If you want an overview for how some people view ‘religion,’ euthanasia, disability and health care in the United States, the eight essays associated with the New York Times ‘Room for Debate’ series Why Do Americans Balk at Euthanasia Laws is a quick and telling read.
To be fair, none of the writers was given much room to explain their positions. But the hostility to those of us who hold a theistic worldview is pretty clear.
We see the world so differently. We understand the value of human life so differently.
And I just can’t let one of the writers off the hook, even with the lack of space she was given for her editorial.
Dr. Petra da Jong, a proponent of assisted suicide wrote:
In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide have been regulated by law since 2002. Euthanasia has been openly debated since the 1970s, by doctors, patients, attorneys, judges and politicians. This has been a decades-long process. Slowly, the legal system here became more lenient toward doctors performing euthanasia on humanitarian grounds, as requested by the patients.
She entirely neglected that in 2004 The Groningen Protocol was approved to protect doctors who euthanize infants with disabilities. Those children most certainly never requested that their caretakers kill them.
Thanks, John! This is fabulous analysis – so sad how broken our world is! Like you and Bethlehem we are trying to make a difference for special needs families by planting an intentionally inclusive church in PIttsburgh PA. http://www.arestorationchurch.org and http://www.livesrestored.org Would love your prayers!
Oh, John, this continually makes my heart sick. What would this depraved world do without a Savior? We who are called His own must never stop sounding the warning, even if it means being ostracized. (John 15:18-19)
I do not agree with euthanasia not because of my religion but because it is wrong and dangerous.It needs to stay out of the medical field. It is already being used and it is easy to cover up mistakes and often it is just more convenient for the staff and cost effective. People have been murdered by this so called euthanasia.The doctors can make up terminal diseases that a patient has so they can euthanize.In our situation our relative was murdered even though she had a treatable infection.She was labeled terminal instead and they were able to kill her that way.If it ever were to become legal, disaster in the medical field will happen even more than it happens now. There should be strict consequences for medical staff who kill. It is too easy for them to get away with murder just because they are in the medical field and can.