The latest news from the Land of Oz (not the wizard), is that Dr. Oz, aka Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Oz, will host an upcoming episode on assisted suicide, on his Dr. OZ Show. The main focus will be on whether or not you have the "right to die?"
According to Wikipedia, Dr. Oz got his media start as a health expert on, none other than, the Oprah Show. Wikipedia gives a portrait of Dr. Oz as a bright and accomplished individual, though with some very interesting contradictions. On the one hand, he's the director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Complimentary Medicine Program at New York's Presbyterian Hospital. On the other hand, he was awarded the 2011 James Randi Educational Foundation Media Pigasus Award; which the foundation itself states, "is for promoting nonsense". The foundation complained about Dr. Oz's support of energy medicine, faith healing and psychic mediums. Dr. Oz holds the dubious distinction of being the only person to have received this prestigious "nonsense award" for 2 years in a row.
Now, to prepare everyone who has not yet been down the yellow-brick road of euthanasia, this scarecrow, Dr. Oz, has provided you with a helpful survey on the show's website, titled: "Should You Have The Right to Die?" Here are the 4 questions:
The 1st question on the survey is: "Should you have the "right" to die?" The 2nd question is: "Should your family have a say in your right to die?" The 3rd question goes on to ask: "Do you believe that doctors should assist patients end their lives?" And the 4th question is: "Have you discussed your "right to die" with your family?"
Ok, now here's my question: "What is the real reason for a doctor's assistance here?" Is the doctor there to simply give advice about methods of killing yourself? I think most people who wish to end their lives can figure that out for themselves, as is evident with most suicides. Does the doctor give permission? No. It's still your "choice" - the word elect of those who promote murder these days, just as in abortion. So what real purpose does the doctor serve? What is "assisted suicide" as opposed to other suicides?
It is simply a sly way to white-wash something that is inherently and intrinsically wrong. If I kill myself in the privacy of my own home, I'm committing an act, which most of society would find tragic and pitiable. But, having a doctor present while I off myself, is an attempt to normalize it and remove the stigma of suicide. Suicide is then re-packaged as a mere compassionate medical decision between one and one's doctor, just as in the case of abortion. It appears to grant social acceptance, even taking on a seemingly romantic way to end one's life.
Shakespeare said, "A rose by any other name is still a rose"; did he not? Ending one's life is still suicide, even if assisted. You can't change the nature of something with words, or how you package it.
Now of course, Dr. Oz will use the data from the answers to this survey, to compile more justification for his agenda of normalizing suicide.
But, how much farther down the yellow-brick road will it be, before the "right to die" becomes the "duty to die"? Trust me, not that much farther. If and when you become a significant burden, requiring extensive care-giving, interruption to the life plans of others or financial hardships on your family and loved ones, and even an emotional drain, how long will it be before those around you believe, that it is your "duty to die"?
Some notable voices in bioethics believe, that as a matter of what they term, "distributive justice", when people reach a certain advanced age, severe disability, or very poor health, they owe it to society, their families, and yes, even themselves, to make an end of their lives.
Futile Care Theory, aka "medical futility," has been on the bioethics movement's agenda for more than 10 years. If a patient or their family desire life-sustaining treatment, yet doctors feel that treatment is "inappropriate" based on quality of life and/or costs; they may unilaterally withhold treatment - the recent Baby Joseph case being a prime example. Joseph's doctors, supported by hospital bioethicists and administrators, told his parents that they were going to refuse all further life support. The doctors totally and completely ignored and sought to usurp the wishes of the parents for their child's medical treatment. After a much publicized court case, Priests for Life, stepped in and was able to find a hospital that would take Baby Joseph, and give him the medical treatment his parent's wished. But, how long will it be before there are no more hospitals left who will do this?
So, what is the point of Dr. Oz's question: "Should you have the right to die", when the ultimate agenda is not going to be about your rights at all! It is simply the slow turning up of the temperature on the frog, leading to the complete and unalterable denial of your so called rights.
Make no mistake, the word "futile" does not refer to the treatment - it refers to the patient! Our lives and the lives of our loved ones, are going to be relegated to futile and burdensome, if we become seriously ill or lose our mental capacities. The recent words of the televangelist Pat Robertson, where he gives advice for people to divorce a spouse afflicted with Alzheimer's, so that they can move on with their own lives, shocked and appalled many. But the medical profession's diagnosis will not be divorce, but medical murder.
We should all be well advised, the "duty to die" movement is spreading, and it will not stop with the terminally ill.
Source: Lake County Right to Life
