By Autumn Leva, VP of Strategy
As Christ-followers, by now we know what love looks like at the very beginning of life. We’ve learned how to fight for preborn babies for the last 45 years of Roe v. Wade’s existence.
But what does love look like at the end of life—when you or a loved one receives the medical diagnosis no one expected, when there’s pain and suffering?
We believe that love looks very much the same at the end as it does at the beginning. We believe that every life is worth fighting for—regardless of medical diagnosis, health condition, age, disability, socioeconomic status, or any other factor.
Sadly, proponents of legalizing assisted suicide do not believe this—they believe that the solution for loved ones who have been diagnosed with a serious medical condition and (in theory) six months left to live is for a doctor to provide a prescription for their patient to take a lethal dose of pills at home.
Rather than working with family members, counselors, medical professionals, and others to provide the best care when a loved one needs it most, it seems easier to give him or her access to a lot of pills to end it all. But that’s not caring—that’s abandonment.
We believe that we can do better than assisted suicide when it comes to caring for those approaching the end of life.
Our friend Jean has an amazing story of how God proved His love to her after a terrible accident—and she says better than anyone that we need to find policy solutions that “eliminate the problem, not the patient.”
Thankfully, 30 States have rejected over 200 attempts to legalize assisted suicide since 1994. Now, Representative Brad Wenstrup, who represents Ohio’s 2nd District in D.C., has introduced a resolution in Congress (H. Con. Res. 80) declaring the position of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate as opposed to assisted suicide. The last words of Rep. Wenstrup’s resolution are:
Representative Brad Wenstrup (OH, District 2)
“[I]t is the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government should ensure that every person facing the end of their life has access to the best quality and comprehensive medical care, including palliative, in-home, or hospice care, tailored to their needs and that the Federal Government should not adopt or endorse policies or practices that support, encourage, or facilitate suicide or assisted suicide, whether by physicians or others.”
But, Congress won’t prioritize passing Rep. Wenstrup’s resolution without our help and encouragement.
Family Policy Alliance is sending a letter to Congress this week, asking them to swiftly pass Rep. Wenstrup’s resolution. Will you help by asking your own U.S. House Representative to pass Rep. Wenstrup’s resolution?
We’ve made it easy through our Action Center.
Simply fill in your contact information for the letter, click send, and your letter will be automatically sent to your Representative.
Thank you for your help, and thank you for helping our leaders understand what love looks like at the end of life!
Every life is worth fighting for.
