The Connections between Euthanasia and Abortion Medicine is designed to help people. It is supposed to help prevent and cure diseases. Unfortunately, some procedures aren’t the most beneficial: they cause death rather than promote life. The targets are unborn children, the elderly and those with serious health or mental problems. Abortion is the killing of unborn children. Some say it is done because it isn’t a good time for the parents to have a child. Others say it is done because of health problems that the child might be born with; either way it is murder. Euthanasia targets the elderly and those with serious health problems who are deemed ‘useless’ and ‘a burden on society.’ Unfortunately, these are not new problems. There have been people in every generation who have wanted to advance the causes of these two acts of cruelty. The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, stated that each and every person was “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” In the beginning, that was the way it was in the United States regarding unborn children. By “1875 every state in the United States had adopted laws banning abortion.” Sadly, this did not last and in 1967, Colorado became the first state to legalize abortion. It didn’t stop there and, on January 22, 1973, abortion became legal in the United States. Euthanasia was first brought into the public eye in the United States in 1870, when Samuel Williams published a proposition suggesting that physicians use certain drugs such as morphine and anesthesia to terminate a patient’s life. This brought about a lot of debate that ultimately culminated in a bill being introduced in Ohio for the legalization of euthanasia. This happened in 1906. It was defeated, but unfortunately not forgotten as can be seen today. Euthanasia is currently legal in two states in the Nation. On November 8, 1994, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was passed making euthanasia legal. Also, in 1999 the Texas Futile Care Law was passed. It included certain stipulations but ultimately made euthanasia legal if the care of the patient was deemed ‘futile’. These laws are not limited to the elderly, but are available to persons of any age who appear ‘to be a burden on society.’ Abortion and euthanasia are morally wrong. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that euthanasia is wrong, “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.” The Catechism condemns abortion procedures, while noting that “A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The “supreme gift of marriage” is a human person.” All to often people forget or choose to ignore the fact that the unborn child is a human being just like them. People convince themselves that unborn children who are going to have health issues when they are born, really wouldn’t want to live like that and ‘justify’ abortion. All to often the elderly are considered a burden. People believe that those who are too weak to help themselves are an inconvenience because they aren’t contributing to society. A perfect example of this is Terri Schiavo, a brain dead woman, who was deprived of food and water because her husband didn’t believe that she would want to live like that. The excuse is that abortion and euthanasia victims aren’t really humans, instead they are called vegetables or fetuses. Thus the question is: “Who is a person?” Obviously, these issues falls under the fifth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” So who is a person and does a person at some point gain and lose those qualities which define him as a person? If a person does, at some point, gain human-ness at birth or lose it in old age or in times of serious health problems, then abortion and euthanasia can be justified. However, once a person, someone will always be a person. One cannot change who they intrinsically are. A person is a person from the very moment they are conceived until they die. They cannot become a person after birth and they cannot stop being a person once they get old and sick and cannot contribute to society. Unfortunately, today’s culture defines a human being by their success, the amount and kind of work they do, and by their appearance. They do not leave any room for those who have mental problems or for those who are old and sick. There is no room to give a chance to the unborn child whom they know is going to have health problems. The Catholic Church defines a person very differently. A person’s worth is not determined by what they do but rather by who they are. Every person on this earth, from the unborn infant to the handicapped elderly has worth simply because God created them. One’s dignity is diminished when he becomes marked for death if he is confined to a bed and dependant upon others in order to live. One’s dignity is diminished when one is not even given the chance to live as it is in the case of abortion. Euthanasia and Abortion are both all about treating a person, a child of God, as less than who they really are and deserve. People are not objects and should not be treated as such. Abortion and euthanasia attack the very structure of society: the family. Abortion and euthanasia promote selfishness and discourage generosity; the family is one of the main promoters of selflessness and generosity. Euthanasia promotes the disrespect of parents. The fourth commandment tells us to honor our parents and those older than us-- killing them is not respecting them. Abortion tears apart the family by providing a means for getting rid of ‘unwanted’ children. Abortion and Euthanasia attack the weak in society by measuring worth by output. Society does not understand that one’s worth does not depend upon how much one can accomplish while on this earth. Suffering has value and that is something that society doesn’t understand. If we would only bring God back into our society and give Him the love, honor, and respect He deserves, then the world would be a better place. When God is given the importance that He deserves in society, abortion and euthanasia will cease because they are intrinsically evil and against God. When this happens, a person’s worth will not depend upon the work he can do, but on what really matters, his worth as a child of God.