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S Sanctity of life
Here are some comments made by opponents of assisted suicide on Jan 8, 1997, in front of the Supreme Court building after oral arguments in two cases on the issue:
"People with disabilities know that there is a very real problem in a culture that says, 'We aren't going to give you a right to health care, but we will give you a right to assisted suicide.' We know where that leads. It's already been proven in the Netherlands that what starts out as a voluntary assisted suicide for the terminally ill becomes involuntary euthanasia for people with disabilities who are not terminally ill." -- Diane Coleman, cofounder of Not Dead Yet, a disability rights organization
"Compassion is coming alongside and caring for someone when they're in pain, when they're hurting. Giving someone a lethal injection that doesn't take compassion. Anybody can do that." -- David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society
Source: Salt, Vol 7 #1 1997
Topics/Tags: Euthanasia; Sanctity of Life; Assisted Suicide; Compassion
These are Dr. Jack Kevorkian's notes from the "final action" file of patient Hugh Gale, whom Dr. Kevorkian "helped to die" on 2/12/93:
Procedure: Patient placed plastic mask over nose and mouth, elastic band around head. A plastic tent was put over his head and shoulders, lid at top open. The patient then pulled a string tied to his left index finger, other end attached to a clip, which was pulled off a crimped plastic tube, opening it from the outlet valve of a canister of CO gas to the mask. In about 45 seconds the patient became flushed, agitated, breathing deeply, saying "Take it off!" The tent was removed immediately, the mask removed, and nasal oxygen started. He remained conscious and oriented, and within a minute calmed down to his normal breathing pattern. he was more relaxed and a bit somnolent, but awake and oriented. The patient wanted to continue. After about 20 minutes, with nasal oxygen continuing, the mask was replaced over his nose and mouth and he again pulled the clip off the crimped tubing. In about 30-35 seconds he again flushed, became agitated with moderate hyperpnea; and immediately after saying "Take it off!" once again, he fell into unconsciousness. The mask was then left in place. Hyperpnea continued for about 35-40 seconds, after which a slower and calmer breathing pattern ensued, lasting about 8 minutes, gradually diminishing in rate and intensity. Heartbeat was undetectable about 3 minutes after last breath. . . .
Not nearly as peaceful, humane, and serene as it's painted in the nightly news, is it? The agitation and near-violent fighting of this patient in the grips of the "suicide machine" ought to remind us that God has given Christ alone—not you and me—the authority to hold the keys of life and death.
Source: Ohio Right to Life website [http://www.ohiolife.org/euth/obit.htm]
Topics/Tags: Sanctity of Life; Assisted Suicide; Euthanasia; Sovereignty of God
CHATSWORTH,CA, 8/22/97 - A Californian whose dog killed a neighbor's pet rabbit sent a note of condolence and offered to pay $450 for burial costs, but the rabbit's owner declared the offer an "insult" and demanded over $900 instead. Pepi Novick of suburban Chatsworth said she the extra compensation is necessary because she believes the rabbit, named Tucson, should be buried in a "celebrity" pet cemetery!
This dispute is one example of an attempt to attach a dollar value to life (human or otherwise). Indeed, sometimes life can seem cheap! Yet we are reminded by Scripture that our lives are of immeasurable value to our heavenly Father. Indeed, God says to us, "You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you" (Isaiah 43:4).
Source: excite.com
Topics/Tags: Sanctity of Life; Self-Worth; Value of Life
Before 1973, euthanasia was illegal in the Netherlands.
In that year, a doctor was arrested and put on trial for killing her terminally ill mother with morphine. The court gave her a suspended sentence of one week in jail and a year's probation. This set a precedent, and the courts quickly established a set of guidelines for when it was permissible for physicians to assist a patient in committing suicide, such as requiring certain consultations, insisting that the patient must be suffering from a terminal illness, and that the patient must request it.
In 1984, the Royal Society of Medicine issued "rules of careful conduct" for euthanasia. These called for the doctor to inform the patient of his condition, consult his nearest relatives (unless he objects), consult at least one other physician, keep written records, and, in the case of a child, obtain the consent of the parents or legal guardians.
In 1985 a court dropped the "terminal illness" requirement in a case involving a young girl with multiple sclerosis. While her disease was incurable, there was no reason why she could not have lived indefinately. (In a more recent case a woman who was perfectly healthy but suffering from severe depression was euthanized at her request.)
By the late 80's it had become routine to "euthanize" babies born with handicaps, like Down's syndrome and spina bifida.
Three nurses in Amsterdam killed several comatose patients without any consent. They were convicted, not of homicide, but of failing to consult a physician.
In 1990, physicians in the Netherlands were involved in 11,800 deaths, or 9% of all deaths in the country. Of these, half were labeled "active involuntary euthanasia", that is, the patient was killed without his consent.
In 1995, Parliament passed legislation which codified these court decisions into law.
Source: Ohio Right to Life website [http://www.ohiolife.org/euth/nethhist.htm]
Topics/Tags: Euthanasia; Sanctity of Life; Legislation; Assisted Suicide
In 1996 police arrested a 26-year-old woman on charges she tried to sell her 5-year-old niece for $24 to pay for drinks and a ride home, police said Monday. The aunt, Jennifer Burroughs, was charged with the unlawful sale of a child, a felony. The child, Nicole Mezyk, was discovered sitting outside a bar around midnight Friday, police said. Authorities said the child's mother, Rhonda Mezyk, had left her daughter with Burroughs for the weekend.
In so many ways life is cheapened in today's world. Yet Scripture reminds us that every human being is precious in the sight of his or her Creator.
Source: NEWSpot, 12/9/96
Topics/Tags: Sanctity of Life; Value of Life
Bernie Siegel, M.D., shocks his cancer patients when he asks them, "Why did you need this illness?" Siegel's contention is that, when our bodies break down, they do so to give us a message, often a message that we've long been ignoring.
Siegel goes on to report that, while nobody wants to be ill, many of his cancer patients report that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to them. Thanks to their illness, they learned to appreciate life and to express feelings to their loved ones. They learned to enjoy life's little blessings again.
While Siegel's hypothesis about illness may not be completely correct, he is right in declaring that even illness can be a blessing.
Source: Caurie Beth Hones, Jesus, CEO, Hyperion 1995, pp. 48-49.
Topics/Tags: Illness; Appreciation; Sanctity of Life
"Human embryos are not mere biological tissues or clusters of cells; they are the tiniest of human beings. If nurtured and not destroyed, these embryos will develop into human infants. They are not "potential" human lives; they are human beings who are developing and growing. We have the responsibility not to harm them unjustly and unnecessarily. To do so is not only immoral, but unconscionable. Of all human beings, these are the most defenseless against abuse."
— Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Source: Light, Jan-Feb 1999, p. 2.
Topics/Tags: Embryo; Abortion; Children; Sanctity of Life
Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said of the Nazi physicians under Hitler:
"Human beings were not human in their eyes. They were abstractions. . . . The respect for human rights in human experimentation demands that we see persons as unique, as ends in themselves."
The church has a bold responsibility to speak to the developing issues raised by advances in biotechnology. We must uphold the high value of human life.
Source: Light, Jan-Feb 1999, p. 3.
Topics/Tags: Humans; Sanctity of Life; Technology; Church
Researchers have announced [January 1999] that parents may soon be able to choose the gender of their children with up to 93 percent accuracy. Lawrence Gostin, professor of law and public health at Georgetown University, said the procedure "can prevent disease and it can promote family and human happiness."
Many parents are excited about the possibility of using this technique to regulate the number of boy or girl babies they conceive. Yet, Christians would do well do teach their children to celebrate and be grateful for their gender. Both boys and girls are made in the image of God and are created to glorify and enjoy God forever.
Source: C. Ben Mitchell, "Boy Or Girl: Who Decides?" in Light, Jan-Feb 1999, p. 5.
Topics/Tags: Human beings, created in the image of god; Gender; Technology; Sanctity of Life
Kevin Howard presents some "hard questions" about racism:
* Are you more comfortable with a white man sitting in the car behind you at the traffic light than you are with a black man driving the same car?
* Have you ever invited someone of a skin color different than your own to your church? Given what you know about your church, would you dare?
* Have you attended a church service in which you were the minority?
* When looking for new staff members, has your church ever seriously considered interviewing candidates whose race differs from the majority in the church?
* Do you ever invite people to your home whose cultural background differs from your own?
* Have you ever considered helping a needy minority student through college?
* Do you silently resist the national holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, because it marks the life of a black American?
* Do you laugh or sit quietly when race-based jokes are told?
Source: Kevin L. Howard, "A White Man on Racism," Light, Jan-Feb 1999, p. 6.
Topics/Tags: Racism; Equality; Sanctity of Life
Browse By Topic S Sanctity of life