Culture of Life?

Wow, I knew it had been a while since I posted, but 8 days is pretty bad. Talk about slacking. Actually, not really, I've just been distracted with other stuff, and not much has ruffled my feathers enough to post here.

But I read something yesterday that just tweaked me, and then got me thinking in that way that at first seems really profound, and then I realize I'm probably like the 10,396th person to think this, but even so, I have to say it. I was reading an article about the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a law in Oregon allowing physician-assisted suicide. Actually, what they're allowing to continue is that a doctor (in Oregon) can prescribe an overdose of regular medication to a critically ill patient that will allow them to die peacefully. It's not even that weird suicide machine thing that Kevorkian had, the doctor doesn't have to do anything except recognize that this poor person is so sick that they would rather end their life than continue in pain and suffering. Sounds noble, right?

Frankly, I think anyone who disagrees with the idea that each person has a right to choose when they die is a douchebag. And the fact that my father chose to end his life when I was 10 (because he couldn't handle his impending divorce and all that) and that his choice has affected my entire life, mostly in a negative way, and yet I still believe everybody has the right to choose their time and method of death, I think that says something. To argue that a critically ill person should not be allowed to elect to die is absolutely cruel. Allowing a doctor to make that decision easier and legal is simply humane.

So here's where I get tripped up. In that article, look for Scott McClellan's quote. Here, I'll snip it for you: "The president remains fully committed to building a culture of life, a culture of life that is built on valuing life at all stages." I'm SO tired of this "culture of life" crap. It seems to apply to fetuses and critically ill people. If you're anywhere in between, you're still fucked, especially if you're between 18 and 32 and can carry a rifle in the desert. It's really hypocritical to me that the same people who say life is sacred are willing to throw away 2100+ lives for no reason.

But more than that, what I really don't get is WHY the religious right is so concerned with the "culture of life". Isn't one of the basic tenets of Christianity that the afterlife is going to be way better than this life, as long as you're a good Christian, or you let them dunk you in the water, or whatever? So why the reluctance to let someone go join Jesus? Wouldn't an aborted fetus go to heaven, or do they still believe in original sin? I thought the Catholics got rid of limbo, so unbaptized babies get to go to heaven now. Wouldn't Jesus welcome someone who had spent years suffering from some disease and just wanted relief and peace? Seems awfully dick-y of him to say that they're sinning by choosing to come live with him. Who knew he was such a douche?

You know, I would think that we atheists would be the ones who would be so worried about preserving life--we're fucked once we're dead. I'm going straight to hell (especially after this post), right? And yet, we all believe that people have the right to choose the terms of their life, including when it's time to end it. I know for me, even though I don't know what awaits us after the curtain comes down on this life, I'm not worried about it. I'd like to enjoy this life as much and as long as I can, but when it becomes more of a struggle than a pleasure, I'd like to drop out and move on to my next one, thank you very much. Frankly, I'm looking forward to coming back as a dog, or maybe a bird--flying would be wicked cool.