Washington D.C.: In September, California became the fifth state in the union—joining Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont—to legalize assisted suicide, or euthanasia. American Life League sees this as a catastrophic development with dire consequences for the people of California and beyond. To counter this development and the ongoing efforts of the culture of death to make assisted suicide and euthanasia an appealing alternative, American Life League has released a new supplement in its Culture of Life Studies Program entitled Euthanasia: An Introduction.
As evidenced in the California debate, which ended with Governor Jerry Brown placing every resident of the state at risk with just a single signature, promoters of euthanasia use many terms—death with dignity, mercy killing, physician-assisted suicide, and physician-aid-in-dying—to disguise euthanasia’s true nature. According to the CLSP text:
They justify euthanasia by claiming that certain people, such as those diagnosed as being in a “persistent vegetative state,” lack quality of life and therefore have lives that are not worth living. And they believe that others who are terminally ill should be permitted to end their own suffering. All of this points away from the fact that euthanasia is the murder of an innocent victim. Using such language distances the perpetrator from the action, making the act of euthanasia sound less like a moral injustice and more like an act of mercy.
Judie Brown, president of American Life League, who understands well the erosion of the right to life in the United States, believes that to effect change, we must expose the lies shrouding what actually happens when euthanasia takes hold in our communities. She stated: “This culture of death rhetoric leads Americans to believe that compassion resides in helping loved ones end their lives when in fact the truth is that real Christ-like compassion requires us to unselfishly pour ourselves out to those we love in an effort to affirm life until God calls our loved ones home. Euthanasia by any name is the devil’s invitation to serve him instead of following Christ.”
The Culture of Life Studies Program poses a solution to our societal dilemma. That solution lies in educating our children about the culture of life and instilling respect for the dignity of every human being in all people. CLSP’s materials do exactly that. For ongoing insight into development, please check out the CLSP Blog where our current post delves into the issue of Euthanasia on a deeper level.
Judie Brown, president and cofounder of ALL, has served three five-year terms (1996-2011) as a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life. She has written 12 books, including the most recent, The Broken Path: How Catholic Bishops Got Lost in the Weeds of American Politics (2011) and Saving Those Damned Catholics: A Defense of Catholic Teaching (2007).
Media Contact: To answer questions or receive more information about ALL’s programs, contact Matt Wielgos, chief communications officer of American Life League, at 540-846-3822. E-mail requests to MWielgos@ALL.org
Media inquiries are welcome. Samples of Euthanasia: An Introduction for review purposes are available by request.