Thou shalt not kill

I’ve always found it ironic that one of our most selfless national holidays in America, Thanksgiving, is followed by one of the most selfish, the aptly named Black Friday—from “Give thanks” to “Get more” in less than 24 hours. Our family-oriented, others-focused, God-honoring traditions are increasingly eclipsed by more consumer-oriented, self-focused, man-centered ones, and the juxtaposition of these two days tells this sad story every year.

But this year’s Black Friday got a whole lot blacker—and more consumer-oriented, self-focused, and man-centered—when news broke from across the pond that the U.K. Parliament voted in favor of the much-debated and morally fraught Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would legalize “assisted dying,” a euphemistically named practice also known as “assisted suicide” in England and Wales.

Medically assisted suicide has been on the rise worldwide, but especially in the West, with the most prominent developments—and frankly most horrific—coming out of Canada, where our northern neighbor’s Orwellian-named MAID (medical assistance in dying) has resulted in more than 400 individuals being put to death in criminal violation to the code, and the Netherlands, where it is currently legal for doctors to kill patients as young as 1 year old with the consent of a guardian. Instead of seeing these stories as cautionary tales, members of Parliament voted to follow suit, with the apparent support of the British public and not much opposition from the Church of England.

Here is not the place to rehearse the comprehensive moral case against medically assisted suicide, which has been competently made over and over again, especially by faithful Britons in the run-up to the vote. For most, the words of Hippocrates should be sufficient, “First, do no harm.”

But the Christian case against the practice is simple, and it is related to our case against suicide and murder. Life is a gift to be received, nourished, and appreciated. Human life is imbued with immeasurable dignity and worth because of the stamp of the divine image each of us bears. We are not self-created beings (Psalm 139:14). It is God who made us (Psalm 100:3). As such, we do not determine the day or place of our birth, and neither is it ours to determine the place or day of our death (Job 14:5; Ecclesiastes 8:8; Matthew 6:27).

A society that legalizes assisted suicide commits the ultimate blasphemy, with the state usurping the throne of God, deputizing the individual and his doctor and perhaps a death panel of so-called “experts” to determine the exact day of death. We should note, however, that this unnatural, unholy arrangement is the logical companion of a society that increasingly plays God at the beginning of life.

God will not be mocked. Now is the time for mourning and for praying and for doubling down on our advocacy for life—all of life, womb to tomb. On Nov. 29 in London, Parliament voted to expand the license to kill beyond James Bond to include the local physician, the one charged with overseeing the physical well-being of the patient. This dark development reflects ill on the nation’s spiritual well-being. God save Great Britain from herself.

The West seems determined to commit suicide, and there are dark forces arrayed that are more than willing to assist. This year’s Black Friday will live in infamy. But Sunday always follows, and with it, resurrection hope—and judgment—from the Author of Life Himself. Our task is to bear witness to the gift of life and to the Giver.