Join us on the Crawford Stand as we explore one of the most controversial topics of our time: assisted suicide. With roots in the elemental commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ this dialogue delves into the ethical, moral, and societal implications of assisted suicide, often marketed under the euphemism of mercy killing. In our modern, rapidly evolving world, twelve states and the District of Columbia have legalized what many see as a compassionate choice. However, the moral, familial, and societal impacts remain hotly debated.
The Crawford Stand with the president of Crawford Broadcasting Company, Don Crawford.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. Those were the words of the great I Am, the great Jehovah, the words given by the creator of the universe of all things to Moses. Not killing was a commandment. It was not a suggestion. It was one of the Ten Commandments, but perhaps the most important one those holy, divine words once again were as follows, You and I shall not kill. But now in this woke, radically liberal, transgender society of ours comes the so-called mercy killing, the ending of life in the form of assisted suicide. Call it what you will, but in reality it is indeed killing. It’s killing. Twelve states and the District of Columbia allow this so-called mercy killing, this euthanasia, this assisted suicide, and more states are considering similar laws as well. Such laws permit physician-assisted suicide, which euphemistically is referred to as MAID, M-A-I-D, Medical Aid in Dying. Oh, what a world. When certain conditions are met and a person presumably rational and able to make a decision wants to die, I can’t fathom that, and at least two physicians so agree, a prescription can be issued for a lethal, death-inducing, poisonous substance which would then be injected into the body of the person wishing to die, and shortly thereafter death occurs. And that death presumably is sanctioned by the family and by loved ones or by a spouse or other relatives of such a person. And the state sanctions that and allows it and in some cases even encourages it. Boy, I sure don’t agree with that. How about you? Do you think that assisted suicide should be legal and offered to people who want it? Most of our states have what is called the six-month-left-to-live rule. Physicians must certify that there is no cure for the illness and that within six months or less, the individual will die. And for that individual, they say, there will be little but pain and suffering and loss of life and complete bodily deterioration. and there is supposedly a five-day waiting period between the lethal prescription given and the death of the individual by injection. Five days to change your mind. And in that period, the person can supposedly change his or her mind, and the killing procedure would be aborted. The person would then agree that the inevitable progressive condition, which cannot be reversed by any known treatment, will be the way in which death occurs. and not by the lethal prescription. It all sounds pretty complicated to me. How about you? What do you think? And those individuals and organizations which endorse assisted suicide think of the cost of the care of the individual during that supposed death happening six months. And, they say, society is better off financially and otherwise if the suicide occurs. Really? Well, that to me is totally unacceptable. It sounds even barbaric. And I, for one, could never authorize or participate in assisted suicide, the death of a family member or a loved one or a friend. Could you? Governor Kathy Hochul of the once great state of New York says of the assisted suicide bill she just signed, this bill is about freedom and autonomy. And compassion, huh? Really? Freedom to die? The autonomy to make the decision to die? And all of that is compassion? I don’t agree. And again, I ask, what do you think? The reality is that assisted suicide treats human life as negotiable. When pain or physical decline begin and take over a human life, the cry for help which we hear so often in the elderly and disabled, is then redefined as a right to die. But medical science has never been better. Developing cures, new medicines, new abilities to treat once untreatable illnesses, sometimes even overnight. There is now, in this day and age, always the possibility of treatment. even the possibility of cure and the alleviation of pain like never before. All such possibilities mitigate against mercy killing. Mercy killing. What an oxymoron, in my opinion. Many believe that the elderly, the disabled, and those suffering from some form of dementia are Those in pain and those easily led and misled by family and physicians cannot make any rational decisions, much less the decision to end life, to die. Such individuals should not be allowed, legally allowed, by the states and by our courts to make decisions to die. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. My own mother suffered a horrible death from a cancer which could not be treated forty years ago. Her pain was agonizing, was awful. In spite of that, she fought to live every minute of every day, believing it was worth while for her to do so. We, her family, and I especially, surely agreed. The thought of mercy killing or assisted suicide for our mother, for me, was never, ever discussed. And it was never a possibility for our family. Never. Have you had such an experience in your family? Would you have accepted the mercy killing of your mother or your loved one? Would you? You matter. You matter, my friend. And I matter. And every one of us matters to someone, a few or many. But we matter. Even more importantly, you, all of us, matter to our God who created us. And he told us that every day, every day, this very day, was the day he created for us. And that’s why we’re alive. And we should be glad. And we should rejoice therein, no matter what physical condition we are in. And not think about assisted suicide or killing oneself. And that somehow those who are in pain and perhaps terminally ill They had purpose for living that day. We were surrounded by friends and loved ones, by caregivers who in fact cared, and the Christ of glory was our portion that day. Ah, that was more than enough to be glad and rejoice, even if such rejoicing could not be verbalized, and often it can’t. But remember, thou shalt not kill. There are now wonderful painkillers available. Cures for almost every kind of disease are at work or on the horizon. There is hope to cure or extend life. There are less reasons than ever to choose death over life. And again, I for one believe that assisted suicide, that so-called euthanasia or mercy killing, is anything but merciful, and in fact it is morally and biblically dead wrong. What do you think, my friend? and especially you, my Christian friend, what do you think about assisted suicide? Do you believe in it? Would you authorize and participate in the death of a terminally ill loved one, like your own mother or father? Would you? Would you? Thou shalt not kill.
SPEAKER 01 :
Please let Mr. Crawford know what you think about the topic discussed this week here on the Crawford Stand in your email to him at stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. When you write, be sure to tell Mr. Crawford on what station you hear the stand. That email address again is stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. When you want to review what you hear, go to our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. The Crawford Stand is a public affairs presentation of Crawford Broadcasting Company and this station, serving God and country. I’m Bill McCormick.
