If we believe there is no qualitative distinction between animals and humans, are we more likely to protect human life or devalue it? On a new episode of ID the Future, host Eric Anderson talks to historian Richard Weikart about his latest book, Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent From Healing to Killing, now available from Discovery Institute Press. The book is a wide-ranging history of euthanasia and assisted suicide from ancient Greece to today. 

In this conversation, Dr. Weikart explains how his new book builds on his previous work on the decline of respect for the sanctity of human life and the connection between Adolf Hitler’s actions and evolutionary ethics. He covers the origins and changing definitions of euthanasia, the devaluation of life in antiquity, the influence of secularization and Darwinism on attitudes towards euthanasia, and the Nazi regime’s euthanasia program. Weikart also addresses the justifications for euthanasia and offers suggestions for upholding the sanctity of human life: “I think we need to try to do everything we can to affirm the value of people’s lives,” he says. “And not just in a vague kind of way…in a very personal kind of way, we need to interact with people. We need to have relationships with people.”

Dig Deeper

• Get your own copy of Dr. Weikart’s new book Unnatural Death!
• Coming up next: Richard Weikart reads from his new book Unnatural Death. Episode drops Wednesday!