Short distance between the ‘right to die’ and the duty to die

It’s the natural progression of the abortion movement’s ‘right to choose’ activism. When any class of human beings can be denied life for any reason, nobody’s safe. And it was only a matter of time for the aggressive ‘rights’ campaign to extend to all other areas of life, including death.

The ‘right to die’ movement got their first victory in Oregon. They expected more to follow. More didn’t follow, so now they’re putting they’re money (literally) on Washington State’s initiative in the November election. If that one passes, they expect others to line up like ducks.

Arguing that the passage of Initiative 1000, also called the “Washington Death with Dignity Act,” would make doctors into killers, [critics] argue the bill lacks mental health safeguards and claim its adoption into law would also reverse longstanding beliefs that suicide is a tragedy.

This bill is riddled with dangers. Disguised with deceptive language. But some of the very people the ‘right to die’ movement claim they represent and help…..are the ones seeing through this threat most clearly.

Initiative 1000 is opposed by John Peyton, a Washington man who is paralyzed and dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He explained his opposition in a video posted on the website of the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide.

“I’m one of those people who is somewhat a target of the initiative,” he said. “I don’t know how we, as a society, could really consider making doctors into killers.”

That’s what’s happening, and the Church is trying to inform voters to beware of the deceit of this bill.

The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) also opposes the initiative, saying the proposal is “contrary to Catholic teaching that life is sacred and that God alone is the true sovereign over life.” 

“Human dignity and worth are simply innate to our relationship to God and not dependent on our social usefulness,” the WSCC continued on its web site. “As Catholics we believe that a caring society assists persons with terminal illnesses, and their loved ones, to live as fully as possible the time they have left together.”

The ‘right to die’ movement is winning the marketing campaign with mega-funding.

Initiative proponents are well-backed financially. According to the web site of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, as of Tuesday the “Yes on 1000” committee has reported receipts of $1,856,252.

Of that sum, $775,330 is attributed to assisted suicide advocacy groups and the campaign spokesperson, former Governor Booth Gardner. The International Task Force reported that the figure is almost double the amount of donations in the same time period reported by the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide.

Public awareness is crucial, because these aren’t isolated state problems. Right to die advocates have been pushing a similar bill in California, and they got pushback only when right to life advocates made it a national issue.

Which it is anyway, whether we know it or not.

When medically vulnerable people are given the option of a legal, doctor-assisted premature death, can we be surprised when we discover that none of us is permanently safe from the same fate?