I have a rather long piece on NRO about the worsening and widening euthanasia license in the Netherlands, Belgium (especially!), and Switzerland–and what accepting euthanasia consciousness does to a nation’s moral fiber. Anyone interested can read the whole thing by hitting the link below.
But for here, I just want to share the opening of the piece, depicting an incident from last weak that spurred me to write the article. From “Euthanasia Spreads in Europe:”
I spoke at a town-hall event about end-of-life care recently that, unfortunately, devolved mostly into an intense debate on assisted suicide. When the time came for audience questions, a self-described “mentally ill” woman took the microphone and strongly declared that she too should have the right to doctor-prescribed death. More than half the audience applauded, validating the woman’s potential suicide.
Ten years ago, supporting suicide for the mentally ill would have been unthinkable, even among hardcore Hemlock Society types. Now, alas, giving approval — or shrugging indifferently — to all manner of suicidal desires is becoming increasingly common. Indeed, you probably didn’t know that Sept. 10, 2011, was “World Suicide Prevention Day,” it received such scant media attention.
Why the change from an anti-suicide culture to one that is, at minimum, suicide-tolerant? I am convinced that, at least in part, the assisted-suicide movement has eroded society’s commitment to suicide prevention. It has created an atmosphere where many people now see “dead” as better than “dying” and suicide as a valid remedy for the debilitations caused by serious illness, disability, or being frail, elderly, “tired of life,” or chronically — or even, as I have seen, mentally — ill. Indeed, rarely a day goes by without some story implicitly or explicitly supporting assisted suicide as “death with dignity” or a compassionate response to the problem of human suffering.
This is very serious business, regardless of the legalities. Accepting the taking of human life–whether assisted suicide or euthanasia, there’s little moral difference in my book–changes a society. It distorts its values and perceptions, and undermines the perceived intrinsic worth of human life. Indeed, it leads to a culture in which a mentally ill woman can be applauded for wanting help in killing herself.
October 27th, 2011 | 1:49 am
Makes me sick. I hope that woman gets the help she needs.
October 27th, 2011 | 3:08 am
Mentally ill people need competent treatment. There are many successful treatments for mental illness, and anyone who feels suicidal should get these successful treatments. It’s absolutely repugnant, and morally outrageous, for anyone to “applaud” a mentally ill person killing herself. What it is, the suicide, (and, for that matter, the applauding of it) a horrible tragedy.
October 27th, 2011 | 9:14 am
Your prediction of “rational” suicide-suicide for any reason that makes someone not want to keep living, is coming more and more true everyday. The next step is euthanasia for people whose lives we would allow to commit suicide because they have certain conditions which we think makes life unbearable, not worth living. Acceptance of assisted suicide and rational suicide threatens everyone with those conditions that we think would rationalize suicide.
October 27th, 2011 | 1:16 pm
Just yesterday, I had a discussion with a member of our local D.A.’s office about the gap between what that office receives regularly as the number of suicides in our county versus what the general public is informed about. We never want to sensationalize anyone’s suicide but we need to find a middle ground. Getting people to discuss suicide locally has been an uphill battle…until it happens to someone close. It reminds me of the battle we had in the early 80′s to get incest and battering (domestic violence) out into the open. People of all ages are taking an action in despair that is preventable in many cases. Our task force continues to work to fire up the community to stop look and listen, and to ask the question, and perhaps, save a life.
October 27th, 2011 | 3:55 pm
Comment: This reminds me of some of the hurtful-and wrong-comments made by some people after my 30 year old daughter Marie became a victim of suicide:
“You can’t stop these people anyway.”
Wrong. Suicide prevention and treatment can work.Note this quote from even the New York Times which supports assisted suicide: “About 10% of people who threaten or try to commit suicide will eventually kill themselves.” (Suicide and Suicidal Behavior, online at: http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/suicide-and-suicidal-behavior/overview.html) Emphasis added.
But even if it was just one life saved, wouldn’t it be worth it to try? For example, one of my friends was about to commit suicide 29 years ago but we were able to save her at the last minute. She is still alive today and became a volunteer for children with disabilities.
“Your daughter is better off now.”
Wrong. Her daughter, brother, sister, friends, ex-husband and I all agree that the pain of losing Marie is infinitely greater than trying to help her with her mental health and substance abuse issues. She is not “better off” and neither are we.
Marie’s suicide was a tragedy, not a solution to any of her problems. Society needs to face the ugly reality of suicide and promote suicide prevention and treatment for every person without discrimination.
Nancy V.
October 28th, 2011 | 6:59 pm
We have come to disregard the value of human life because we have no foundation of beliefs explaining why we are valuable. Instead of protecting the sick (physical or mental) and caring for them we are in a rush to get on with our own lives without that distraction. We make it high sounding to “die with diginity”. Death is not dignified. Death is an enemy we will all face. Some will succumb easily some will fight tooth and toenail to live. We have been fed the lie that it is better to be dead than be dependent. Life can be terrible but dead is for a long, long time and there are no “do overs”, despite what some hope. There is love. There is caring. There is hope. But it is here, not when you are gone. Are we becoming so cold in our hearts that we applaud an emotionally ill woman who says she wants help to kill herself? What is next? Babies being killed as they are born? Oh, right. We already are responsible for that being done. mmm it’s worse than I thought….. but Jesus valued me enough to adopt me into his family so I could care for others, forgive because I was forgiven and share what I found that keeps me sane in this time of insanity. Peace. Thank God.
October 30th, 2011 | 1:17 am
Because we are a secular society it is difficult to believe the hard truth that everybody has a cross and for some it’s horrible diseases including mental illness. In cases where mental illness can only be managed at best, then there’s a reason God has allowed this to be, though we’ll like never know. It is very,very difficult to accept that God allows difficult circumstances to occur for the salvation of our souls. Suicide robs us of that opportunity to turn to God wholeheartedly for relief of some kind, and He always provides relief.
Nancy V, I’m sorry for your loss.
Those begging for the right to kill themselves don’t realize the hell they plunge their loved ones into. If that mentally ill woman were to kill herself her family would never get over the sneaking suspicion that they failed her in some way. Those people clapping will not have to deal with the emotional aftermath of her actions. Only in a secular society or one that has little faith or understanding of God would folks be crazy enough to actually champion suicide.
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