Category: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

As States Legalize Assisted Suicide, Pro-Lifers Must Stand Strong

Late last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a deal to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

The so-called “Medical Aid in Dying Act” is supposed to make it possible for patients expected to die within six months to request a prescription for lethal drugs.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a similar assisted suicide law in December as well.

Illinois’ and New York’s assisted suicide laws represents a growing threat to pro-life states like Arkansas.

Currently, thirteen states plus Washington D.C. allow some form of assisted suicide or euthanasia.

From experience, we know that supporters of assisted suicide and euthanasia may use the recent passage of these laws to promote similar legislation in Arkansas. In the past, when other states legalized assisted suicide, pundits tried to argue that states like Arkansas are “behind the times” and need to pass similar laws.

Arkansas has strong pro-life protections, but we must remain vigilant. Our state constitution protects life, and our lawmakers have consistently rejected assisted suicide proposals. We must work hard to make sure all of that continues.

Being pro-life means believing human life is sacred from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted-suicide are murder, and they violate the sanctity of human life. Pro-lifers must stand strong against them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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How Assisted Suicide Turns Healthcare Professionals into Killers

Late last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a deal to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.

The so-called “Medical Aid in Dying Act” is supposed to make it possible for patients expected to die within six months to request a prescription for lethal drugs.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a similar assisted suicide law in December as well.

Assisted suicide fundamentally changes the doctor-patient relationship from healing to killing.

The Hippocratic Oath promises to “first, do no harm.” Prescribing lethal drugs violates that sacred trust. Doctors should heal — not kill.

Under New York’s law, medical professionals will help people end their lives or refer refer them to doctors who will. This violates the conscience rights of healthcare workers who entered medicine to save lives, not end them.

Studies show assisted suicide corrupts medical judgment. Doctors may spend less time exploring treatment options and pain management when death becomes a “medical option.”

In some countries, assisted suicide and euthanasia are driving palliative care specialists to quit. That hurts everyone.

Being pro-life means respecting innocent human life from conception until natural death. We do not eliminate suffering by eliminating people who are suffering. There is nothing “compassionate” about that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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French Senate Kills Bad Euthanasia Bill

Dangerous euthanasia legislation in France recently stalled in the country’s Senate, exposing deep divisions over whether doctors should help patients end their lives.

The French Senate rejected a key article of the bill that would have defined conditions for so-called “medical aid in dying.” In an unusual move, both conservatives and socialists voted against the measure, though for different reasons.

Conservative senators reportedly thought the measure made it too easy to obtain lethal drugs. Socialist senators opposed the bill because they felt it didn’t go far enough in expanding access to euthanasia.

The legislation would legalized assisted suicide for any patient in an “advanced phase” of illness—with possible months to live. The bill’s supporters had tried to compromise by limiting access to patients at the very end of life, but even that wasn’t enough to bridge the divide.

The deadlock highlights a fundamental division between those who support the sanctity of life and those who want to expand access to doctor-assisted death.

Euthanasia is already legal in several European countries.  Countries like Belgium and the Netherlands have expanded assisted suicide to allow euthanasia for mental illness, depression, and dementia. What starts as a “compassionate choice” eventually devolves into routine killing.

In 2019 a Canadian man with ALS made headlines when he chose to take his own life under the country’s assisted suicide and euthanasia laws after the government chose not to provide him with 24-hour home healthcare services due to cost.

Recent news articles allege that an elderly woman in Ontario — dubbed “Mrs. B” in official reports — was euthanized against her after her elderly husband began “experiencing caregiver burnout.” Her husband reportedly requested “an urgent assessment” of his wife’s eligibility for assisted suicide. She was euthanized that evening.

In parts of the U.S. where physician-assisted suicide is legal, insurance companies have refused to pay for patients’ medical care, but have offered to cover assisted-suicide drugs.

Arkansas has strong protections for human life. Our state should learn from other countries’ struggles with assisted suicide and euthanasia. When governments start deciding who lives and who dies, they cross a line that threatens the most vulnerable among us.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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