I live in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes with sky blue waters, green grass, and trees everywhere. There are also many Lutherans here who have a variety of backgrounds and national origins. And, on top of all that, we have something called “Minnesota Nice.” According to my research, Minnesota Nice is the stereotypical behavior of people born and raised in Minnesota to be courteous, reserved, and mild-mannered. All of this results in a polite friendliness, an aversion to confrontation and conflict, a tendency toward understatement, and emotional restraint.
Well, right now, there is a real need for all Lutherans in Minnesota—and anyone else for that matter—to set aside our reserved nature and emotional restraint and speak up and be heard. Why? Because we have in our midst a life issue that, if not contained, will unsettle the most personal moral code.
So, what am I talking about? Let me see if I can set aside my Minnesota Nice for just a little while so I can be direct. On March 23, 2015, a bill to legalize assisted suicide was introduced to the Minnesota Senate Committee on Health, Human Services, and Housing. The hearing was informative, but no opposition opinion was presented. No vote was taken on that particular day, but this is just the beginning. There is still time for the voices for life to speak up for what is right and God-pleasing. We are now one of several states being targeted as a place conducive to allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medication to end a person’s life.
If this bill gets past the hearings and ends up on the floor of both houses, it could become law. It is certainly far from that stage at this point, but we need to pray that all state legislators will come to understand how contrary assisted suicide is to Scripture and God’s plan to affirm life. Assisted suicide is just plain wrong. Over the next few months, Minnesotans will hear about “listening sessions” scheduled in various areas around the state. If you live in Minnesota, please consider attending and let your voice be heard. This is not a time to passively sit back in hopes this issue will go away so we don’t have to confront it.
This bill will jeopardize the most vulnerable, including the elderly, sick, and disabled as well as people suffering from depression and other treatable mental illnesses. All of these people would be at risk of being dealt a serious consequence—death. We live in the real world so we need to speak up and let people know that we support life and death is not a “choice” or a “right.”
When we turn away from accepting that God decides when life ends, what is left? Even the terminally ill do not know exactly what day, hour, minute, or second will be their last. Neither can they know what good they can bring in their last moments as a Christian witness, nor how their last moments may help medical professionals learn something new. It should also be considered that an inexact or mistaken diagnosis could cause a hasty death through assisted suicide.
Assisted suicide is also wrong because judging someone’s quality of life takes away the God-given value of life. This would surely put the elderly in harm’s way, as many are convinced they are a burden to their families and friends. The disabled are also at risk as the world labels their lives as being worth less than others, fails to see their accomplishments and the joy they create, and the love God, their creator, sees in them, no matter their physical limitations.
We surely have a desire and a need to care for the sick and provide comfort to the suffering. But, assisting them to take their life or not providing laws that protect them from others who may have an unwholesome influence over their time of death is serious business. Those states that have legalized assisted suicide have glorified death as if it is the only answer and solution to life’s issues. In Oregon, the poster child state for assisted suicide, they have seen a 49 percent increase in non-assisted suicides, since legalizing assisted suicide, while the national average is 28 percent. Suicide has become a contagion and serious threat to those suffering depression and other treatable mental illnesses.
Ironically, these assisted suicide bills are called “Death with Dignity Acts.” To me, death with dignity is when we look to God to plan and control our final days, paving the way for our appropriate time to join Him in our heavenly life eternal. True death with dignity is when we rejoice in the life God has given us and there is a celebration when our natural death occurs, as we know God has more in store for us with His eternal promise and His love for life.
Lutherans For Life is not a political organization. We do not support candidates or political parties. What we do support is the life-affirming message of the Gospel. So, to all you Minnesotans, and anyone facing a similar legislative challenge through the legalization of assisted suicide, please share the message of life. God loves life. He created life. He sent His Son Jesus to save life through his redeeming grace. And, He has called everyone into an eternal life relationship with Him through the waters of baptism.
How can we not speak up? How can we not confront this issue right in front of us? If we underestimate the potential risk to life and restrain from sharing the powerful Gospel message we are simply going along with what the world says about death being the only solution. May we all never be afraid to speak up about all of the life issues and not wait until it’s too late and our beliefs and Christian values are overrun by the world’s sinful view. God, in His infinite wisdom, gave us a voice. May we use it to give Him glory and to share His amazing love through Jesus death and resurrection, overcoming the power of death, giving us life eternal. This is our “right” as believers.
Virginia J. Flo is the Lutherans For Life Regional Director of Minnesota