Washington, DC — What happens when you give people the option to commit suicide? Very quickly, the so- called “right to die” turns into a “duty to die.” Case in point: Oregon.
Oregon became the first state in the union to legalize physician-assisted suicide in 1997. Now, a survey from Oregon contains a shocking discovery: Sixty-eight percent of those who died by physician-assisted suicide feared being a burden on their family.
Burke Balch, director of medical ethics for the National Right to Life Committee, said that number is alarming.
“This is a dramatic increase over previous years, when it was about 12 percent and then about 26 percent,” Balch said. “So, what we're seeing is that over time this 'right' of assisted suicide which was sold as a matter of personal choice becomes more and more a matter of vulnerable people thinking that they have a 'duty to die' and get out of the way.”
He continued: “This is the sort of culture of death, the sort of lack of caring that is manifesting itself in accepting death as a solution to human problems.”
Rita Marker, who heads the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force, said while proponents of assisted-suicide laws claim to be offering a “choice,” they're really leaving the aged and infirm with an obligation.
“Then you have someone who merely offers the option of saying, 'Well, you know you could get this prescription. You could get help,' ” Marker said. “And that 'help' is in the form of a deadly overdose of drugs. Well, then there's the question of 'Would that be better for everybody else?”
And that's not a “choice” anyone should have to make.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
