Euthanasia

 

Aged Couple’s Joint Suicide Pushes Euthanasia

By Wesley J. Smith
Well, here we are again. The logic of euthanasia–that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering–gets taken to its logical conclusion of death-on-demand.
An elderly French couple, not wanting to ever be apart, killed themselves in a French hotel and left a pro euthanasia suicide note. From the The Local story:

“France has been moved in recent days by the suicide of Georgette and Bernard Cazes, a couple, both aged 86, who took their own lives together in a luxury Paris hotel on Friday. The couple, together since their teens, checked into the world-famous Hotel Lutetia on Thursday night and at some point in the night, they took medication designed to induce a painless death, according to Le Parisien…”

They left an angry suicide note about being denied euthanasia:

“’By what right can a person be forced into a cruel [situation], when they wish to end their life peacefully?’ asked the letter, parts of which were quoted in Le Parisien on Monday. ‘Isn’t my freedom only limited by the freedom of others? By what right can they prevent a person [from ending their life peacefully], when they’ve paid their taxes, have no debts to the state, have worked all their lives, and then done voluntary service?’

“Georgette, in particular, expressed her anger at being denied the ‘gentle death’ they sought, by France’s long-standing ban on euthanasia. Underlining the couple’s determination, their eldest son told Le Parisien on Monday that they had made their decision to die together ‘several decades ago.’ ‘They feared being separated or dependent, more than they feared death,’ he added.”

Belgium already has seen joint euthanasia killings of elderly couples who don’t want to live apart. Switzerland’s suicide clinics have also accommodated joint suicides of the elderly.
Also, to state the obvious, they succeeded in dying. The question is: Should efforts have been made to prevent their suicides if that had been possible? I say yes. Suicide prevention for all, facilitation for none.

But the couple’s note was perfectly logical. They understood the truth about euthanasia.
It’s time the rest of us did too and stop pretending that it is just a teensy, weensy change in morality and policy. It’s still not too late to say no to the culture of death.
Editor’s note. This appeared at nationalreview.com.

Source: NRLC News