Death on Demand #2 - The Crisis of Autonomy (When Choice Becomes a God)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau opened The Social Contract with the now-famous words: "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." That line still echoes in the minds of modern Western thinkers. Many today believe that human beings are fundamentally free, and that societal norms and structures are the chains that oppress us. Within this framework, autonomy becomes sacred. To be truly human is to follow your own conscience. To be free is to self-determine.

This is the worldview that undergirds MAiD. From a secular perspective, it's not just about ending suffering; it's the ultimate expression of self-rule. The state is seen not as restraining death, but as guaranteeing freedom. It's no coincidence that those who champion MAiD are often the same voices pushing for abortion rights, gender self-identification, and the redefinition of marriage. These are not disconnected issues; they share a common belief: freedom means casting off all constraints.

And if we want to have meaningful conversations with those who support MAiD, we need to understand this. To them, this is a just war against the "chains" of tradition and moral constraint.

But Christianity offers a radically different vision of freedom. We agree that God made us to be free, but true freedom isn't autonomy. True freedom is the ability to do what is good, to walk in obedience to God. The greatest freedom is not freedom to sin, but freedom from sin.

From a biblical perspective, societal norms are not the enemy—evil is. Norms become dangerous only when they promote what is evil or prevent what is good. Governments, laws, and cultural expectations are meant to be servants of God to restrain sin and promote justice. When they fail to do this, they aren't neutral, they're broken.

This is why we must resist the temptation to turn "choice" into a god. When self-determination becomes the ultimate good, what we're really worshipping is self. And a society built on egocentrism will eventually collapse under its own weight.

The truth is this: man is not born free; he is born a slave to sin. The chains are not outside of us, but within. And the only way to true freedom is surrender to God. That includes recognizing that life and death belong to Him. He is the Giver of life, and He alone has the right to decide when it ends.

Living and dying in submission to our Creator—that is not bondage. That is the only path to true freedom.

Nino Marques