Assisted Suicide Is A Collaboration In Killing: A Public Call To End This Nightmare

By Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter 

New York State is in danger of adopting a new “assisted suicide” law unless the public acts now to urge the Governor to veto it. Assisted Suicide, which has taken hold in Western Europe and North America, legalizes assisting individuals commit suicide, usually by administering deadly drugs under the “supervision” of a doctor. Originally it was implemented to allow people with terminal or incurable illnesses to end their lives. Even worse, the impossibility of implementing authentic safeguards inevitably results in the killing of many who never wanted to die. Make no mistake, “assisted suicide” is a collaboration in killing, not what it’s branded as: “medical aid in dying.”

There is an account of the Roman execution of Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon in Avodah Zarah (18a) in which the leaders of Rome carefully timed the execution of Chanina right after the funeral of another Torah sage, Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma, for whom they had delivered what Chazal called a hesped gadol (Great Eulogy). On the very day the Roman leaders went “all out” to honor Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma, they knew they had cleverly carved out a short window of opportunity to execute Rabbi Chanina in an environment where they would not be accused of doing so out of animosity towards the Torah. Their duplicitous “Kavod HaTorah” before brutally killing Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon epitomizes the duplicitous nature of Edom.

In a similar vein, for a long time, Western governments have been obsessed with Orwellian “Newspeak” to control and manipulate language with mis-definitions in order to limit debate and hide the true nature of their malfeasance. One notable example is the term “assisted suicide” legislation, which is in danger of being signed into law by NY Gov. Kathy Hochul barring public outrage, especially from registered Democrats.

The bill in question (A136/S138) allows individuals to assist in the suicide (by poison) of someone (1) whom, doctors claim, is unlikely to live more than six months, and (2) about whom “witnesses” testify that he or she expressed the desire to kill themselves.

Make no mistake, assisted suicide is the institutionalized killing of citizens. Pro-Death advocates of assisted suicide prefer to call it “Aid in Dying” (another Orwellian term). To defeat these dangerous wordsmiths, we must remain vigilant in debunking their Orwellian terminology and the lethal message it spreads: that suicide is a valid option.

We are urging the public, especially registered NY Democrats, who will be 18 by next November, to heed the call of prominent rabbanim from the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel, the Queens Board of Rabbis, and the Rabbinical Alliance of America to urge Governor Kathy Hochul to veto the “assisted suicide” bill (A136/S138) that passed the legislature several months ago. Please take a stand for the most defenseless in our society. If Gov. Hochul fails to veto this bill, many innocent people will be killed.

Please write to:

Gov. Kathy Hochul

NY State Capitol Building

Albany, NY

(518) 474-8390 (9AM-5PM)

https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

We urge you to emphasize to the Governor the massive loopholes in the phantom “safeguards” included. Here’s a sample communication:

As much as we oppose all Assisted Suicide legislation in principle (due to the prohibitions in the Torah), the fact is that this bill is extremely dangerous even according to the standards of those who support the idea of helping people who want to kill themselves do so. The “protections” in this bill are appallingly weak.

Here are some examples:

Many people who would never want to die would be killed by greedy life insurance beneficiaries, who are accepted as reliable “witnesses” to claim that the patient said he/she wants to die. Thus, both the poor and the wealthy would be targeted under this bill.”

Poisons mislabeled as medicine by advocates would be dispensed without any real controls over how they’re actually used. Even if the patient becomes legally incapable of choosing to die, they do not remove the poison. Once the “caretaker” gets hold of the poison, they could poison the patient even if he objects. Or they could poison someone else, or sell it to other wannabe murderers.

If the flimsy “protections” are ever declared non-binding, the lethal parts of the bill will nevertheless remain in effect, without even the pretext of those protections! That demonstrates that this bill is intent on undermining personal autonomy in the very name of safeguarding it.

This deceptive bill is not about assisted suicide, but rather Stealth Euthanasia, outright murder. In any case, it extends far beyond the purview of any governmental authority.

May we merit the Final Redemption in this zechus. 

Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter is the executive director of Help Rescue Our Children. For more information, please email him at [email protected] or call 845-642-1679 or 771-215-8892. You can hear him weekly on New Jersey’s WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin at Eleven program every Thursday evening, 11 p.m. to midnight.