People, in various countries, are having fewer children. People in various countries are also living longer. That means we have fewer young people supporting more retirees, leading politicians and bureaucrats to wonder what should be done about this situation.
This week, an op-ed from journalist Louise Perry in The New York Times discusses the topic in "The Perverse Economics of Assisted Suicide." Perry, who does not believe assisted suicide should be legal, wrote that "our fertility predicament is not as extreme" as fictional books imagine, such as The Children of Men, but Perry wrote that "it is nonetheless very real."
In The Children Of Men, a birthrate crisis has caused governments to facilitate the suicides of the elderly.
"The global total fertility rate has more than halved since 1950, with those of most countries already below replacement level," wrote Perry. "This poses an existential threat to welfare systems, which rely on young workers to fund entitlements and health care for older adults."
Liberal politicians across the globe have changed immigration policies, thinking this would help solve the birthrate problem, but Perry said those very same politicians "forget that immigrants themselves get old, and their birthrates tend to converge with those of the greater population over time."
Today, approximately 20 countries and 11 U.S. states allow for assisted suicide. Those in favor of it say it's a personal choice, especially for someone with a terminal illness. However, pro-life individuals and organizations argue that assisted suicide is wrong.
Michael New is an assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
"The aging of the population poses challenges from a policy perspective, but the solution is not killing people off," says New. "The solution is finding better ways to take care of people."
New says this is yet another opportunity for pro-life individuals to engage with people. After all, pro-lifers often point out that they are pro-life from conception to natural death.
"The pro-life movement has been against assisted suicide ever since we organized politically. National Right To Life was issuing statements and taking action against assisted suicide as early as the 1970s, so I think certainly pro-lifers should come out against this,” concludes New.
