USA (MNN) — Last week on October 6, California became the fifth state to legalize euthanasia. Now with assisted suicide legal in 10% of the U.S., will more states follow on the heels of California? Maryland is already pushing for it to become law in the upcoming year.
“There are probably proponents of assisted suicide in most of the states. So they’re going to keep pushing to see that these become laws in their particular state,” says Tom Lothamer of Life Matters Worldwide.
“The struggle we face is in our culture. We’re increasingly becoming more and more a culture of death. In other words, ‘It’s my right to do with my body what I want to, and that includes even suicide.’”
Assisted suicide is usually aimed toward the disabled, terminally ill, or those in irreversible comas. Many will choose the option because they don’t feel like they’re contributing to anything, like they’re worthless or holding others back. They may even view themselves as a burden on their family and like it is their duty to die.
“A lot of people who are proponents of assisted suicide, or euthanasia: they don’t want to talk about suicide–the term suicide. In fact, Brittany Maynard, a year ago, talked about ‘self-determination.’ They’ll use those terms when in reality, it’s suicide.”
Now with another state that has joined the “right to die with dignity” movement, Lothamer notes, “This whole thing–not only here, but internationally–is a huge slippery slope from what they call ‘assisted suicide’ or ‘euthanasia’ into other forms of suicide…. Authors and people in this field are saying that it will increase other suicides.”
This would, again, be playing off the idea that people want to do whatever they want with their body. It also has to do with rising depression, where individuals see their only option, their only escape, is death.
But Life Matters wants to put an end to that view by showing people just how valuable and important they are.
“What we want to teach is about the sanctity of human life and how we as a people in the churches can actually minister to those people so that will not be one of their ‘choices,’ but their choice will be to live because they are cared for and ministered to.”
Life Matters invites you to reach out in your own community and let people know how they are important and loved, even when they don’t feel like it. Give them a sense of purpose, meaning, and much-needed encouragement.
For more information or resources, click here, or contact Life Matters!
Your source has done you a disservice. The promoters of assisted suicide have worn out their thesaurus attempting to imply that it is legal in Montana. Assisted suicide is a homicide in Montana. Our MT Supreme Court ruled that if a doctor is charged with a homicide they might have a potential defense based on consent. The Court did not address civil liabilities. No one in Montana has immunity from civil or criminal prosecution. Does that sound legal to you? Oregon model bills have been rejected by our legislature in 2011, 2013 and 2015 because of gaping loopholes that allow exploitation of elders and people with disabilities of all ages by predators and predatory corporations.
Note these loopholes and more work with each other to eviscerate intended safeguards.
By all these OR model laws all family members are not required to be contacted, hold that thought. A single predatory heir is allowed to steer the sign up and then execute the lethal process without a witness.
A witness is not required to confirm that the dose was so called “self administered” (you remember this was one of their lead selling points).
Even as the law provides immunity for all involved and demands the falsification of the death certificate (impossible to track trends for good public policy) it actually prohibits a public inquiry of any kind (remember the family members who were not contacted).
These loopholes and more are in the OR, WA, and CA’s laws and expand the scope of exploitation by predators. However, it serves the health insurance corporations very well.
There is the Oregon Tami Sawyer Thomas Middleton case of abuse for assets.
Oregon and Washington should amend their initiative-sound-bite driven dangerous laws. California’s should be vetoed.
Also note how the promoters of assisted suicide cling to their verbally engineered polls that claim a majority is in favor. I polled thousands of Montanans one-on-one as I served 60 days at fair booths across the state. Once folks knew about the loopholes in all of the Oregon model bills, 95% were not for them. So much for their verbally engineered polls.