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Evolutionary Biologist Now Wants Doctors to Kill Suicidal Depressed People

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Darwinist Jerry Coyne, who has recently advocated the medical killing of handicapped babies so they won’t “suffer,” has added another class of people to his kill list: people who are depressed.

In response to a doctor’s suggestion in an article that a patient who was not physically suffering but who was depressed should be offered euthanasia, Coyne writes:

My answer, as was that of another expert discussed in the piece, is “yes”, but I’d offer them antidepressants first…

Goodness gracious. Coyne is now advocating euthanasia for depressed people, and make no mistake about it: euthanasia for depression is gaining wider acceptance — the Netherlands is already euthanizing people for depression and other mental health issues. Of course he gives a passing nod to offering anti-depressants first. But if they don’t work or the patient doesn’t want them, Coyne recommends that the doctor kill the patient, if the patient wants to die.

And what if the doctor doesn’t want to kill his patient? Coyne asks:

What about doctors who are uncomfortable…helping carry out such a procedure?… My view is that if they are, they must refer the patient to a doctor who can help…

Coyne demands that doctors who do not want to kill their patients be forced to refer the suicidal patient to another doctor who is willing to do the killing.

The primary goal of psychiatric care for depression in modern times has been to prevent suicide. Doctors are trained to be alert for signs that a depressed person is planning to take his own life, and are required professionally to intervene — against the patient’s wishes if necessary — to protect the patient’s life. Now Coyne and other euthanasia advocates are demanding that doctors help depressed patients to kill themselves.

Note the chain of events: First, we normalize abortion. Then we legalize physician-assisted suicide. Then euthanasia proponents advocate medical killing of handicapped newborns. Now there is serious advocacy (it is actually practiced in some countries) to euthanize depressed people. This is what we have come to. Instead of protecting depressed people from suicide, doctors are now being asked to kill them.

If you’re not aghast, you’re not paying attention. The death cult is moving fast and gaining a lot of ground. This is not a slippery slope. This is an ice cliff.

Photo credit: Frank Hurley (State Library of New South Wales) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Michael Egnor

Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics, State University of New York, Stony Brook
Michael R. Egnor, MD, is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook, has served as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery, and is an award-winning brain surgeon. He was named one of New York’s best doctors by the New York Magazine in 2005. He received his medical education at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. His research on hydrocephalus has been published in journals including Journal of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, and Cerebrospinal Fluid Research. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hydrocephalus Association in the United States and has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

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anti-depressantsassisted suicidebioethicsdepressiondoctorseuthanasiaevolutionhandicappedhomicideJerry CoynekillingNetherlandsnewbornspsychiatry