Voluntary Euthanasia & Physician-assisted Suicide: The Two ‘Slippery Slope’ Arguments
Summary
The article argues against legalizing voluntary euthanasia (VE) and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). It presents two “slippery slope” objections: logically, principles used to justify assisted death for competent terminally ill patients could also support access for chronically ill, incapacitated, or physically unable patients; empirically, safeguards may fail through weak definitions, self-reporting, misdiagnosed depression, social pressure, and inadequate oversight. Citing Oregon and the Netherlands, the author claims legal boundaries have been breached or expanded, though these examples and conclusions require independent verification.
Watchmen Signals
Biblical Context
The article concerns whether human life retains inherent value when a person is suffering, disabled, dependent, incapacitated, or unable to make an autonomous request. Scripture provides relevant principles: human dignity is grounded in being made in God’s image; intentional killing is prohibited; and vulnerable people are to receive protection rather than exploitation or abandonment. These passages do not directly settle modern legal questions about euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, and they should not be treated as proof that a particular contemporary policy fulfills prophecy. The biblical connection is therefore moral and principial rather than prophetic.
Biblical Sources
Scripture references supporting the biblical context above.
The prohibition against murder provides a direct biblical principle relevant to deliberate killing, although applying it to every modern euthanasia case requires additional ethical and legal reasoning.
The passage grounds human dignity in humanity’s creation in the image of God, supporting the article’s concern that sickness, disability, dependence, or incapacity should not reduce a person’s worth.
These verses call for justice and protection for the weak, fatherless, poor, and needy, relating thematically to the article’s concern that vulnerable patients may face pressure or inadequate protection.
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