A vigil is being planned in downtown Chicago to oppose a physician assisted suicide bill in Illinois. The brief report notes that people will gather for an hour on a weekday evening, quietly witnessing to the dignity of life as lawmakers and the governor weigh whether Illinois should legalize physician assisted death for the terminally ill. For those of us touched by suicide loss, these “quick hits” land heavily. Policy debates about “medical aid in dying” use clinical language, but for many bereaved families, any discussion of intentionally ending life brushes against very raw places. Some hear echoes of the night they lost someone they loved and could not protect. Others fear that, in a culture where suicide rates remain high, legal changes may deepen a quiet message that some lives are no longer worth living. As Christians, we hold two deep convictions in tension. We affirm the “sanctity of every life”, including the life that is suffering, confused, or near its earthly end. At the same time, we lament honestly the depth of pain many endure. Scripture does both. The psalmist cries, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God” (Psalm 42:5, NIV). This is not denial of despair; it is hope voiced in the middle of it. Jesus meets people in their agony without turning away. At Lazarus’s tomb, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35, KJV). He grieves death as an enemy, even knowing resurrection is coming. For those who have lost someone to suicide, this means our Savior is not indifferent to either the person we lost or the wounds we carry. He stands beside us at the grave and weeps with us. The vigil in Chicago is, in part, a plea that our public life would choose care over killing, presence over abandonment. For the church, it is also a call to become the kind of community where no one suffers alone, where we “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2, NIV), including the burdens of suicidal thoughts, terminal diagnoses, and complicated grief. However the legislature moves, followers of Christ are summoned to quiet, persistent witness: every life is still worth sitting beside, praying for, and holding onto in love.
The Christian Association for Survivors of Suicide Loss offers Christian Support groups for those who have lost loved ones to suicide. For more information contact us at https://www.suicideloss.
The Christian Association for Survivors of Suicide Loss, Inc. (suicideloss.org) provides support to those who have lost a loved one to suicide through support groups and church support. If you are in crisis, dial 988 or 911 for assistance.
