By Kate Bugher
Society needs to be accountable and mindful of the important life decisions they make, said a renowned political science professor from the University of Chicago at the Forum address Tuesday, (Oct. 24, 2006).
Professor and author Jean Bethke Elshtain spoke on the moral decisions facing euthanasia that resulted in a standing ovation from the Marriott Center audience.
Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing somebody who has an incurable illness or injury, or allowing or assisting that person to die. This practice is becoming more and more common throughout the world, even in the United States.
“So overwhelming is our desire against the less than perfect that 90 percent of pregnancies that test positive for Down syndrome are aborted today under the rubric of choice,” Elshtain said. “Dark suddenly becomes light and healers become killers.”
While the issue of killing those with problems or disabilities has been a concern for Elshtain, the issue has also been around for a long time. Noted theologian C.S. Lewis discussed similar issues in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1944 Lewis wrote “The Abolition of Man,” which discussed the importance of making choices. He addressed the way that children are taught and that when we are taught to remove our feelings from our decisions, our values and feelings become more and more unimportant.
Lewis feared the idea that inevitably we will begin to choose who is permitted to live.
“When we choose to end life the living are then in charge of the non-living and we are essentially maximizing the births of the fit while minimizing the births of the unfit,” Lewis said. “This then leads to the power to make our descendants what we please.”
Elshtain went on to tell the story of her nephew Aaron, who was severely disabled. Doctors said he would die as an infant, but he went on to live until he was 18. She then discussed how his life was a blessing for all of those who knew him. If he had been killed to end his own suffering, those around him would have missed out on many miracles.
“When we aim to eliminate one version of humanity, then we are engaged that we are pretending that God doesn”t care about those who are being destroyed,” Elshtain said.
