Life – Page 268 – Family Council

Canada’s Obsession With Euthanasia

Sep 12, 2017Jerry CoxEuthanasia and Assisted SuicideAssisted Suicide, Euthanasia, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

Recently, our friends at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview have published commentaries on assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada.

Last year Canada legalized so-called “medical assistance in dying.” However, many Canadian doctors have been reluctant to help patients end their lives.

Last August, John Stonestreet highlighted a proposal to pay Canadian doctors a premium to prescribe deadly drugs. The goal seems to be to offer a financial incentive to doctors who assist with patients’ suicides.

Yesterday, Eric Metaxas cited efforts to make assisted suicide and euthanasia more accessible for the mentally ill. As Metaxas points out, these newest arguments in favor of expanding assisted suicide in Canada center less around compassion for those who suffer and more around improving society. He writes,

In Canada’s case, [assisted suicide is] being championed by people who claim to be working for a better future. Whatever the setting, compassion is the last thing we should call it.

Christians are often criticized for using the “slippery slope” argument when it comes to assisted suicide — the argument that what starts out as assisted suicide for a few terminally-ill people ends with euthanasia.

In this case, Canada doesn’t simply seem to be on a slippery slope; they’re plummeting down it.

Photo Credit: By Gustavo Vilela Alkmin (Máquina fotográfica de colega) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Starting This Saturday: Four Upcoming Pro-Life Events (Updated)

Sep 5, 2017Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

Four pro-life events are coming up between this Saturday and November. Here is what you need to know:

Saturday, Sept. 9, 11:30 – Noon: National Remembrance of Aborted Children at the Memorial Garden for the Unborn, 1515 South University Ave in Little Rock, next to Arkansas Right to Life. Solemn prayer services will be held to honor the millions of babies who have died from abortion since Roe v. Wade around the country. Learn more at www.abortionmemorials.com or go to the National Day of Remembrance Facebook page. You can also download a flyer about the event here.
Sunday, Sept. 24, 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM: Opening event for Little Rock’s Fall 2017 40 Days for Life on the public walkway outside the surgical abortion clinic in Little Rock. Learn more at www.40daysforlife.com/littlerock or go to the 40 Days for Life – Little Rock Facebook page. You can also download a flyer about the event here.
Wednesday, Sept. 27 – Sunday, Nov. 5, 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM: Little Rock Fall 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil. Learn more at www.40daysforlife.com/littlerock or go to the 40 Days for Life – Little Rock Facebook page. You can also download a flyer about the event here.
Sunday, Oct, 1, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Little Rock Life Chain at Chenal and Bowman. Learn more at www.Lifechain.net. You can also download a flyer about the event here.

Pro-Life Ruling Appealed to Full Eighth Circuit

Aug 31, 2017Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

Earlier this month a federal appeals court panel ruled Arkansas could cut Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood.

This week we learned the decision — which was given by a panel of three judges from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals — has been appealed to the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Three Planned Parenthood patients are asking the Eighth Circuit to reconsider the good ruling the three judges made two weeks ago.

This lawsuit has been going on since Gov. Hutchinson directed the state to stop giving Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood two years ago. Below is a timeline of this issue and the legal battle surrounding it.

November 8, 1988: Voters in Arkansas passed Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution prohibiting public funds from paying for abortion, except to save the mother’s life.
July 25, 1994: Following a lawsuit by an abortion clinic in Little Rock, a federal court blocked enforcement of Amendment 68, saying it violated the Hyde Amendment — a rider on the federal budget Congress passed in 1994 prohibiting public funding of abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.
July 25, 1995: The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling.
March 18, 1996: The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling, essentially saying Amendment 68 could only be blocked insofar as it conflicted with the Hyde Amendment. Practically speaking, this has prevented public funding of abortion in most cases, with the exception of abortions paid for with Medicaid funds in certain circumstances permitted by the federal Hyde Amendment.
August 14, 2015: Governor Asa Hutchinson directed the Department of Human Services to terminate its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood.
October 2, 2015: U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction forcing the State of Arkansas to continue making Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood following a lawsuit by three of Planned Parenthood’s patients.
September 29, 2016: U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker expanded that ruling to apply to all of Planned Parenthood’s patients in Arkansas. Arkansas’ attorney general appealed the ruling to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
August 16, 2017: A three judge panel from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Arkansas can decline to provide Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers.
August 30, 2017: The three-judge panel’s decision was appealed to the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.