While scrolling through the channels the other day, I caught part of a wildlife documentary. The narrator explained how predators such as wolves and coyotes often target the weakest members of a herd, usually the young, the old, and the infirm. As I watched the program, I wondered if something similar might be happening in our own society. I started thinking about how our society treats people who are dependent on others — particularly the unborn, the elderly, and the seriously ill.
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For most of American history, the socially accepted limit for abortion was the “quickening,” roughly 16 to 20 weeks into pregnancy. The Clinton-era slogan of “safe, legal, and rare” has gradually evolved degenerated to the point where abortion is routinely described as “health care” or “reproductive justice.” Some now defend even the most controversial abortion procedures, and we have seen a disturbing number of people defending a mother who strangled her three children, ages five, three, and eight months.
The same concern arises at the other end of life. Elderly and infirm people who require assisted living or costly medical care are increasingly being advised to consider “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD).
In cultures that prioritize youth and economic productivity, those who need extensive care may start to look like burdens rather than people who need our support. This issue is emerging across North America and parts of Europe.
Canada has become the leading example of the expansion of euthanasia. Approximately 90,000 Canadians have died through MAiD since its legalization. An estimated 16,500 people used MAiD in 2024 alone, representing roughly five percent of all deaths in the country. The numbers are bad enough, but a closer look at individual cases shows why the issue has generated so much controversy.
One case involved 83-year-old Ontario grandmother Brigitte Stegemann. According to her family, she was confused on the morning of the procedure, failed a cognitive assessment, cried, prayed, and pleaded not to receive what family members described as “the death shot.” Although practitioners maintain that legal consent was obtained, the incident was serious enough to prompt a police investigation.
Another example is Paralympian and Canadian veteran Christine Gauthiers, who sought assistance from Veterans Affairs to obtain a wheelchair lift for her home. Gauthier later reported that she was offered information about MAiD instead. She filed suit and testified before Parliament. Government officials condemned the suggestion and ordered reviews.
In the United States, at least 14,446 Americans have died through physician-assisted suicide programs, with deaths increasing dramatically between 2014 and 2024. California alone has recorded more than 5,000 deaths during the past decade and became the first state to exceed 1,000 in a single year. Approvals have been granted for conditions including lupus, anorexia, complications from falls, and a disturbingly-vague and growing “other” category. Oversight remains uneven, with some jurisdictions releasing incomplete data or no annual reports at all.
Reports of cases involving non-terminal conditions such as broken hips, diabetes, and depression make me wonder if a system intended for people seeking relief from intolerable suffering, is beginning to consider dependency as grounds for death rather than care?
A similar issue arises with prenatal testing and abortion, especially in cases involving disabilities such as Down syndrome. In Iceland, almost 100 percent of pregnancies diagnosed with Down syndrome are terminated, with only two or three children with the condition born each year. Denmark reports approximately 98 percent, Britain around 90 percent, and estimates for Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States range from 67 to 90 percent.
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Many nations face below-replacement fertility levels, aging populations, and rising costs of long-term care. At the same time, cultural messaging often celebrates youth, autonomy, and productivity. We need to consider this combination when we discuss how society treats people who need extensive care. Taken together, it raises the possibility that abortion in some cases and euthanasia in others could become ways of avoiding the costs associated with long-term dependency.
In the United States, the Hyde Amendment has long barred most federal taxpayer funds from covering elective abortions, and some estimates credit it with preventing more than two million abortions. Though it continues to face political opposition, it remains one of the most significant restrictions on public funding for abortion. Elsewhere, during a visit to France, Pope Leo XIV publicly criticized that nation’s assisted-dying policies.
When a society treats dependency as a reason to end a life, it may also change how people think about human worth. Compassion for suffering is important. But this can become dangerous if dependency starts to be treated as a problem that can be solved by ending a person’s life.
The argument over the intrinsic value of human life extends beyond abortion and MAiD. Some public figures are flirting with rhetoric that appears to excuse or encourage political violence. North Carolina Senate candidate Shelly Headen, while posing in front of crematorium ovens at Dachau, stated, “This is where Trump supporters belong.”
Comedian Bill Burr suggested that healthcare CEOs should examine the policies that inspired Luigi Mangione rather than simply increasing security. Referring to Burr’s comments, attorney Rafael Mangual, the Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, argued that “The only way to understand the comedian’s comments is as an endorsement of brutal and extrajudicial violence as a legitimate means of expressing one’s frustrations with corporate behavior.”
In other examples, political commentator Hasan Piker has called for a Chinese-style cultural revolution against moderate Democrats. Critics argue that such rhetoric favors ideological struggle over democratic persuasion. Finally, a recent poll found that nearly one-third of Democrats wished President Trump had been assassinated.
When taken together, I believe these developments point to a broader ‘culture of death’, in which some lives gradually come to be regarded as less worthy of protection. At one time, this was called “life unworthy of life.”
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That is a trajectory any humane society should resist.
Image: Pixabay