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International

Euthanasia advocates use deception to affect public’s perception of assisted suicide

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From LifeSiteNews

By Jonathon Van Maren

Politicians claim that moral opposition to assisted suicide (or suicide in general) and euthanasia is religiously motivated and then make the leap to insisting that this means such opposition should be ignored.

Euthanasia activists are currently doing what they do best: the bait and switch. 

As the debate heats up in the U.K., all of the familiar tactics are on display. First, of course, there is the relentless lying. Despite the case study of Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium – and despite disability activists, judges, palliative physicians, and the secretaries of health and justice warning that no “safeguards” will hold – U.K. euthanasia activists are insisting that this time everything will be different. 

The response to these critiques has been predictable but infuriating. Euthanasia activists insist that all of this is about religion – that those nasty Christians are, once again, seeking to impose their suffering-based theology on the country. (This despite the fact that even Ann Furedi, who heads up the U.K.’s second largest abortion provider, opposes the proposed assisted suicide law.) One good microcosmic example of this tactic comes from UK writer Julie Street, who posted to X (formerly Twitter): 

Just walked out of Mass bloody fuming – our priest used the homily to read a letter from the Catholic bishops telling people to oppose the Assisted Dying Bill then handed out cards with our local MP’s details on to lobby them. Religion has no place in politics or women’s rights. 

There is much to say in response, of course. Why is Street so surprised to discover that her Catholic priest and bishops are, in fact, Catholic? Is she ignorant of the religion that she at least appears to practice? How airtight does one’s mind have to be not to see assisted suicide and euthanasia as religious issues? Indeed, “euthanasia” is Greek for “good death” – the theological premises are baked right into the term. Or does Street think that religious people should shut their mouths in the political arena and voluntarily disenfranchise themselves as the fates of the weak are decided? 

Is Street also ignorant of the fact that it was largely due to the Catholic Church’s public opposition that Adolf Hitler moved the Nazi’s euthanasia operation underground? (We now know, of course, that the Nazis only claimed to have disbanded the T-4 program.) I thought progressives wanted a Church that stood up for the weak, vulnerable, and dispossessed – and who qualifies more than the sick, elderly, and those with disabilities? Christians are accused of not being loving enough, and then rebuked when they stand up for the victims the political class deems expendable – first the unborn, now those on the other end of life’s spectrum.  

But there’s more to this tactic than grating ignorance. Progressives like to play both sides of the fence. Take abortion, for example. Politicians like to claim that it is a religious issue, and that thus they cannot legislate against it due to the fact that we live in pluralistic societies. Many religious leaders are quite happy to follow this logic, claiming that since abortion is a political issue, it cannot be discussed in church. And all the while, the countless corpses of the aborted unborn pile up in the No Man’s Land between. 

The assisted suicide debate is unfolding along similar lines. Politicians claim that moral opposition to assisted suicide (or suicide in general) and euthanasia is religiously motivated and then make the leap to insisting that this means such opposition should be ignored. Meanwhile, because politicians are debating the issue, folks like Street can claim that because this is now a political issue, priests and pastors should keep their traps shut. See what they did there? It’s a neat trick, and despite how farcical and illogical it is, it seems to work with maddening regularity. 

In fact, the priest Julie Street had the good fortune to hear was standing in the tradition of the clergy who stood up against Adolf Hitler and his eugenicist gang – and fighting the same evil being advanced under many of the same premises, to boot. She should be grateful. If she can’t manage that, she should at least be better educated.   

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Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National PostNational ReviewFirst Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton SpectatorReformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.

His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

He is the author of The Culture WarSeeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of AbortionPatriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life MovementPrairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.

Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.

Crime

Time to call Antifa what it is — a terrorist organization

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Quick Hit:

President Trump announced Wednesday he will designate Antifa a “MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” calling it a “sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and vowing to investigate its funders. The move follows Charlie Kirk’s assassination by a suspect tied to extremist leftist ideology.

Key Details:

  • On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
  • Trump added that he would recommend “those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
  • Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” has no formal leadership structure but is known for violent clashes with police and for stoking riots at protests. Trump said earlier this week he was “100%” in favor of labeling the group as a terror organization.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump on Wednesday escalated his administration’s push against violent left-wing groups by declaring that Antifa will be designated as a “major terrorist organization.” Posting the announcement on Truth Social, Trump described the group as “a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and emphasized that investigations into Antifa’s backers should begin immediately. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” Trump said.

The decision follows mounting calls for action in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week. Authorities have identified the suspect, Tyler Robinson, as a 22-year-old who was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” The tragedy has intensified pressure on the administration to act against groups viewed as fueling extremist violence.

Antifa, which stands for “anti-fascist,” is less a formal organization than a loose movement. Its members, often dressed in black and masked, are notorious for showing up at protests to provoke violent clashes with law enforcement and political opponents. While its supporters describe the group as anti-authoritarian, critics point out its consistent record of property destruction, rioting, and violent confrontations.

Trump had previewed the move earlier in the week, telling reporters he was “100%” supportive of officially designating the group as a terrorist organization. The announcement also aligns with Trump’s longstanding campaign promise to crack down on lawlessness and protect communities from radical ideologies.

By targeting Antifa not just in name but by directing legal scrutiny toward its funding networks, Trump is signaling a more aggressive federal posture toward violent left-wing movements. The designation would allow federal authorities to treat Antifa’s activities with the same severity reserved for foreign terrorist groups, widening the scope of investigations and penalties against those linked to its operations.

(AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

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Crime

FBI says ‘a lot more’ than 20 people ‘may have known’ Charlie Kirk was going to be shot

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From LifeSiteNews

By Calvin Freiburger

The FBI is investigating the possibility that dozens of Discord users may have had knowledge about the planned murder of Charlie Kirk before it happened.

The FBI is currently investigating the possibility that dozens of other individuals may have known about the planned murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk through their participation in an online chatroom.

Kirk, the head of campus outreach group Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. Two days later, authorities apprehended and accused 22-year-old Robinson of the shooting and detailed how he was motivated by his view of Kirk as “hateful.” Robinson was in a romantic relationship with his male roommate, who is in the process of “transitioning” to female.

On Monday, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Newsmax host Rob Schmitt that investigators are looking at a chat room on the platform Discord in which Robinson participated and a “potential broader network of people who may have known” what he was planning. He cautioned that the investigation was still in the early stages, and were not yet certain of who knew what when.

“The only question is the timeline that other people knew about the incident. Did they know before? Did they know afterward?” Bongino said. “When you read some of the traffic, it’s unclear if that message was received before or after.”

The next day, FBI Director Kash Patel testified before Congress on a wide range of topics, during which the state of the investigation came up.

“I see the public reports that the Discord thread had as many as 20 additional users,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, to which Patel said it was a “lot more than that,” and “we’re running them all down.”

Patel would not go so far as to say definitively that more individuals than Robinson were involved in the assassination, but said it remains a possibility. “There are a number of individuals that are currently being investigated and interrogated — and a number yet to be investigated and interrogated related to that chatroom,” he said.

Discord has issued a statement insisting there is “no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence” on the platform. Robinson announced to his chat room that he had done it roughly two hours after the shooting.

“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” Robinson told the 30-some members of the chat. “It was me at [Utah Valley University] yesterday. i’m sorry for all of this […] Im surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments. thanks for all the good times and laughs, you’ve all been so amazing, thank you all for everything.”

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