On a new episode of ID the Future, Dr. Richard Weikart reads selections from his new book, Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent From Healing to Killing. Weikart is Emeritus Professor of History at California State University Stanislaus and a Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. His other books include From Darwin to Hitler, Hitler’s Ethic, Hitler’s Religion, and The Death of Humanity.

Dr. Weikart begins with a portion from the book’s Introduction, which sets the stage and defines some key terms. Weikart concludes with an excerpt from Chapter 3: Euthanasia Meets Eugenics, where he explores the influence of Darwinism on eugenics ideology and how it shaped attitudes toward euthanasia and assisted suicide in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Unnatural Death has been endorsed by a number of distinguished scientists and scholars working to defend the sanctity of life. Wesley J. Smith, Chairman of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism and author of the award-winning book Culture of Death: The Age of “Do Harm” Medicine, writes: “The modern euthanasia movement claims to be based on respect for autonomy and compassion. But Weikart effectively demonstrates that from its genesis in the pernicious eugenics movement, assisted suicide/euthanasia theory and practice are rooted in a deep and disturbing disdain for human equality.” 

Michael Egnor, Professor of Neurosurgery at Stony Brook University, notes the urgent need for such a book: “Euthanasia and assisted suicide are gaining respectability with appalling speed, and Richard Weikart’s superb new book…is a vitally important reply to the organized disposal of unwanted people. As state-sanctioned killing of the sick and the handicapped and even the merely troubled becomes more and more acceptable in previously civilized nations such as Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States, Weikart shines a light on this methodical obsession with ending the lives of vulnerable people.” Find the podcast and listen to it here.

Dig Deeper

• Get your own copy of Unnatural Death!
• Watch our interview with Dr. Weikart on YouTube: