Terri Schiavo has been in the news over the past year as her parents have been fighting to keep her alive as her husband seeks her death by removing her feeding tube. Terri suffered severe brain damage in 1990 following a heart attack.

Pinellas County Florida Circuit Court Judge George Greer is expected to issue a ruling today at 5:00 pm on whether a more permanent stay to keep Terri’s feeding tube in place.

Where has our sanctity for human life gone? The subject of euthanasia has been in the public eye as a source of controversy for the past ten years. Since Dr. Jack Kevorkian invented his famous suicide machine, euthanasia has steadily become more popular for the relief of suffering for terminally ill patients. The word Euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death". The word itself implies that by being euthanized, an individual will experience a good or easy death free from pain and suffering. It seems our society and the warped worldview it has, have no sanctity of human life.

Whether it is the murder of an unborn child or the inflicted death of a terminally ill patient, a growing number of Americans believe human life is expendable. The popular term for physicians helping terminally ill patients to commit suicide is "mercy-killing." There seems to be widespread consensus that when doctors assist some patients with suicide, they are doing a compassionate work.

When studied, the Bible brings an individual face to face with the doctrine that a person, regardless of their state in life has value in the eyes of God. From the very beginning of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, we see this doctrine evident in the scriptures, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them Gen. 1:27. NIV New International Version. It is evident that for the believer in God, the sanctity of human life is important to God. As we look at America, we see the de-valuing of human life in the number of abortions that occur each year. It seems that the next natural progression will be to euthanize those who are weak and unwanted.

This might seem a bit far-fetched, but we must consider some facts. According to an article in Crisis magazine, Dutch physicians are now performing two-and-one-half times more involuntary euthanasia than voluntary. What this tells us is that physicians in the Netherlands are murdering people via euthanasia without their consent or for no logical reasoning. American surgeon Robin Bernhoft relates an incident in which a Dutch doctor euthanized a twenty-six year old with arthritis in her toes. Since she could no longer pursue her career as a dancer, she was depressed and requested to be put to death. The doctor complied with her request and merely noted that “one doesn’t enjoy such things, but it was her choice.” Robin Bernhoft, quoted in Euthanasia: False Light, produced by IAETF, Steubenville, OH. It must be added that while euthanasia is illegal in the Netherlands , physicians have found ways around the laws.

For believer’s death is not the end, it is the beginning into life that is free from the illnesses of this physical life. The secular world view believes that death is a biological event that takes place when certain vital organs cease to function. Christians believe that death is a spiritual event that has physical consequences, i.e. death of the physical body. Even if a person is in a comatose state and does not respond to physical stimulation, from a biblical viewpoint they should be seen as being alive, unless all brain activity has ceased.

Spend some time in prayer today for Terri and her family. Pray for our country.