Euthanasia, which means "good" or "peaceful" death, has been practiced through the .
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 .
