World News and Trends: Euthanasia to become law in Netherlands
The Netherlands' parliament approved a bill legalizing mercy killing and doctor-assisted suicide in some circumstances.
The vote in the lower house of the Dutch parliament was 104-40, overriding the objections of small Christian political parties and the Roman Catholic Church. The Dutch senate must approve the bill, but under the system in the Netherlands approval is a mere formality.
A poll in 1998 showed a large proportion of the country's population approves of euthanasia, which has been a long-standing practice in the Netherlands. A newspaper report said doctors "now are virtually never prosecuted for performing thousands of assisted suicides for terminally ill patients each year."
Whether a medical practitioner snuffs out a life before birth (abortion) or near the end of its normal span (euthanasia), the taking of life is still a violation of the Sixth Commandment. Nothing in God's Word sanctions such practices. For further understanding of the principles undergirding respect for one's neighbors and their right to life, please request a free copy of The Ten Commandments. (Source: International Herald Tribune.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 2001
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Melvin Rhodes
Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.
