There is an ongoing pretense in assisted suicide advocacythe euthanasia/assisted suicide is merely a medical matter of “lastresort” that is to be reserved only for dying people when nothing elsecan be done to alleviate suffering. But this planned assisted suicide clinic that will “serve” the mentally ill as well asphysically ill in Switzerland, belies the notion. And, it is thelogical consequence of accepting euthanasia consciousness.

First,killing is not a medical act, as this Dutch clinic demonstrates. Thepeople involved are not doctors and in Switzerland, doctors are notsupposed to engage in assisted suicide in their professionalcapacities. Second, it isn’t about terminal illness. Many clients ofthe suicide clinics have not been dying. Which is also logical: Ifpersonal autonomy rules–as it does in assisted suicide ideology–dyinghas nothing to do with it. Finally, in the end it is about near deathon demand. If you own your own body, which is the bottom line premiseof radical individualism, then you have the right to dispose of it whenand where you will.

Many advocates are too political to statethis, or actually don’t want to go that far and naively believe that”guidelines” will protect against abuse. Yet, the Hemlock Societyfunded Dr. Phillip Nitschke for years as he attempted to develop his “peaceful pill”suicide concoction. And Nitschke was, at the time, calling for thepeaceful pill to be available in supermarkets for anyone who wants it,including “troubled teens.”

And people of good will,particularly in the media, just refuse to believe the evidence of thiswhen it is placed before them. I remember being on an NPR radio programonce. My debating opponent was Dr. Bert Keizer, a Dutch nursing homedoctor and author of Dancing With Mr. D.(If you want to see the coldness of euthanasia in action, read thatbook!) In any event, I pointed out during our debate that Keizer hadadmitted to euthanizing a man even before his lung cancer diagnosis wasfinal. The host sputtered angrily: I was an alarmist. Surely, I wasattacking Keizer without justification!

But then, Keizer coollyadmitted it. The host was speechless. Throughout the rest of theinterview, he kept desperately looking for justifications for Keizer’sactions. He simply refused to believe the truth that this wasn’t justabout dying people for whom nothing else can be done to alleviatesuffering. (I saw this same media tendency during the Kevorkian reign.)

Becausepeople desperate want to believe that a little killing will be allright. After all, it is only about compassion and choices (the new nameof the Hemlock Society), don’t you see. (from Smith’s Blog)

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