The Culture Of Nihilism Sells Its Wares

Following the same sex marriage referendum here, the media and various lobby groups have turned their attention to the next couple of campaigns: erasing the Constitution's protection for unborn children to facilitate legislation for a more liberal abortion regime here, and also the introduction of euthanasia which they refer to as "assisted dying". These campaigns are already underway and no doubt well funded. The media's softening of the electorate on these issues started years ago, but they are going up a notch or two now.

Regarding the second of these crusades, I refer you to an interesting article on the situation in Belgium, a country not unlike our own and one, I think Ireland will come to resemble in spiritual, ecclesial and moral terms. It seems voluntary euthanasia has become involuntary - one in sixty "helped to die" did not request euthanasia, were not even told about it, and half of these were over eighty. It is not medical teams who are doing the job, but local GPs who take the matter in hand with a lethal injection. As quoted in the above article, one doctor has said: "The decision as to which life is no longer worth living is not in the hands of the patient but in the hands of the doctor". I note with interest that phrase "life ..no longer worth living", we have heard that before.

This is evidence of what pro-life groups and spokespersons have been saying for years: voluntary euthanasia will become involuntary euthanasia, the so-called "right" to die will yield to a duty to die. As Mary Berry, the British baker, recently said on Desert Island Discs regarding her own situation: if she was alive at 90 she would want assisted suicide to avoid burdening her children. The message is getting through it seems.

This is the culture of death, the culture of nihilism, no longer hiding in the shadows but openly selling its wares to a gullible and silly generation.