Times of crisis often bring what we really believe to the surface. Our actions in the midst of an emergency tend to reveal where our priorities lie and what is most valuable to us, and it is in these moments that treasuring human life proves essential because it is those who are most vulnerable who are at risk. To be pro-life is to care for all of life, from conception until natural death. It is to see that the worth of every individual is rooted in the fact that they are stamped with the image of our Creator, and created and loved by him. Because every life is valuable, every individual ought to be treated with care and dignity, regardless of their age or ability. When we value life, we are willing to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of the people around us.

In the past week, we’ve seen communities mobilize to protect those who are at high risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19. Grocery stores are setting aside designated times for elderly and at-risk shoppers, while churches and communities are mobilizing to meet needs that have arisen in the past week. 

Tragically, our society isn’t always consistent in its care for the most vulnerable. Shortly after Oregon began to see confirmed cases of COVID-19, they moved to inform the public of how to protect older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. Ironically, Oregon has also led the charge in pushing increasingly lax Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) legislation. Assisted suicide has been legal in Oregon since 1997, and the state has recently been chipping away at the few protections that were in place. Oregon isn’t alone in this, as an increasing number of states have legalized assisted suicide in recent years. 

Our culture is increasingly embracing the lie that some lives are more valuable than others. Disregard for the value of life anywhere leads to disregard for the value of life everywhere. Arguments for abortion on the basis of disability are based on the same lies that feed the euphemistically-termed “death with dignity” movement. Both are based on the idea that a person’s worth is determined by what they are able to contribute to society, and ultimately lead to chilling calculations in which a person’s death is seen as more valuable than their life.

Assisted suicide preys on vulnerable members of society, capitalizing on fears of becoming a burden while offering a false promise of a peaceful and painless death. In 2018, 64 percent of the people seeking to obtain life-ending drugs said that they were becoming a burden to their friends, family, or caregivers. What they really needed was someone to come alongside them and offer compassionate care. Dr. Herbert Hendin, in a report last fall from the National Council on Disability says,

Patients who request euthanasia are usually asking in the strongest way they know for mental and physical relief from suffering. When that request is made to a caring, sensitive, and knowledgeable physician who can address their fear, relieve their suffering, and assure them that he or she will remain with them to the end, most patients no longer want to die and are grateful for the time remaining to them.

The acceptance of assisted suicide not only causes the premature deaths of those who are sucked into the lie that their lives are not worth living but also has a demoralizing effect on people living with disabilities by increasing the obstacles and discrimination that they face, as well as affecting overall suicide rates throughout the community. 

Devaluing human life is an affront to God because it denies the imago Dei in us. It has far-reaching consequences for an entire society. In a secular culture that often bases the worth of an individual on the ways in which they can contribute to society, we must be willing to stand up and push back. Given the way that we are willing to mobilize to protect vulnerable people during times of crisis, the growing acceptance of assisted suicide is a horrifying double standard. We must stand up, speak out, and act in defense of the dignity and preciousness of all life.