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The Death Culture and Euthanasia
Noreen Z. Johnson, M.D.
For most of us the introduction to euthanasia came in the mid
eighties with the case of Nancy Cruzan who, in a semi-comatose state was deprived of food
and water and took one week to die. This was a landmark case of Passive Euthanasia which
by definition is the withholding of food, water, oxygen and unwanted medical treatment
such as artificial life sustaining technology, and allowing the patient to die a natural
death.
Next came the Living Will also in the mid eighties. This is
the document a patient signs on admission to the hospital defining the extent of medical
intervention he/she desires in the event of a life threatening clinical condition. Our
society's acceptance of the Living Will completely changed the yardstick for measuring
human worth. The ethic then changed from "sanctity of human life" to
"quality of human life" where human worth is no longer spiritual but physical.
We then saw the evolution of Voluntary Euthanasia in the form
of Physician Assisted Suicide in the early nineties--Dr. Jack Kevorkian ("Dr.
Death") being its pioneer in this country. In this procedure the physician provides
the patient with (but does not himself administer) the lethal drug or agent so the patient
can kill himself. This era marked the beginning of a series of assisted suicide cases by
the retired pathologist which continue today unabated by the law.
Euthanasia, or Physician Aid in Dying, first became legal in
the Netherlands over a decade ago. In its practice the physician directly administers a
lethal dose of medication or other agent with the intent of killing the patient. The
country Holland with a track record of over ten years of euthanasia is an example of what
happens when physician assisted suicide is made permissible. Holland is now dealing with
cases of Involuntary Euthanasia where the physicians made those decisions themselves
without the consent of the patients or their families.
With the quality of life ethic being pervasive in our society
today we are beginning to see the predicted increase in suicide among teenagers, the
elderly, the chronically ill and the depressed.
If we as Christians do not actively oppose and change this
death ethic which has perverted our land, our society can then justify any atrocity, just
as the Nazis did, directed against certain classes of human beings considered disposable.
Ask yourself the questions, "Is there a connection
between euthanasia and the abortion nightmare?" And, "How do they both relate to
the issue of Black Genocide"?
Used with permission.
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