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November 10, 2016
Title: Is Physician Assisted Suicide “Caring”?
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Carrie Gordon Earll
with Focus on the Family www.Family.org
Death is inevitable for us all. It may come due to disease, injury, or age. The topics of death and suffering can spark fear, uncertainty, and a desire to control our circumstances. Physician-assisted suicide is positioned by some as a caring response to the challenge of dying. But is it?
Carrie Earll is the Vice President of Public Policy and Government and Spokesperson for
Focus on the Family. Listen in as she sheds some light on this sensitive topic.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is physician-assisted suicide, as positioned by some, a caring response to the challenge of dying?
Should physicians, who are trained to cure, be allowed to intentionally kill their patients by means of physician-assisted suicide?
“When death is cheap and life is expensive, what kind of choice is that for people?” Carrie asks. Listen in as she reveals the alarming cost difference between life-saving chemo therapy drugs and a suicide pill.
What message does this send to other patients and the culture at large?
The majority of people who desire physician-assisted suicide are not even terminally ill! They are simply depressed and have emotional distress. There is something very wrong with this…
What does the Bible say about end-of-life issues? How should Christians face death?
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August 2, 2016
Title: Aren’t Physicians to be Healers, not Killers?
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Dr. Tom Eppes
with Christian Medical and Dental Association www.CMDA.org
Good News: At the recent American Medical Association (AMA) Convention, the organization reaffirmed their stance opposing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia which appears in their Code of Medical Ethics.
Dr. Tom Epps is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association and Chair of the Integrated Physician Practice Section of the
American Medical Association. To read Dr. Epps’ comments on this issue,
click
here.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Does the American Medical Association (AMA) support physician-assisted suicide?
Does participating in physician-assisted suicide violate the AMA Code of Ethics?
NOTE: Many are now referring to this barbaric practice as “aid in dying”, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that a physician is still willingly allowing and assisting with a suicide.
When a patient requests a physician-assisted suicide, should this signal to the doctor that the patient’s needs are unmet and further help is needed?
What should patients and their family members know about end of life directives?
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March 1, 2016
Title: What Would Jesus Say About Physician Assisted Suicide?
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Carrie Gordon Earll
with Focus on the Family www.Family.org
Part 1 of 2
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young
children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to
understand.
Should physicians, who are trained to cure, be allowed to intentionally kill
their patients by means of physician assisted suicide? Carrie Gordon Earll is
the Vice President of Government and Public Policy with Focus on the Family. She
has been at the center of efforts to prevent the legalization of physician
assisted suicide and believes the push to expand the issue is one that must be
stopped.
“People have a right…recognized by the US Supreme Court, to refuse treatment. In
fact, it is assault and battery for a doctor to force some kind of medical
treatment [on a patient],” Carrie reveals. She does accept the fact that there
are interventions which are appropriate and some that may not be. However, if a
medical intervention is not going to make a difference in the long-run, that’s
when families must make the life-or-death decision – not the physician. “Death
is a certainty for everybody, but exactly what that looks like is a certainty
for no one,” Carrie says.
FACT: Physician assisted suicide is legal in California, Montana, Oregon,
Washington, and Vermont.
Listen in as Carrie Earll discusses the states where physician assisted suicide
is already legal and how it affects people with disabilities and terminal
illnesses. She continues with this topic in the next segment.
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Title: Part 2 of 2 - What Would Jesus Say About Physician Assisted Suicide?
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Carrie Gordon Earll
with Focus on the Family www.Family.org
Disclaimer: Use caution when listening to this segment around young
children. Issues discussed might be upsetting or hard for little ones to
understand.
What is the difference between allowing a patient to die naturally by removing
technological support compared to a physician deciding if a patient is no longer
worthy of saving? “Physician assisted suicide does not let nature take its
course. It allows the physician to write a prescription for an overdose of
lethal barbiturates for the patient to take,” Carrie Earll explains.
In Oregon, many of the physician assisted suicide patients are elderly single
women; they don’t necessarily want to die, but they also do not wish to be a
burden to their families in their old age. Fewer and fewer patients are those we
would consider a “classic case” – someone with terminal cancer or another
debilitating disease. For many, it is a question of cost, not quality of life. “We
can’t make cost determination decisions like this with people’s lives. We just
can’t,” Carrie pleads. “It puts people, especially the elderly, in a
very vulnerable position.”
How should Christians respond to the issue of physician assisted suicide? Carrie
Earll encourages everyone, no matter your age, to be very cognizant about any
legislation concerning physician assisted suicide – on both the state and
national levels. “Where [physician assisted suicide] has been practiced in
Europe, it has easily and quickly expanded to euthanasia,” Carrie warns.
There are cases in Europe where people have been euthanized who were not
terminally ill or elderly; they were simply depressed. It’s so very, very sad.
The word “euthanasia” is not found in the Bible. However, Carrie believes this:
“The value of life is in opposition to the enemy’s assignment to steal,
kill, and destroy. As Christians, as people of faith, and citizens to this great
country, it is our responsibility to defend the weak, the defenseless, and the
medically vulnerable.” For help or advice, please visit the Focus on
the Family website or call 1.800.A.FAMILY (1.800.232.6459).
Host Note: We would love to hear your thoughts about this
issue. Click
here to send a comment.
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February 21, 2007
Title: THE DEATH MAKERS SPIN Segment 1 of 2
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Julie Grimstad
with Life is Worth Living www.LifeIsWorthLiving.com
Terms for murder: aid-in-dying; patient directed dying; physician aid-in-dying. The public is not fooled by these and other terms used by Right to Die Activists. Suicide is suicide and murder is murder. Log onto www.LifeIsWorthLiving.com for more.
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Title: THE DEATH MAKER'S SPIN Segment 2 of 2
Topic: Physician Assisted Suicide
Discussed by Julie Grimstad
with Life is Worth Living www.LifeIsWorthLiving.com
Terms for murder: aid-in-dying; patient directed dying; physician aid-in-dying. The public is not fooled by these and other terms used by Right to Die Activists. Suicide is suicide and murder is murder. Log onto www.LifeIsWorthLiving.com for more.
More from this Guest More on this Topic More from this Organization