There was good news out of the country of Scotland last week. After an “emotionally-charged final debate,” a bill that would have legalized assisted dying (euthanasia—which is murder) for “terminally-ill, mentally competent adults” was defeated 69–57. This is good news for vulnerable people in Scotland.
Opponents to the bill raised various concerns, including:
- Fear of coercion
- Opening a Pandora’s box
- Unintended consequences to the most vulnerable, such as the disabled and domestic abuse victims
- Lack of conscience protections for healthcare professionals who did not want to participate
- And a lack of oversight on the doctors approving patients to receive the lethal doses
Well, they are certainly right to be concerned about all of the above—what’s happened in Canada over the past decade has certainly shown that euthanasia is a slippery slope. That nation now euthanizes more of its own citizens than it does shelter dogs! This summer, they are on track to kill their 100,000th patient through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). It’s now a significant cause of death, having been radically expanded, at least in practice, from the “terminally ill” to include a variety of conditions, including poverty and mental health.
Whenever a nation loses sight of the value of life (which always happens when the biblical worldview is replaced with an anti-God worldview!), the most vulnerable are the first to be sacrificed. The disabled, terminally ill, elderly, orphan, widow, and unborn suffer. I’m thankful Scotland has at least rejected assisted dying, understanding the downstream effects of devaluing human life in such a way (now they need to apply the same logic to abortion and end that cruel practice. Abortions are currently allowed up to 24 weeks in Scotland).
God commands us not to murder (Exodus 20:13). Assisted dying might be dressed up in compassionate language, but really it is the murder of some of the most vulnerable. If we want to know what compassion really looks like, we go to God’s Word, not to the thinking of our day.
