We need to care for people and not kill them

The cases of Chantal Sebire and Clara Blanc will naturally affect the emotions of every person. One may say, that if euthanasia were legal, these would be cases that many people would feel qualify for the act.

The question we need to ask is: "What does it mean to be a human person?"

I contend that a human person is not merely a physical being. Our dignity and quality of life is not determined by our physical characteristics alone.

Intentionally and directly causing the death of people by euthanasia or assisted suicide, even for the most difficult cases, results in a change within our social fabric that will only lead to furthering the social conditions that lead to the hopelessness and despair that is connected to calls for euthanasia.

What we really need is to change our attitudes by becoming a more caring society. People need to care for others, in such a way as to eliminate the abandonment that exists within society that leads people to consider euthanasia.

Whether it be the health care system, or people of good-will extending themselves to others, we need to create a culture that encourages people to care for others.

Clara Blanc should be experiencing true dignity by being cared for by her friends, family, and community. She should feel that her community values her even when she is living with a rare genetic condition.

As a society we need to develop new and better methods of controlling physical pain but we primarily need to recognize that the human person is a social, psychological, emotional and spiritual being.

The most effective way to care for the other is by "being with" the other. It is when we feel alone, abandoned and unwanted that we experience depression and lonliness that directly create the demand for euthanasia.

We need to care for people and not kill them.

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