Suicide Clinics: Abandon Hope, You Who Enter!

One of my favorite novels is Canticle for Leibowitz by Arthur Miller. After a nuclear war, the government sets up a facility to euthanize those suffering from radiation sickness. The abbot of a local monastery sends his monks to picket the place round the clock with a sign reading "Abandon hope all you who enter here." I was reminded of that scene in the book today when I read about the Swiss suicide clinics and their rising death toll. 

Swiss Suicide Clinics Kill Four People Every Week, 1700 People Dead Since 1998

Dignitas, a misnomer if ever there was one, is the largest death camp in Switzerland, but only one of the facilities that will kill someone for a hefty price. (Exit, a more appropriate name, is another.) Dignitas has opened a similar suicide mill in Germany and, let's face it, the demand is increasing. While the scope of the killing doesn't rival abortion -- yet --, as the population of elderly increases and legalization of assisted suicide advances watch for its exponential rise. And for the rise of mistakes -- like the 62-year-old dying man who wasn't dying after all. Oops! 

People would do well to remember that we do not own ourselves. We belong to the Creator and only He has power over life and death. One usurps God's prerogatives at his peril! An eternity of hell involves a lot more suffering than a few years of pain on this earth.

Are there people in your life with serious illness or dementia? Let them know how important they are and how much they are loved -- not just by you, but by their Maker. Only God knows how responsible a suicide is for taking that evil and drastic step, but the act is objectively mortally sinful. And how sad for a suffering soul not to recognize the value of offering up that suffering for his own salvation and that of others.