July 30, 2008
Most inhumanities start small. They don’t get a lot of attention, but they can establish precedents and have profound repercussions.
Such is the case with an Oregon man who was denied health treatment by the state because officials determined he is unlikely to recover from his illness. But they will pay for something else. They will pay for him to die.
Randy Stroup, 53, has prostate cancer. He has no insurance and cannot pay for treatment. Doctor-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon and the state will happily pay for someone to help kill him.
This is where pro-lifers have predicted things would go. Having devalued life at the beginning and with millions of abortions now routine, the next line of attack would be the elderly and the sick. When the value of human life is reduced to dollars and cents, then any bureaucrat can say your life is no longer valuable and you forfeit your right to live.
Without God setting the value of life, someone else will. This is the future unless we come to our senses.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
