The World and Everything in It: February 14, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. Hi, I'm Carlo Soca. My family and I enjoy listening to the podcast back home in Virginia where I serve as a Navy chaplain. But at the moment I'm listening from McMurdo Station, Antarctica while I serve as a station chaplain. A big hug to my family. I miss you. I hope you enjoyed today's program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! The Senate passes a foreign aid bill, but how did it get past Republicans who wanted to secure the Southern border?

AUDIO: Last time I checked about half of it’s going to the military industrial base here to replace and to aid our modernization of our arsenal.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday. Also today, WORLD Tour. And teaching teenagers about God’s design for sexuality.

CHRISTOPHER YUAN: Scriptures consistently celebrates the goodness, beauty and wholesomeness of sex in Biblical marriage.

And what Holland’s decision to legalize euthanasia for children means for Christians.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, February 14th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MAST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. Good morning!

REICHARD: Time for the news with Kent Covington.

AUDIO: On this vote, the yeas are 214 and the nays are 213. The resolution is adopted.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Mayorkas impeachment push » House Republicans last night voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a historic rebuke of a sitting cabinet member.

Republicans say he betrayed the public trust by not enforcing border and immigration laws.

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds:

BYRON DONALDS: We need him removed. We need somebody in that job that’s gonna secure the nation.

Democrats call the impeachment a political stunt.

Hours before the vote, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters …

PIERRE: They want to continue in this shameful process of impeaching him. It’s baseless. It is baseless.

The charges against Mayorkas next go to the Senate for a trial, but the Democrat-led chamber has shown little interest in the matter. And it may be indefinitely shelved to a committee.

Foreign aid package » President Biden is ramping up political pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson over a bipartisan Senate bill that would fund aid Ukraine, Israel, and others.

BIDEN: The United States Senate, as you all know, voted overwhelmingly, to move forward with a bipartisan national security bill. And I urge Speaker Johnson to bring it to the floor immediately.

The Senate bill passed in the overnight hours Tuesday morning on a vote of 70 to 29, but Republicans were divided on the bill.

And those same divisions are present in the House where the speaker is signaling that he’s unlikely to take up the bill.

Many Republican critics of sending more aid to Ukraine say America must secure its own borders first. Some are critical of supplying the aid altogether.

Congressman Chip Roy:

CHIP ROY: Those 22 Republicans who voted for that bad bill, abomination of a bill, should be ashamed.

And some GOP lawmakers altogether oppose sending more aid to Ukraine, seeing it as expensive charity.

But other Republicans argue that helping allies to weaken America’s adversaries like Russia  is a wise strategic move.

Estonia warns of Russian threat » Meantime, in eastern Europe Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service is warning that Russia is preparing for a military conflict with the West within the next decade.

The chief of the intelligence service said Russia is planning to double its forces near its western border.

He said European and NATO countries could counter that threat by beefing up their own armed forces.

Canada arms guilty plea » A Canadian-Russian woman is facing up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to send drone and missile components to Russia. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Prosecutors say Kristina Puzyreva, her husband, and another man purchased American-made electronic components and shipped them to their co-conspirators in Russia.

She pleaded guilty to multiple charges in a Brooklyn court Tuesday.

U.S. authorities in November charged her and the other suspects with smuggling, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and wire fraud conspiracy.

Puzyreva and her husband are from Montreal, and their co-defendant is a dual Russian-Tajikistan citizen who lives in Brooklyn.

The U.S. Justice Dept. says the group was connected to U.S.-sourced missile components that were later found in Russian weapons in Ukraine.

The investigations into Puzyreva’s husband and the other man are ongoing.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Inflation » Borrowing money might get a little less expensive in the months ahead.

A new Labor Dept. report shows prices were up 3-point-1 percent last month compared to a year ago.

But market analyst and WORLD contributor David Bahnsen says that doesn’t tell the whole story. He says more current indicators, not reflected in that report, shows that rents are no longer rising, year over year….

BAHNSEN: Rents year over year according to National Apartment list according to Zillow, according to realtor.com, there's about six different private sector real time metrics that I use show year on year rent, growth and 0%.

And when you factor that in, Bahnsen says inflation may actually be a lot closer to 2 percent which is the Federal Reserve’s target rate.

And with that mind, he believes the Fed might be in the mood to start cutting interest rates as soon as May.

SOUND: [Shoveling Snow]

Weather » Parts of the northeastern U.S. are digging out from up to a foot of snow.

Officials say the first nor’easter of the year brought plenty of the white stuff to states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York…along with up to 60 mile-per-hour winds.

Rhode Island resident Richard Foley was out in the street shoveling snow. 

FOLEY: This is very wet, heavy snow. You can’t use a snow blower. You have to shovel. It’s not fun. 

Foley didn’t have much time to talk though. He said he had to take his children…sledding.

New York special election » The GOP’s already narrow lead in the House will soon shrink by one seat.

Tom Suozzi won Tuesday’s special election in New York.

The Democrat campaigned on helping to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, which has become an important issue to voters there amid a migrant crisis in New York City.

SUOZZI (campaign ad): Close the routes used for illegal immigration, but open paths to citizenship for those willing to follow the rules.

Souzzi will replace scandal-ridden former Congressman George Santos who was expelled from Congress in December.

Suozzi represented the district before Santos. He gave up the seat to launch an unsuccessful campaign for governor.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Republicans divided over foreign aid on Washington Wednesday. Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Wednesday the 14th of February, 2024. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. It’s time now for Washington Wednesday.

The Senate has passed a foreign aid bill, but without the border deal Republicans wanted. Washington Bureau reporters Leo Briceno and Carolina Lumetta report on the bill and what it took to get there.

CHUCK SCHUMER: It’s been a long night, a long weekend, and a long few months. But a new day is here, and our efforts have been more than worth it.

LEO BRICENO: That’s Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer just minutes after he and his colleagues passed a 95.3 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

CAROLINA LUMETTA: The White House, Democrats in the Senate—and even some Republican Senators—have been calling for action since Hamas first attacked Israel on October 7th. Here’s Senate Minority leader, Mitch McConnell.

MITCH MCCONNELL: We view all of these problems as connected. Ukraine is part of it, obviously Israel enjoys overwhelming support but we think also it's important that we make a part of it related to Asia and that’s Taiwan.

So why is the Senate just now getting around to a foreign aid package this week when it was evidently a priority for them at the end of last year? The answer to that question … has three parts.

BRICENO: First, Republicans in the House of Representatives were not open to the idea of continuing to fund the war in Ukraine—at least not without a few strings attached. The U.S. has sent more than 75 billion dollars in aid towards Ukraine between 2022-2023, and the Ukrainians promised to use it for their Spring offensive to evict Russia from their country. But that conflict continues and so House Republicans in October wanted the White House to clarify America’s goals for the war in Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson.

MIKE JOHNSON: What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win, and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed.

LUMETTA: Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th changed the conversation about foreign aid. President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass a $100 billion package to help Israel…and Ukraine. But where Republicans in the House wanted to focus on just Israel, the Senate made it clear it would only consider both: Israel and Ukraine together.

Speaker Johnson shot back that the House wouldn’t consider any Ukraine aid without also passing some sort of Southern border security package. So what started as a concern for Ukraine was then linked to Israel and both of those were coupled with a demand for border policy.

BRICENO: That’s where the second part of the story begins. The House of Representatives under Johnson has called for much stronger border policies. A group of senators worked behind the scenes to produce bipartisan border legislation so that they could finally go on and approve some Ukraine/Israel funding.

But when the Senate deal finally emerged, it wasn’t what Republicans had hoped to see. Many Republicans felt like Democrats were offering a border bait and switch to get Republicans onboard with foreign aid and immigration reform. Here’s Congressman Troy Nehls the day after the bill was made public.

TROY NEHLS: You would think at any point in time if you had a really rock-solid bill, you’d have it stand on its own, right? Bring a border bill like we did. If you had negotiated that bill over there, bipartisan, why don’t you bring it over here in and of itself? But you attach Ukraine to it. You know why they put Ukraine on there? Because they’re going to put Republicans in a difficult position. You’re putting ‘em in a trap is what you’re doing.

Many Republicans in the House did, however, want some sort of room for compromise…including California Congressman John Duarte.

JOHN DUARTE: If there’s leadership—if there’s leadership from Joe Biden, the president of the United States. Or if there’s leadership from Donald Trump, to say “hey guys, I think this is what we ought to do.” …there’d be too many people in our party that’d be afraid to support it.

LUMETTA: That’s where the third part of this story comes in. Former President Donald Trump came out against the border deal days before negotiators released the text of the bill to the public. He called on Republicans in Congress to kill the bill, rather than compromise with Democrats.

DONALD TRUMP: As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible, open borders betrayal of America. It’s not going to happen and I’ll fight it all the way.

While the nominating convention is still months away, much of the Republican Party in Washington is treating Trump as the presumptive nominee. Democrats say this is why many are falling in line behind the former president as they expect Trump to return to the White House.

BRICENO: Some Senate Republicans have pushed back on this narrative, saying they opposed the deal because it contained bad border policy…not because Trump pressured them. But Senators who worked on the deal had a different story:

JAMES LANKFORD: Some of them have been very clear with me they have political differences with the bill.

That’s Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, the Republican negotiator who helped write the border bill.

LANKFORD: They say it’s the wrong time to solve the problem or to let the presidential election solve this problem.

LUMETTA: Trump has also used his campaign platform to rally support against most if not all Ukraine funding. He’s even renewed calls for the U.S. to rethink support for NATO if member countries in Europe fail to meet a recommended 2% defense appropriation of their budgets. Here’s Trump at a South Carolina rally on Sunday, recalling a conversation that took place during his presidency.

TRUMP: One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, “Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?” I said, “You didn't pay? You're delinquent?” He said, “Yes, let's say that happened.” “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”

That position isn’t as palatable for Republicans in the Senate, and over a dozen were willing to join Democrats and pass a foreign aid bill without border policy changes. Why? Well, some say it will cost America more in the long run not to help Ukraine, even if the price tag comes out to tens of billions of dollars in the short run. Here’s North Carolina Senator, Thom Tillis.

THOM TILLIS: A lot of people say we're sending 70 $80 billion to Ukraine. Really? Well last time I checked about half of it’s going to the military industrial base here to replace the inventories that we've sent to them to replace and to aid our modernization of our arsenal… I'm less concerned about Vladimir Putin than I am about China and our retreat from leading the Western world… But let's let this chamber be the chamber that stands with the free world.

But the more conservative wing disagrees: they argue that Ukraine also has a corrupt government and the U.S. cannot afford to fund overseas wars that don’t directly affect domestic interests. Here’s Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri speaking on the floor on Tuesday night:

JOSH HAWLEY: I think doing it without oversight is a serious mistake. I think doing it in a way that seriously harms our position in the Pacific, which is our most important foreign policy challenge, it's a serious mistake. I think doing it before we secure our own border is a serious mistake.

LUMETTA: Also on Tuesday night, Ohio Sen. JD Vance joined a live discussion with Elon Musk, other senators, and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on X. Vance says that the White House has failed to articulate a compelling strategy for ending the war in Ukraine.

JD VANCE: The argument for the strategy is that if we throw enough money and resources and weapons at Ukraine, they will somehow reach a point where the Russians are tired of fighting and will come to the negotiating table. If your explicit strategy is to wait Vladimir Putin out until he comes to the negotiating table when you are outmatched in manpower and weaponry, you're clinically insane.

Vance then joined Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in a filibuster on Tuesday night. Paul was upset that the bill no longer included border security…as Republicans previously required.

RAND PAUL: We’re going to send to Ukraine more money than we spend on our own Marine Corps…Once the border bill failed and they decided this wasn’t really about the border, it was about Ukraine’s border. The American Firsters plowed on but with a more intellectually honest proposal: Nothing for America, everything for Ukraine.

BRICENO: Despite the overnight opposition, the foreign aid bill finally passed 70-29 early Tuesday morning. 22 Republicans joined 48 Democrats to greenlight it. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said this after the Senate sent the bill over to the House.

SCHUMER: And I call on Speaker Johnson to rise to the occasion, to do the right thing. Bring this bill to the floor…but if the hard right kills this bill, it would be an enormous gift to Vladimir Putin.

LUMETTA: House Speaker Mike Johnson has consistently said any bill without southern border security is dead on arrival. In a statement released Monday night, he said the Senate should have “gone back to the drawing board” rather than push the foreign aid package through.

BRICENO: If Johnson does not bring the bill to the floor for a vote, House lawmakers could technically force it through with a discharge petition. To do that, they’d need 218 signatures to bypass Johnson, And that’s something that’s unlikely. But in this Congress, not impossible.

That’s it for Washington Wednesday. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leo Briceno.

And I’m Carolina Lumetta.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

AUDIO: [Walking villagers]

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: DRC unrest — We start today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where residents are fleeing intensifying violence.

Thousands of people clutching their belongings joined others in cars and on motorcycles to journey towards Goma, the largest city in the eastern region.

Fighting has increased between Congo’s army and the M23 rebel group—one of at least 120 rebel groups active in the region.

The rebels blocked the two main roads into Goma.

Olive Luanda was among the fleeing residents.

LUANDA: [Speaking Swahili]

She says here that she wants the war to end because people are suffering too much.

Aid group Save the Children says the latest fighting has displaced at least 78,000 children so far this month.

South Africa this week announced it will deploy at least 2,900 soldiers to Congo as part of a southern African mission.

Ecuador euthanasia — Next to Ecuador where the Constitutional Court last week decriminalized euthanasia.

The ruling follows a lawsuit by Paola Roldan—a terminally ill woman diagnosed with ALS. She argued she should be allowed to choose when she dies.

ROLDAN: [Speaking Spanish]

Roldan saying here she was weeping and rejoicing at the ruling.

The court gave lawmakers up to 12 months to draft regulations for the procedure. But Roldan received expedited permission to take her life.

The ruling has sparked mixed reactions in the country.

ESTRELLA: [Speaking Spanish]

Fausto Estrella, a retired teacher in Ecuador says people aren’t masters of their lives, and only God should end a person’s life.

Ecuador joins Colombia as the only other Latin American country to legalize euthanasia.

AUDIO: [Street protesters]

Greece same-sex unions — In Greece, over 1500 protesters gathered in Athens on Sunday to oppose approval of a same-sex marriage bill.

Greece’s conservative government is sponsoring the bill that will require approval from opposition parties to become law. The proposed legislation seeks to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children.

Many who oppose the bill have called it a threat to traditional family values.

Chara Gianantonaki joined the protest.

GIANANTONAKI: [Speaking Greek]

She says the bill’s proponents want to destroy what has remained sacred in the country. She added that protesters like herself draw the line when it comes to children.

The bill’s approval could make Greece the first majority Orthodox country to legalize same-sex marriage.

AUDIO: [Music and fireworks]

Lunar New Year celebrations — We close today with fireworks in Hong Kong as spectators on the territory and elsewhere marked the Lunar New Year.

The colorful display over Victoria Harbor lasted for 23 minutes. It marked the first time Hong Kong has celebrated the Lunar New Year with fireworks since the COVID-19 pandemic.

AUDIO: [Dancing]

In China, crowds gathered to watch the dragon dance, martial arts, and acrobatic performances in Beijing.

WOMAN: [Speaking Mandarin]

This Beijing resident says the performances make her forget the pandemic ever stopped such events.

AUDIO: [Performance]

Asian communities in London’s Chinatown, in Madrid, and other major cities also entertained spectators.

That’s it for today’s WORLD Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: News from the potato world now: On Saturday, while shopping for groceries, a lady in the UK named Daisy Reynolds happened to eye the last bag of King Edwards potatoes.

DAISY REYNOLDS: I just opened the bag and there it was. That was the first one I put my hand on.

She sprouted a grin as she realized the tuber was shaped like a perfect heart! At first, the idea of cutting it up wasn’t particularly appealing to Reynolds, but then she decided to hold it for a romantic meal of steak and chips for her man this week.

REYNOLDS: Gonna eat it on Valentine’s Day.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Relation-chip-goals.

MAST: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, February 14th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

On today’s episode of Concurrently: The News Coach Podcast: host Kelsey Reed and God’s WORLD News team members Amy Auten and Rob Patete answer a question about dating.

Here’s a preview:

AUTEN: The psychologist is called John Gottman, but he discusses how you watch people engage each other is very telling in terms of their long-term chances of having a healthy relationship. Couples all day long, and even you and I, as friends and co-workers, we give each other daily bids. So yesterday I was in the office and I heard bagpipes out the window. And I looked at Jonathan's wife, Chelsea, I said, Do you hear that? Within seconds she had the window open, leaning forward to listen with me. She met my bid. Couples and friends who are healthy, leaning towards each other immediately. How are you doing? I'm, well, how are you? And we can lean into each other or we can be dismissive of each other. And that can also be signs of abusive personalities. If we don't coach our kids on this, if all we say is, “Don't date till you're 18 and make sure he's a strong leader,” we have profoundly failed them in terms of understanding what healthy relationship looks like.

REED: So we're giving different categories, like when you give the category through Gottman's language, you're providing a different way of thinking. So that, for example, when we're in the middle of community, we're able to look with that reframed, you know, lens, where we're seeing Okay, I see that person responding with kindness. You know, the the bid made by that image bearer is honored.

You can hear the entire episode of Concurrently today wherever you get your podcasts. And find out more at concurrentlypodcast.com.

REICHARD: Coming next on The World and Everything in It: It’s Valentine’s Day. Not everyone will have a sweetheart to celebrate with, but all Christians can celebrate God’s good design for marriage and sexuality.

MAST: Of course, American culture offers a very different story about sexuality and gender. WORLD reviewer Emily Whitten says parents who want to share godly sexual values with their teens should check out a video series released last year.

EMILY WHITTEN: The Holy Sexuality Project is a 12-lesson video curriculum for families. It grew out of a 2018 book called Holy Sexuality and the Gospel written by Christopher Yuan.

LESSON 1: As we kick off this Holy Sexuality video series together, I want to give you a quick overview of where we will be heading. For the next four lessons, we will study three aspects of sexuality: attractions, actions, and identity.

The series takes on challenging issues with biblical truth and hard won wisdom from Yuan’s own struggles. After his conversion, Yuan became a Christian author and a professor at Moody Bible Institute. But his prodigal journey was a rocky one. Here’s how Allie Beth Stuckey introduces him in a 2023 interview.

STUCKEY: He has an amazing testimony of being a drug dealer who went to prison, who was deeply involved in the gay community as a homosexual man, and then came to Christ through a powerful turn of events.

Yuan tells his personal story in the first lesson of the Holy Sexuality Project. It sets the tone for the entire series, highlighting the seriousness of sin as well as the power of God’s love to change anyone.

CHRISTOPHER YUAN: By God’s grace, I followed Jesus. As the days and the weeks and the months of abstinence passed, I realized that my sexuality shouldn’t be the core of who I am.

In early lessons, Yuan helps families see through some common deceptions of our culture, such as the idea that all desires are good. He also highlights foundational doctrines like Creation, the Fall, and our sin nature, as well as God’s redemptive plan through faith in Christ.

YUAN: Scripture consistently celebrates the goodness, beauty, and wholesomeness of sex in biblical marriage.

Later sections go deeper on topics like singleness, transgender ideology, and how to minister to those who struggle. Yuan takes on ­popular questions like this one: “Is God really concerned about what goes on in my bedroom?”

He helps families reject worldly, me-centered views of our ­bodies and sexual desires. In contrast, he ends each lesson with 1 Thessalonians 4:3:

YUAN: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Now go and follow Jesus.

In Lesson 8, he even teaches families how to interpret the Bible using literary, historical, and canonical tools. Those analytical tools can help teens see through worldly claims and respond to progressive Christians’ arguments that the Bible is pro-gay.

For about the cost of a large pizza, parents can get a two-year license for the series at the website, ­holysexuality.com. They’ll also get a 65-page downloadable Parent Guide that complements the videos. In terms of production quality, the series holds up well. Yuan delivers short, conversational talks punctuated by stylized graphics and Bible verses. Yuan also models many good qualities, leading viewers to pray before each session.

YUAN: But before we start, let’s begin with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, help us to understand, embrace, and celebrate Biblical sexuality. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The videos might be too much for some church youth groups used to more entertainment-based teaching. These lessons include topics and terminology that may take thought and discussion to process.

One minor criticism–I came away slightly confused by some of Yuan’s statements about the relationship between our sexuality and our identity. For more clarity on that topic, I recommend families read the 2017 Nashville Statement, a declaration of what the Bible says about marriage and sexuality that Yuan has signed.

When today’s parents were teenagers, we didn’t face the challenges related to sexuality that our teens face today. That makes it hard to walk alongside them and give them the wisdom they need. Christopher Yuan’s The Holy Sexuality Project can help fill that gap.

YUAN: How do we respond to someone in unrepentant sexual sin? Show them the love of Christ and a life transformed by the gospel.

I’m Emily Whitten.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, February 14th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next: children and euthanasia. WORLD Opinions commentator Bethel McGrew says a new law in the Netherlands promotes a culture of death.

BETHEL MCGREW: Look to Holland. That’s what conservatives have learned to do as they trace the progress of European euthanasia law over the decades. The country first made euthanasia legal for adults in 2002. It would go on to expand this so-called “service” to minor teens and terminally ill newborns. As of February 2024, it has now removed even that restriction, including all ages from 1 to 12. No child left behind, as it were.

Of course, the law emphasizes that children should only be euthanized on the recommendation of two doctors, and only if they’re experiencing “unbearable and endless suffering.” A Christian Dutch-language magazine estimates only 5-10 children per year will qualify. But the Dutch pro-life organization Care for Life is skeptical that the number will remain that low. The law contains no “due diligence requirements,” following a common pattern of leaving this sort of thing up to individual doctors’ discretion as cases arise.

And, of course, the question will inevitably be asked, “What about physically suffering children who aren’t terminally ill?” Playing devil’s advocate, one could argue that their situation is more dire, since there is no end in sight. And down the slippery slope we roll.

Reporting on the news, the BBC featured a clip from a documentary about elder euthanasia in Belgium, which has been racing Holland to the bottom. The documentary’s hero is a compassionate doctor, and his victims are fragile seniors. Their ability to rationalize their choices makes compelling propaganda. We can hope that such a film might unsettle more people if the victims were small children.

Yet, there is a straight line from killing the senior to killing the toddler. The chain of logic begins with the axiom that to die is better than to suffer, and it concludes that such a death should be enshrined as a basic human right. It is treated as a mercy that the healthy owe to the sick, the same way we owe it to our animals. If we wouldn’t withhold that tender mercy from a sick adult, why should we withhold it from a child? Indeed, the younger the sufferer, the more guilty we should be made to feel for our hesitation. True, the child may not understand what is happening, but then neither does the old family dog, and we lovingly kill him anyway. And so we see that what began as an argument for “free choice” ends in choice devouring itself.

This is how the culture of death works its slow poison. This is how voices of death are elevated as kind and compassionate, while voices of life are drowned out as inhumane and fanatical. The pro-suicide organization Death with Dignity recently posted a screed against its Christian opponents in New Mexico and California—doctors and dentists fighting to make sure there are strong conscience protections for those who refuse to “assist” people in dying. Death with Dignity warns that “the real goal is to make sure all of us fall in line with the morals and values of the Church and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.” 

Oh no! They’re on to us!

Of course, Christians don’t anticipate that organizations like Death with Dignity will fall in line with our values any time soon. Until then, we look to Holland and vow that we won’t join them, as long as Christians have something to say about it.

I’m Bethel McGrew.

LINDSAY MAST: Tomorrow: A cake baker is back in court for the third time. We’ll hear where the case of Sweet Cakes by Melissa stands today.

And, another legal battle: this time between a city and a pastor over the question: “what is a church?” That and more tomorrow.

I’m Lindsay Mast.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. 

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible records: “The Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at the disciples of Jesus, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’” —Luke 5:30-32

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.