July 2016 Newsletter
Posted By cmbuuck on July 15, 2016
Life Affirming News
Human, Without Exceptions
by Kim Laube / LifeDate / Summer 2106
Subsets of humans have been marginalized throughout human existence, but despite all the efforts for personal freedoms, there is still a group being marginalized, being made to feel less than human, and it’s happening in legislatures all over the United States!
The vast majority of “pro-life” legislation comes with a bitter pill to swallow for many who are left to believe that their lives are not worth sparing—those who were conceived in rape and incest. By the measure God provides, these sons and daughters are no doubt human beings that God designed, adores, and sent His Son to die for.
Offering up a rape or incest exception in legislation has become standard protocol with many groups citing the concept that saving some is better than none—but is it? By allowing exceptions into our belief, aren’t we truly agreeing with our opponents that some human life is worthless? Is that the argument God would have us make?
Consider Matthew 18:10-14 (NIV): “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”
A child conceived in rape or incest is not just “The Child of a Rapist,” he or she is the Child of a Rape Survivor, and more importantly, he or she is a Child of God. Society, by allowing these exceptions, is telling the rape victim that there is no value in her son or daughter’s life, and we expect she will want to have the baby killed! What an incredibly disheartening message to send to the victim of a crime—a crime which by nature leaves many victims doubting their own self-worth in the first place. We compound the wound to the victim by expecting she will want to kill the child she now carries—a child that is a part of her.
To make matters even more pressure-filled, many states allow a rapist to use his parental rights as leverage to get criminal charges dropped. Can you imagine? A rape victim’s choices become: kill her baby and pursue a rape charge, give birth to her baby and attempt to place the child for adoption just to have her rapist intervene and leverage his voluntary termination of parental rights in turn for her dropping any charges, or give birth and parent her child, in which case the rapist could try to trade his visitation and custody rights in exchange for her dropping the rape charge. Is there any justice?
In Iowa, Lutheran Family Service has been working on legislation that would terminate the parental rights of rapists and would not allow them to use their paternity as leverage for dropping criminal charges. Many other states around the nation are enacting similar laws! The Iowa bill unanimously passed the house and senate and was signed by the governor. This law allows a woman both a clear path to choose life for her child without the threat of her rapist having visitation, custody, or any part of their lives and a clear path to seek justice.
We are proud to have been a part of legislation that protects rather than marginalizes the sons and daughters of rape victims. They are our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and their lives are not exceptions!
The Physician-assisted Suicide Assault
by Virginia Flo / LifeDate / Summer 2016
By now you have probably heard about the many states that are being targeted with potential bills to legalize physician-assisted suicide. What you may not have heard is that many of those states have had their bills withdrawn or defeated—at least eight states since January 1 of this year. I want to share this because sometimes things seem inevitable and unstoppable when there is a full-scale assault on our religious beliefs.
I live in Minnesota, and our bill was recently withdrawn from a senate hearing by the senate author when support seemed insufficient. We know that probably isn’t the end of it and it could show up again. Yet, we praise the Lord for the heartfelt testimonies of church leaders, pro-life advocates, doctors, nurses, hospice caregivers, lawyers, educators and, most importantly, people with terminal illnesses who shared their stories and pleaded with the senators to set this proposed bill aside.
I had never before sat in on a senate hearing. I went to see how the process works and better understand why people want to legalize physician-assisted suicide. It was clear who was on what side that day as the people from Compassion & Choices—a successor to The Hemlock Society and the group supporting the bill—all wore yellow, while the people against it wore red as a message to “STOP” it. I stood in line for about a half hour and during that time could see groups of people wearing yellow and red talking amongst themselves. It was uplifting to see so many more people dressed in red than yellow that day.
I thought for a bit and then decided to approach a couple of people in yellow standing just a little way away from me. I introduced myself as being from Lutherans For Life, gave them my card, and asked them why they were there. The man immediately said he was a retired internist and was there to support the bill and give testimony. The lady volunteered that she too was Lutheran. She then shared that she was in the final stages of terminal leukemia, which she stated was beyond treatment. She described what she might go through at the very end of her life, saying she wanted to avoid that.
I continued to listen to the woman’s story as she shared that she didn’t know if she would actually use the 90 pills required to induce death. She just wanted them in her medicine cabinet to bring her comfort. She then asked that I not tell her pastor she was there that day supporting the bill. That saddened me, as I would hope everyone would turn to God through his or her pastor to receive comfort through God’s Word which promises He will be with us to the very end.
I asked both of them why they felt death is the only answer to end-of-life issues. The doctor said he felt it was a right. Later, in his testimony, he described how doctors could be over-medicating terminally ill patients and needed the option of assisted suicide. I have to admit that it gave me a shiver down my spine to hear that a doctor wanted to end lives rather than focus on other treatment or pain-relief options in an effort to do no harm.
Many doctors have said they cannot accurately pinpoint when a life will end and refuse to put a timeline on end of life as that could cause undue distress. Bless them for their position and acknowledgement that diagnosing can be inaccurate. God’s timing is perfect, and only He can predict when life ends.
Each of the people who testified that day on behalf of passing the legislation seemed quite sincere. Yet, as I saw this picture unfold, it was apparent there was something horribly wrong when people wanted to use a law to justify the taking of a life or look to a bottle of pills as security to bring comfort. Where is God in this picture?
It was uplifting to hear the side opposed to the bill testify on a need to focus on providing better palliative and hospice care to avoid suffering. When suicide is the first priority, anything that can be done to avoid suffering takes a back seat. Second priorities generally don’t get the same attention as first priorities, and this situation is no different.
When assisted suicide becomes legal, it is deemed a medical treatment. Since the pills are far less expensive than other medical options, it creates a whole new environment in the world of medicine. Doctors have to weigh the advancement of death as an option to other treatments, as will insurance companies.
I thank the Lord that we still have many faithful state legislators who value life, are not fearful of sharing their beliefs and turning back such incredibly harmful legislation. We need to pray for each and every one of them, including those who support these potentially dangerous laws. I am also thankful for the many medical professionals who have spoken up against assisted suicide and who promise not to prescribe lethal drugs that will harm their patients.
As Christians, we have a responsibility to provide comfort to the sick, as we do not want anyone to suffer. That is why we promote work to improve palliative care so doctors will have better means to relieve suffering at life’s end until God calls us home to heaven where there is no suffering.
Let us put our trust in Him.