Plugging a hole in our understanding of the Sixth Commandment
The Sixth Commandment forbids murder, and there is no exception for self-murder. Suicide is forbidden by God's Law.
I used to think I could never cite Scripture in the public square. People who are not Believers will dismiss the Word of God, so I have to convince them with my own feeble "logic" and "reason." But Scripture is sharper than any two-edged sword, and Romans 1 teaches us that we all know God exists. I set myself up as not only wiser and more effective than two thousand years of church history and countless church fathers, but I even set myself above Scripture itself. My refusal to argue from Scripture was sin, not superior argumentation.
There are policy arguments we can make, from a secular perspective, for upholding Christian commitments in the public square in several areas. Conservative Christians have long had a libertarian streak, which is why Christians have struggled over the last few decades with opposing suicide. If a "consenting adult" is suffering from a medical condition or is deeply depressed and sees no hope to go on, why can we not allow him to quietly pass away?
The fact of the matter is, from a purely secular libertarian perspective, it is very difficult to justify opposing suicide. That is one reason why Christian conservatives need to have the faith to cite Scripture. This does not mean we cannot use secular arguments or human logic. (The corruption of the medical system by allowing assisted suicide is real, for example.) But the reason we oppose suicide - assisted by "doctors" or not - is because man is made in the image of God. He created man in His image, male and female.
Over the last forty years, we have increasingly rejected the rightful authority of God over life and death, and we have demanded the right to die with "dignity." This means we have the "right" to be murdered or to murder ourselves. But the Sixth Commandment forbids murder, and there is no exception for self-murder. Because we are made in His image, we are not allowed to deface that image. Our lives belong to God, not to ourselves. This includes the timing of our death.
Anticipating an objection: No, this does not mean that we must take every single treatment to prolong life as long as possible when someone is terminally ill. What constitutes "heroic" treatment will naturally involve much debate, but there is a world of difference between not accepting "heroic" medical intervention and actively, intentionally killing a human being.
Self-murder is not a compassionate solution to suffering, and when we allow self-murder it is inevitable that the "narrow" and "limited" grounds for permitting self-murder will be widened dramatically. That is already happening in Canada. Perhaps it will be slow or perhaps it will be quickly, but it will happen. Returning to a culture that honors life means pushing back against the "medical" ghouls who act as serial killers with the approval of law, and preach the Gospel and His love for us.