by Billy Atwell
“The panel is of the view that you fully appreciate the gravity of your previous misconduct and is in no doubt that you would not act in the same way should you be faced with similar circumstances in the future.”
Sounds innocent, does it not? This quote was not taken from the mouth of a Sunday school teacher after seeing a child steal a crayon, as its triviality would indicate. Instead, this was the judgment of the Scottish General Medical Council (GMC) regarding Dr. Iain Kerr, who prescribed sleeping pills to a suicidal elderly woman.
Dr. Kerr is a self-professed proponent of physician-assisted suicide, a sad solution trending among Euro doctors. How could he “fully appreciate” the gravity of his misconduct, when he does not believe his actions were unethical or immoral? The GMC panel said, “Although you have not changed your views with regard to assisted suicide, views to which you are entitled, the panel is satisfied that you recognise you were wrong to allow these beliefs to influence the treatment of patients under your care.”
Well I am glad the GMC panel is so comfortable with Dr. Kerr’s murderous actions, but what about the patients who are ignorant of his actions? How can the public be assured that he will not impose his utilitarian beliefs on them again? Here in America, child molesters must inform their neighbors whenever they move in. Perhaps doctors who assist others in suicide should do the same with new patients.
Dr. Kerr first prescribed the sleeping pills in 1998, but it was not until he prescribed temazepam to her after a failed suicide attempt that she died from drug intoxication.
Not to convince ourselves that the furthering of assisted suicide worldviews is limited to Europe, First Things writer Wesley J. Smith sounded the alarm of an assisted suicide billboard campaign in California and New Jersey, with more coming. The sentiment around assisted suicide is either a social Darwinian compulsion to help those who “drain” our resources get out of our way, or a perverted compassion that makes us want to end another’s pain because of our own guilt.
Social Darwinism is a despicable, overly rational belief that completely abandons a sense of good and the inherent value of every human life, regardless of its condition. Those with a perverted sense of compassion often are genuine in their desire to make the other person happy. Unfortunately for them, helping someone kill themselves to end their pain rejects the subject of the good they seek. The subject of both pain and pleasure is the person who experiences it. Without a person there to experience the pleasure of feeling no pain, suicide is both irrational and irrelevant to the desire.
Our chief concern should be the person and not our own guilt in watching them suffer or in the assumption that we have a right to avoid pain and therefore should help others do the same at whatever the cost. Also, the person must be preserved not only in honor of them, but the Creator who made them.
While the issue of marriage and abortion often take the center-stage of the political focus, we should not forget the dangers looming across the Atlantic. Europe is methodically moving closer to accepting assisted suicide and euthanasia universally. Christians and all pro-life people must be educated on these issues so we can help influence the culture with a message of life and true compassion. We must equip ourselves for this inevitable fight because—as we see with the billboard campaign—it is already here.
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Billy Atwell contributes to Catholic Online, and blogs for The Point and the Manhattan Declaration. From the perspective of a two-time cancer survivor he encourages those afflicted with pain and struggling with faith. You can find all of his writings at For the Greater Glory.