws which empower doctors to remove wanted life-sustaining treatment over the objections of family and/or patient.” Then we will see the fact that “futile care situations involve value judgments—that continuing to live is too burdensome on the patient or not worth the cost of care. Hence, futile care policies allow doctors and/or hospital bioethics committees to force patients off life-sustaining treatment based on their determination of ultimate non-survivability, permanent disability, ‘quality of life,’ or resource management. And it generally is aimed at removing treatment because it is working—e.g., maintaining the patient’s life—based on subjective belief that the patient is better off dead.”
Perhaps this is why in states where assisted suicide has been decriminalized, such as Hawaii, healthcare facilities that respect Church teaching are under assault by groups like the ACLU.
In one such case, retirement home Kahala Nui, which leases its land from the Catholic Church, recently clarified its policy to avoid an ACLU legal challenge. According to the new policy, if you reside in independent living and want to take advantage of the assisted suicide law, you may. However, if you are living in assisted living, you may not. Why? The answer is that “a lease Kahala Nui has with the Roman Catholic Church prohibits the home from assisting, promoting or coordinating medically assisted suicide.” So, if you live there independently, you are free to kill yourself with the aid of someone else.
Make sense to you? It surely does not to me!
No matter what the law says, assisted suicide is another form euthanasia. It is always wrong, no matter what the man-made law says. Man errs, God never does.
So, while the Humane Society of the United States strives to protect dying animals from cruel practices like dying in a gas chamber, doctors, lawmakers, and special interest groups use their influence to help advance the cruelty and inhumanity of legitimizing the killing of the vulnerable.
We must resolve anew—and do so each and every day—to protect human beings from direct killing, whether they are single cell human embryos or those already born, regardless of their age, health, or condition of dependency.
Save the humans!
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Learn the facts.
Teach the truth.
Protest the evil.