Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent from Healing to Killing with Richard Weikart

What was the 5th leading cause of death in Canada in 2023? Shockingly, it was medical assistance in dying (MAiD) and accounted for one out of every twenty deaths. Unfortunately, Canada is not an anomaly, but part of a global trend in terms of how societies are changing when it comes to sanctity of life—and death.

How did we reach this place? Hank Hanegraaff is joined by Dr. Richard Weikert to discuss his book Unnatural Death: Medicine's Descent from Healing to Killing. Weikart explains how the Judeo-Christian tradition has always encouraged a culture of life, but the secular Enlightenment and Darwinian materialism have tugged us in a different direction.

Can society reverse course and embrace the sanctity of life once again?

Topics discussed include: How studying both the Nazi promotion of euthanasia and Darwinism led Weikert to write Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent from Healing to Killing (3:15); understanding the different terminology used when discussing euthanasia (5:35); the origins of euthanasia—euthanasia comes from the term “good death”(8:30); different types of passive euthanasia (10:45); how the secularization of our culture and the decline of religion has led to a rise in assisted suicide and euthanasia (14:00); the Hippocratic Oath (20:00); how is suicide presented in the Bible? (22:10); the role that the Renaissance played in the shifting attitudes about death (25:45); why is the history of the attitudes about death important to understand? (27:30); is suffering a good thing? (31:45); utilitarianism and the pursuit of pleasure in society (36:00); promotion of eugenics and euthanasia (39:30); the impact that Darwinism had and continues to have on the ideology of euthanasia (43:20); the role of economics on eugenics and euthanasia (47:15); the cognitive dissonance in our society when discussing ideas of equality, justice and even suicide (53:50); Peter Singer and the growing euthanasia movement today (57:50); the Netherlands as an example of the perils of an almost entirely secularized society (1:07:45);  the permissible reasons for euthanasia and the potential for abuse (1:11:45); the autonomy argument for assisted suicide and euthanasia (1:17:20); the life and legacy of Jack Kevorkian—Dr. Death (1:20:40); the state of bioethics and transhumanism today (1:22:35); is Oregon the suicide capital of the United States? (1:24:10); three arguments to demonstrate the slippery slope of assisted suicide and euthanasia (1:25:45); redefining death with dignity (1:35:15).
 

For more information on Dr. Weikart’s book Unnatural Death: Medicine’s Descent from Healing to Killing please click here.https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-unnatural-death-medicines-descent-from-healing-to-killing-hup/

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