The American Medical Association, the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States, voted recently to uphold its current standards that euthanasia and assisted suicide are not acceptable forms of treatment.
The vote comes at a time when euthanasia and assisted suicide are increasingly contentious debates in the American medical field, with eight states and Washington DC legalizing the practice.
The vote to uphold current AMA standards passed with a 65-35 vote,
According to Life News:
The battle over the AMA vote took place over the course of several years worth of interim and annual meetings. But physicians, medical students, interns and residents from across the country spoke up in favor of the AMA”s anti-assisted suicide position.
Euthanasia and Assisted-Suicide not only violates the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, but it also is a slippery slope. While, yes, current US laws only apply to the terminally ill, one need only look to Europe to see how quickly the issue can advance.
It is an inherent devaluation of life, one which sees suffering as something to avoid rather than to embrace and to help us grow stronger. And while, yes, suffering is awful — both mental and physical — every lifestyle and philosophy worth its salt will tell you it is not something to be avoided. Avoiding suffering is avoiding challenges, and avoiding challenges is often avoiding life.