New Zealand Legalizes Euthanasia

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, , ,
John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

New Zealand is the sixth country to legalize euthanasia.

The October referendum, called the “End of Life Choice Act” had the support of both major parties, and received over 65% support from voters.

Kiwis are being promised that proposed “safeguards” will prevent the sort of abuse and spread of the practice that we’ve seen in the Netherlands and Belgium. One journalist assured Al Jazeera that the New Zealand law is “more stringent,” because it is only for “terminally-ill patients” that “they need two doctors to approve” and “there’s a long checklist” of necessary conditions. 

But of course, the Netherlands and Belgian had their own “safeguards” which didn’t hold. They never do. Once a nation accepts that some lives aren’t worth living and that it’s okay for doctors to become killers, it’s impossible to prevent financial incentives from entering consideration or the most vulnerable from being pressured.

To put it another way, not even the best Kiwi intentions is immune to gravity when the slope is this slippery.

Copyright 2020 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Louisiana Voters Approve Pro-Life Amendment Similar to One Arkansas Passed in 1988

Abortion, , ,

Last week voters in Louisiana overwhelmingly supported adding a pro-life amendment to their state’s constitution.

The amendment reads,

“To protect human life, nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

The language is very similar to Arkansas’s constitutional amendment 68 that voters passed in 1988.

Arkansas’ pro-life amendment reads,

1. Public funding.

No public funds will be used to pay for any abortion, except to save the mother’s life.

2. Public policy.

The policy of Arkansas is to protect the life of every unborn child from conception until birth, to the extent permitted by the Federal Constitution.

3. Effect of amendment.

This amendment will not affect contraceptives or require an appropriation of public funds.

According to different news outlets, Louisiana’s pro-life amendment makes it more difficult to challenge the state’s trigger law that prohibits abortion if and when the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Arkansas passed a trigger law similar to Louisiana’s in 2019.

Act 180 of 2019 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits abortion in Arkansas if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The bill was hotly debated at the Arkansas Legislature, but ultimately passed and was signed into law last year.

Arkansas’ and Louisiana’s pro-life trigger laws and pro-life constitutional amendments are very similar and just go to show how states increasingly are taking steps to end abortion and defend the unborn.

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Sens. Boozman and Cotton Sign Pro-Life Amicus Brief

Abortion, , ,

Last week the pro-life group Americans United for Life filed an amicus brief on behalf of U.S. Senators John Boozman, Tom Cotton, and 100 other pro-life members of Congress.

AUL filed the brief in federal court in defense of good restrictions that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration places on abortion drugs like RU-486.

It’s good to see Arkansas’ U.S. Senators taking a strong, pro-life stance once again.

Sens. Boozman and Cotton both voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court in October.

In 2015 they repeatedly called for investigations into Planned Parenthood after undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvest and sale of fetal tissue.

In 2016 they joined with Arkansas four U.S. Congressmen in signing an amicus brief defending pro-life legislation in Texas.

In 2018 they co-sponsored a bill that would have banned most abortions in the U.S. after the fifth month of pregnancy. They also urged congress to de-fund Planned Parenthood.

In 2019 they co-sponsored federal legislation requiring states to report abortion data to the U.S. government.

And last January both Sens. Boozman and Cotton participated in the annual March for Life in Little Rock.

Arkansas is very fortunate to have a congressional delegation that stands up for the sanctity of innocent human life.

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