Unnatural Death

"""In all his writings, Richard Weikart tackles the most controversial issues, and in this book he takes on euthanasia and assisted suicide. The only way to stand effectively against a harmful social trend is to first understand where it came from and how it developed. We must identify the cause to apply an appropriate cure. That's why Weikart's careful historical analysis is so needed in our day."" -Nancy Pearcey, Professor and Scholar in Residence, Houston Christian University, author of Total Truth and Love Thy Body ""Richard Weikart's superb new book, Unnatural Death: Medicine's Descent from Healing to Killing, 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. Weikart wields the most potent weapon we have against the culture of death: he tells the truth about what is happening in dark corners."" -Michael Egnor, Professor of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University ""In Unnatural Death Dr. Richard Weikart uses his formidable skills of historical analysis to show... how the rise of an idealized version of Greco-Roman cultural norms during the Renaissance and Enlightenment led to the progressive erosion of the Judeo-Christian ethic of ""love your neighbor as yourself"" and put us on a slippery slope to a culture of death. Happily, Dr. Weikart does not end on a hopeless note of inevitable decline into a culture of death, but instead offers a way off the slippery slope and onto a path to a culture of life. I strongly recommend you read this book."" -Howard Glicksman, hospice physician and co-author of Your Designed Body ""In Unnatural Death, Professor Richard Weikart offers a readable and comprehensive history of euthanasia and assisted suicide from the time of the ancient Greeks, through the centuries, to the contemporary world in which doctors are legally allowed to administer lethal injections in several countries and can prescribe drug overdoses to terminally ill patients in ten US states. 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, presenting a potent threat, not only to the terminally ill not offered suicide prevention if they ask to die, but also to people with disabilities, the elderly, and even the mentally ill as so-called right-to-die laws expand over time."" -Wesley J. Smith, host of the Humanize podcast (www.humanize.today) ""Unnatural Death is a first-rate piece of historical work on the history of euthanasia. The history is mostly a dark one as he traces it from the Greco-Roman period through today. The connection with the modern euthanasia movement and eugenics is particularly helpful. I especially commend his final sections rebutting the pro-euthanasia argument from autonomy and defending the concern that euthanasia is a slippery slope. This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in this important area of bioethics."" -Scott B. Rae, Dean of Faculty and Professor of Christian Ethics, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University ""I highly recommend Richard Weikart's powerful, accessible, and important book on euthanasia and assisted suicide."" -Paul Copan, Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University (Florida)"