Euthanasia Euthanasia, which means "good" or "peaceful" death, has been practiced through the ages. Doctors have always been dedicated to the task of easing pain and suffering, to make dying easier. Adding the adjective "active" alters the meaning of euthanasia. The emphasis shifts from comforting the dying to inducing death. The practice of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide would cause society to devalue all life, especially the lives of the dying, the disabled, and the elderly.
We should not understate the agonies involved in chronic pain and suffering. Nobody wants to see a loved one suffer or make the decisions that accompany medical science's ability to prolong life. The same technology that keeps people alive today raise a host of questions concerning the nature and destiny of man himself. Comforting the dying is still preferable to assisting in their death.
There are many reasons why, but the main one has to do with how much we value human life. God views all human life as sacred. He created us in his own image (Genesis 1:26,27), and it is he who has determined our days on earth (Job 14:5). God confirms his great love for his people, a love that does not cease when we are old or ill. His command that we not kill one another does not change when we are brain damaged or comatose. Our society, however, teaches certain classes of people that they are not wanted.
If a physician's aid in dying were to become a standard part of terminal care, there is always that possibility that patients might feel the need to request death out of fear of becoming a burden to their families. The right to die could be interpreted by a patient as the duty to die.
Chronically ill or dying patients may be pressured to choose euthanasia to spare their families financial or emotional strain. Joan Farah states in the New England Journal of Medicine that the elderly are often cited as being vulnerable. If Euthanasia becomes the law of the land, how long will it take before the elderly and sick begin to feel an obligation to get out of the way?.
