Euthanasia suicide mercy-killing right-to-die physician assisted suicide living wills research

"Secularists see euthanasia more or less in terms of ushering a suffering animal out of his or her misery. Humans, in the materialist view, are soulless animals, and thus it may actually be more compassionate or merciful to kill someone suffering awful pain than it would be to consider palliative care. When secularism put the idea of human exceptionalism to death, it guaranteed that many humans would be put to death, too. After all, why not?" . . . Writer Jonathon Van Maren.

"The right to be put to death will, in practice, become in some cases the duty to be put to death, as subtle pressure is brought to bear on the vulnerable. Often, a plea for suicide is a cry for help. Society should respond with care and compassionate support for these vulnerable people, not with death." . . . Cardinal Thomas Collins of the Archdiocese of Toronto.

"Many in the Netherlands do not believe in God, so doctors, "experts", and others fill the vacuum. . . . Internet Commenter Posting Opinion on Netherlands' Plans to Legalize the Euthanasia of Children (2023).

"The compassion that doctor-assisted suicide offers is hollow. And this legislation has dangerous implications for our state, especially for the poor and vulnerable. . . There is no denying that in California and nationwide we face a public health crisis in the way we treat patients who are terminally ill and at the end of life. But the answer to fear and a broken system is to fix the system and address the fears. It is not to kill the one who is afraid and suffering." . . . Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez.

RELIGION AND EUTHANASIA

Protestant Mormon Orthodox Catholic Jewish Islamic Buddhist Hindu Sikh Other

Clergy Distress Related To Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (MAiD) (2024)

28-year-old Woman Opts For Assisted Suicide Amid Incurable Depression: My Urn "Will Be My New House!" (2024)

Where Are the Churches On Euthanasia? (2023)

Judicially Imposed Expansion of Euthanasia (2019)

Abrahamic Religions: No To Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, Yes To Palliative Care (2019)

Do Not Lend Support To Assisted Suicide, Pope Francis Tells Physicians (2019)

The Deadly Canadian M.A.I.D.: The Expansion of Assisted Suicide North of the Border (2018)

Canadian Government Panel Recommends Forcing Christian Hospitals To Euthanize Patients (2016)

Killing People Is Not Compassion: Canadian Religious Leaders Unite Against Assisted Suicide (2015)

PROTESTANT

MORMON (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

ORTHODOX

CATHOLIC

JEWISH

ISLAMIC

MISCELLANOUS

"Those who promote this last, fatal escape as a "right" should remember that such a "right" may quickly become an expectation and, finally, even a "duty" to die. We fear eventually some individuals and families will be forced to put financial concerns above the needs of loved ones. " ... from a statement against assisted suicide by members of Michigan's Religious Leaders Forum, a group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders (5/7/98).

"In Judaism we have a healthy respect for life and an understanding that life and death is not in our hands. We can handle the pain, but euthanasia is considered an act of murder." " ... Rabbi Shira Stern, chair of the ethics committee of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. (Click here for the article)

"When we grow old or sick and we are tempted to lose heart, we should be surrounded by people who ask "How can we help?" We deserve to grow old in a society that views our cares and needs with a compassion grounded in respect, offering genuine support in our final days." ... U.S. Bishops' 2011 Policy Statement on Assisted Suicide.

"As nobody knows what happens when we're dead, what makes people think it would be better to die than live with an illness? What happens if a greater power, i.e. God, punishes us for completing these acts?" ... from an email sent by a reader (2003).

"It is only if human life is respected from conception to death that the ethics of peace is also possible and credible" ... Pope Benedict XVI in a November 2006 speech to Swiss Bishops.

"We have a powerful temptation to identify with the strong, and to despise the weak, the elderly, and the disabled. Perhaps it originates from an animal-like survival instinct, but it is fostered and exploited by would-be totalitarians. The only antidote is reverence for all human life, which we derive from religion. I believe that eventually we will all be judged on how well we resist this temptation." ... by David C. Stolinsky, MD (Click here for article)

""a doctor can be a healer, but when he is unable to heal he does not have the authority to kill. He may give pain medication, even in heavy doses, as death nears, but cannot kill." ... by Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel David Lau (Click here for article)

The US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by calling 800-273-8255. For those who don't want to speak to a counselor, there's also a national Crisis Text Line available 24/7 by texting "home" to 741741.

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