Wesley Smith, who knows the enemy, makes it his business to warn the rest of us about the encroachment of the culture of death.
And this is just pure evil:
And now Dignitas’ owner, Ludwig Minelli–who has already permitted his suicide clinic to be used for double suicides–has publicly supported the idea. From the story:"Gravity will take care of the rest." You know it's true. Read the rest.
I don’t think these advocates are fringe. I think they are candid. At the very least, their views are the logical outcome of proclaiming a right to assisted suicide as the “ultimate civil liberty.” I mean, if we have a fundamental right to be made dead, if it is tyrannous to prevent people from “choosing the time, manner, and method” of their own death, who can gainsay the reasons why someone might want to be made dead.Swiss suicide clinic Dignitas has called for the healthy partners of chronically ill euthanasia patients to be allowed to kill themselves too. Clinic head Ludwig Minelli has called for suicide drug cocktails to be made legally available to the heartbroken relatives who have just helped their loved ones end their own lives. ‘Relatives should also be allowed to have a prescription for suicide drugs even when they are not terminally ill,’ Minelli told Swiss newspaper Blick Sonntag.
This is the debate we should be having. The stuff about restrictions to terminal illness and guidelines to protect against abuse (which are never enforced) are mere sops to convinced people to accept the principle that suicide is a liberty. Should that happen, gravity will take care of the rest. Culture of death, Wesley? What culture of death?
Bonus: Smith on what Dennis Miller said:
So, I’m listening to the Dennis Miller Show on my computer, as I do every morning. I like Miller. He’s not angry. Doesn’t yell. Has a human touch. And punctures.Much more at Secondhand Smoke. Check it out.
Someone asked him, “How are we going to pay for Obamacare?”
Miller’s pithy reply: “With crappy health care.”
Yes, sometimes saying it simply, says it best.
Most recent posts here.
Such wickedness. Words fail me. I fall back on Matthew 24: vv 10-13:
ReplyDelete"0And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Because suffering can be eased, without extinguishing life. Because God can bring real hope, life and light into even the darkest agony. I wouldn't wish intractable pain or incurable disease on my worst enemy, but I have sat with people enduring both with courage, if people have loved and comforted them properly. ALso, tho I don't mean to sound glib about this, the desire to kill oneself is diagnostic of depression, it is not a rational decision (unless perhaps one is an ancient Roman told to fall upon one's sword to assure one's heirs of an inheritance lest the emperor take that as well as one's own life, which one has forfeited by displeasing said emperor). There have been numerous studies of people who wanted to be "put out of their misery" (with terminal illness) who stopped wanting to kill themselves once their depression had been moderated with meds and therapy. At that point they could draw something out of what life remained to them. Life is precious, even when agonizing.
There really is no words for this. Of course, it was a matter of time.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who is suffering may very well feel this is the best choice for themselves, and I almost understand the inclination. But for the medical profession to feel that this is the answer to the loss of a spouse is inhumane at best.