Time is of the essence. Be a voice for life.
Maryland Against Physician Assisted Suicide recently reported that the efforts to legalize physician-assisted suicide is strengthening in Delaware. A re-drafted PAS bill HB160, could be brought to the floor as early as Jan. 25.
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The Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) Christian Life and Public Affairs (CLPA) Committee is requesting your partnership regarding this urgent matter. The updated proposed bill provides an additional option which terminally ill adults nearing death can decide to select or lessen their pain and suffering. In actuality, the legislation would further take advantage of the sick, elderly, underserved communities and disenfranchised populations. View this infographic to learn more about the serious side effects of Delaware’s PAS legislation.
The bill was reported out of the House committee last spring, and many thought it did not have the momentum for further advancement, but intense lobbying on behalf of the bill’s proponents, Compassion & Choices, has turned the tide and opponents fear there is a real risk of passage.
The CLPA encourages all to help.
- Pray for the legislatures to act in a way that honors God’s value for all people
- Familiarize yourself with the legislation
- Reach out to family and friends in Delaware, urging them to call their state representatives and urge them to vote “NO” on HB 160
In a recent BaptistLIFE article, “Radical individual autonomy and physician-assisted suicide,” Brian Sandifer, pastor of Potomac Heights Baptist Church in Indian Head, Md., wrote, physician-assisted suicide “denies that God is the author of life” and presupposes an unbiblical view of suffering.
“Suffering serves the important purpose of conforming the believer into the image of the Son. Suffering is not pointless. Nor is suffering pointless for the unbeliever,” Sandifer wrote. “Suffering points to the reality of sin and brokenness and to the need for healing and restoration that are ultimately found in Christ Jesus Himself. There is much to profit from suffering.”
True compassion “is not found, as some suppose, in escaping suffering, but true compassion is found in recognizing that the Creator has a purpose for allowing suffering to be part of one’s life,” he said.