Hi Friend,

My grandparents were literate people but I doubt they ever heard the word euthanasia.  Maybe I’m wrong.  They may have euthanized a cow or sheep.  But they would have referred to euthanizing a human being by another word:  murder.

They would be shocked that the state of Oregon grants assisted suicide requests to residents 18 or older.

Let’s hope America doesn’t follow the example of Belgium, the pioneer in euthanasia. The first year it was legalized, 2003, there 235 euthanized deaths. By 2012 the figure had grown to 1,432 per year.

In the Netherlands, euthanasia is legal for children over the age of 12—with parental consent—and for infants!

Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family once observed that America will see the time when children will pressure parents to be euthanized.  Elderly people will become a financial burden on the family and children will urge them to do it for the grandchildren who need money for college.

It seems little more than a historical footnote that families in the past were expected to sacrifice to send one child to college.  We’ve reached a time when everyone is entitled to college but not entitled to life.

In Belgium proponents argue that since euthanasia is available for adults it is unfair to deny it to children.  John Harris, a professor of bioethics at the University of Manchester says, “It’s unfair to provide euthanasia differentially to some citizens and not to others (children) if the need is equal.”

Let’s welcome children to the new world where they have the same right to die as adults do.  What an exciting prospect!

Dr. Gerlant van Berlaer, a pediatric oncologist says child euthanasia is already happening informally.  The current practice makes it happen “in dark and questionable ways.”  Apparently legalization will make the murder of children a bright and acceptable event.

Various states in our country are considering following the Belgian model.

The Declaration of Independence “declares” that all men have a right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”   Brave men sacrificed their lives to achieve these virtues. Now we allow ourselves to be persuaded that these values are no longer valid.

Juxtapose the above with a statement by Isaiah the Prophet.  He was inspired by God to write about a time in the future when the life of a man would become valuable. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold,” (Isaiah 13:12) It’s ironic that God values the life of man more than man does.  The time will come when the highest and best creation of God’s work will be appreciated.  The life of a man will be as valuable to man as it is to God.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien