In the late 1990s, Americans had our collective conscience shocked when a physician was found out to be performing assisted suicides. In 1998, “Dr. Jack Kevorkian was arrested and tried for his role in the … euthanasia of a man named Thomas Youk who had Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.”
Kevorkian, who had been involved in dozens of assisted-suicide deaths, was convicted and sent to prison before later being paroled, according to sources. What Kevorkian–who was called “Dr. Death”–did with his horrifying actions was to end people’s lives in an obviously unethical way. He also put a spotlight on the topic of euthanasia, an issue many had never previously considered.
Fast forward to today, and sadly, the movement has taken hold in many areas of the world. The movement has even gained steam, with self-managed suicide inventions coming about, such as the dystopian-like “suicide pods” that, while they look futuristic, are deadly. Once again, technology has outpaced ethics and virtue.
To make matters worse, most proponents of this movement use deceptive and benign-sounding language like “death with dignity” or “let us choose.” They often advance stories of individuals who are experiencing great suffering as pawns in their movement to legalize this dangerous, immoral practice.
Popular culture has also played a role in the advance of these ideas. Many will recall movies like “Million Dollar Baby” and “Me Before You,” which pushed the narratives of assisted suicide for those facing disabilities. In the same way the degradation of sexual values in our culture was accelerated through negative influences of movies, songs and celebrities, these also have played a role in changing public opinion for the worse on these issues.
So what can Christians do in the face of a culture of death, one that even presents itself as a compassionate movement and that has the cultural winds at its back? Here are three ways to confront the assisted suicide movement’s momentum:
- Recognize the Danger
There are already 12 states in the U.S. that have permitted assisted suicide in some form, which began in the state of Oregon. In Europe, the Parliaments in England, Wales and Scotland are considering legislation that would legalize assisted dying for terminally ill adults “under specific criteria.”
Proponents of assisted suicide will not keep this limited to Europe or liberalized states in the United States. In fact, the idea has already been proposed and pushed in Oklahoma.
Southern Baptists have seen through the lies of this movement and raised their voices for many years, decrying the practice of assisted suicide. Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler, speaking of Canada’s embrace of assisted suicide said, when “you open the door of physician-assisted suicide or any form of euthanasia, you’re responsible for everything that passes through that door.”
He added, “The logic that began with physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia for those who were terminally ill was extended to adults, terminally ill. Then it was extended to adults who weren’t terminally ill but had some diagnosis that they did not want to deal with. Then it was extended to those who had a form of depression or some kind of psychiatric diagnosis. And then it was extended to children, and then it was extended beyond adolescents to younger children. What we’re looking at here is that in Canada, it has now been extended to the disabled.”
Mohler went on to say, “Don’t believe for one minute that the logic that is here chillingly revealed in this action in Canada will stay in Canada. Furthermore, honesty requires that we admit that this logic is already right here, and horrifyingly enough, it’s gaining ground.”
- Respond with Sound Arguments
Part of the way we can defeat bad arguments and ideas is with good ones. In 2024, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of Southern Baptists issued a statement on this important topic, with the following information:
“Southern Baptists affirm every life is worthy of protection and created in the image of God. We believe in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, regardless of age or ability, as expressed in the Baptist Faith & Message.
“In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled in Washington v. Glucksburg that state prohibitions on physician-assisted suicide do not violate the Constitution, thus opening the door for states to legislate the matter. Currently, 10 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized physician-assisted suicide. While most states outlaw physician-assisted suicide and classify it as manslaughter or a lesser felony, there were growing movements in roughly 19 state legislatures in 2024 to permit this practice.
“Pain and suffering call for compassionate treatment that supports a God-honoring culture of life, not euthanasia. Ethical principles derived from Judeo-Christian and Hippocratic traditions provide compassionate methods of both hospice and palliative care. In a 2001 resolution, Southern Baptists resolved that legalized euthanasia is immoral ethically, unnecessary medically and unconscionable socially.”
The ERLC went out to point out that “Physician-assisted suicide is not healthcare. Medicine has been governed for over 2,500 years by the belief it is always wrong to intend to harm one’s patients, including killing or assisting a patient to kill himself or herself. We rightly grieve death, particularly suicide. Additionally, many states that have adopted these permissive laws are intentionally targeting those with disabilities and offering them ways to end their lives rather than providing the proper physical and mental healthcare.” The ERLC went on to urge Congressional action.
- ‘Maximize Care’ Instead of Merely ‘Relieving Suffering’
In his important book, Bioethics and the Character of Human Life: Essays and Reflections, author, theologian and bioethics expert Gilbert Meilaender’s offers this helpful insight.
He wrote, “although compassion surely moves us to try to relieve suffering, there are things we ought not to do even for that worthy end–actions that would not honour or respect our shared human condition. One of the terrible truths that governs the shape of our lives is that somethings there is suffering we are unable–within the limits of morality–entirely to relieve. Hence, the maxim that must govern and shape our compassion should be ‘maximize care,’ which may not always be quite the same as ‘minimize suffering.’”
Many of the individuals who are seeking assisted suicide need us to stand with them and for them. They need us to maximize care for them, instead of merely ending their suffering in morally problematic ways. After all, in the Hippocratic Oath, physicians swear to “Do No Harm.” Christians must abide the same values, as caregivers and in our support efforts.
Unfortunately, the assisted suicide movement is not going away any time soon. But by these three aforementioned actions, we will be in a better place to thwart their efforts and advance a culture of life.
In summary, we need to uphold policies and values that do no harm. We need to oppose the ideas and efforts of the assisted suicide movement with sound, biblically based wisdom and arguments. Finally, we must maximize care for the suffering, while upholding the dignity of life from conception to natural death.
