Democrats Complete Virginia’s Culture of Death—From Womb to Tomb
In my recent article Virginia’s Perfect Storm: How One-Party Rule Threatens Life, Liberty, and Law Enforcement, I warned that Democrats are building a coordinated system to enshrine abortion through birth (HJ1), eliminate biblical marriage (HJ3), and fundamentally reshape Virginia. Now they’ve added another piece to the death infrastructure: Virginia Senate Bill 359 legalizes physician-assisted suicide.
The same senator who pushed HJ1’s abortion-through-birth amendment through the Senate—Jennifer Boysko—now wants doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to kill patients at the end of life. Virginia SB359, euphemistically titled “Medical Aid in Dying,” transforms physicians from healers into executioners.
This is not compassion. This is a coordinated assault on the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. And your pastor is probably silent about it.
What Virginia SB359 Actually Does
SB359 legalizes physician-assisted suicide for Virginia residents diagnosed with a “terminal disease” (defined as death within six months). Here’s the process in plain English:
Step 1: Patient Must Have Advance Directive
Before requesting assisted suicide, the patient must have an advance directive stating their wish to use “medical aid in dying” if diagnosed with a terminal disease. This requirement primes patients to consider suicide as a healthcare option before they’re even sick.
Step 2: Two Oral Requests (15 Days Apart)
Patient makes two oral requests to their doctor, separated by 15 days. However, if the doctor believes the patient will die within 15 days, this waiting period is waived. Translation: the sicker you are, the faster we kill you.
Step 3: Written Request with Witness
Patient submits a written request witnessed by someone who attests the decision is voluntary. The witness cannot be a relative, heir, or healthcare provider. But here’s the problem: witnesses can’t detect subtle coercion, financial pressure, or depression masquerading as “informed choice.”
Step 4: Doctor Prescribes Lethal Drugs
If the doctor determines the patient is “mentally capable” and meets all requirements, they prescribe a lethal dose of medication. The patient must self-administer—no injections or IV infusions. Death typically occurs within three hours, though the bill admits “my death may take longer.”
Step 5: Death Certificate Lists Underlying Disease, NOT Suicide
Here’s where it gets Orwellian: the death certificate lists the underlying terminal disease as cause of death—NOT suicide. Virginia law will literally redefine reality, calling intentional self-killing something other than suicide.
But here’s what makes this truly diabolical: SB359 doesn’t exist in isolation.
The Complete Culture of Death Democrats Are Building
As I documented in Virginia’s Perfect Storm, Democrats are systematically dismantling Virginia’s respect for human life. SB359 completes the death infrastructure. Look at what Senator Jennifer Boysko has sponsored:
HJ1 (Constitutional Amendment): Abortion through birth with one doctor’s approval. Kill life at its beginning.
SB359 (Physician-Assisted Suicide): Lethal prescriptions for “terminal” patients. Kill life at its end.
This is not coincidence. This is coordination. The same legislators pushing abortion on demand are now pushing euthanasia. They want the power to determine which lives are worth living—and which should be terminated.
Genesis 9:6 declares: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his image.” God alone determines the beginning and end of life. Job 1:21: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.”
Democrats reject this. They claim the authority to kill babies in the womb and elderly patients in hospice. From womb to tomb, they’ve declared war on the image of God.
Now, let me address the elephant in the room: Why are pastors silent about this?
Dear Pastor: The Hippocratic Oath Is Being Destroyed and You’re Silent
If you’re a Virginia pastor and you haven’t preached on the sanctity of life at its end, let me ask: Why not?
Your congregation includes elderly members who will face terminal diagnoses. They’ll be told by their doctors—doctors who took an oath to “do no harm”—that suicide is now a “medical option.” They’ll feel like burdens to their families. They’ll wonder if they should take the lethal prescription to spare their children the cost of care.
And you’ve said nothing to prepare them.
Scripture is clear: Exodus 20:13—“You shall not murder.” Psalm 139:16—“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God determines our lifespan. We don’t get to decide when we die.
But here comes the counterargument, and we need to address it honestly:
“What about compassion? What about unbearable suffering? Shouldn’t people have the right to die with dignity?”
Let me steel-man this argument: Terminal illness can involve excruciating pain. Watching a loved one suffer is agonizing. Many people genuinely believe assisted suicide is merciful—a way to end pointless suffering and preserve dignity.
I acknowledge this emotional reality. End-of-life suffering is real.
But here’s why the “compassion” argument fails:
First, modern palliative care can manage virtually all pain. Hospice exists precisely to provide comfort without killing. The answer to suffering is better pain management—not death. Oregon data shows most people who request assisted suicide cite loss of autonomy and dignity, NOT uncontrolled pain. This is about despair, not pain.
Second, “terminal within six months” is medically uncertain. Doctors regularly get prognoses wrong. Patients outlive terminal diagnoses all the time. SB359 will kill people who would have lived months or years longer.
Third, coercion is inevitable. Elderly patients feel like financial burdens. Family members pressure them subtly. Insurance companies have incentives to approve lethal drugs instead of expensive treatments. SB359’s “safeguards” cannot prevent this.
Fourth, the slippery slope is real. Oregon started with “terminal illness.” Now they’re expanding to mental illness. Canada legalized assisted suicide in 2016. By 2022, 10,000+ people died by euthanasia—including people with depression, poverty, and disabilities. One woman chose death because she couldn’t afford housing. This is where Virginia is headed.
Finally, doctors become killers. The Hippocratic Oath says “I will do no harm.” For 2,000+ years, physicians have refused to participate in executions. SB359 transforms doctors from healers into executioners. Medicine loses its moral foundation.
As I wrote in my series on The Pulpit Is Responsible, pastoral silence is not neutrality. It’s complicity. Your congregation needs to hear this truth before their doctors offer them lethal prescriptions.
Fortunately, there’s still time to act. Here’s what you can do right now.
What You Can Do RIGHT NOW
Here’s the good news: SB359 was just prefiled on January 13, 2026. It’s been referred to the Senate Education and Health Committee but hasn’t been voted on yet. This is a fight you can win if you engage NOW.
First, contact your state senator immediately.
Find your senator: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/
Call their office. Email them. Say this:
“I am your constituent and a Christian who believes every life is sacred from conception to natural death. SB359 legalizes physician-assisted suicide and violates the Hippocratic Oath. Doctors should heal, not kill. This law will lead to coercion of elderly and disabled Virginians who feel like burdens. It corrupts medicine and devalues human life. Vote NO on SB359.”
Second, demand your pastor address this from the pulpit.
Email this article to your pastor. Ask him to preach on the sanctity of life at its end this Sunday. If he refuses, ask him why defending the elderly and terminally ill isn’t worth his prophetic voice.
Third, mobilize your church.
Print copies of this article. Share it on social media. Host a prayer meeting focused on Virginia’s legislative assault on life. Organize your small group to contact legislators together.
Fourth, prepare your family theologically.
Have conversations NOW with elderly parents and grandparents about end-of-life decisions. Make clear that suicide—even physician-assisted—violates Scripture. Commit to caring for them through terminal illness without pressuring them toward death. For Virginia resources on sanctity of life issues, see our comprehensive Sanctity of Life articles.
Finally, support hospice and palliative care ministries.
The answer to end-of-life suffering is not death—it’s better care. Support Christian hospice organizations. Volunteer with end-of-life ministries. Demonstrate that the church offers a better way than assisted suicide.
But beyond tactics, understand the deeper reality: This is spiritual warfare.
This Is Spiritual Warfare
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
This isn’t Democrats vs. Republicans. This is the enemy’s coordinated effort to destroy the image of God—from conception to natural death. Satan hates human life because we bear God’s image. Every abortion, every assisted suicide, every attack on the sanctity of life is an assault on the Creator Himself.
Yet we serve the God who laughs at earthly rulers (Psalm 2:4), who works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), and whose kingdom will never end (Revelation 11:15).
You are not helpless. You are equipped by the Holy Spirit, grounded in Scripture, and called to this moment.
The question is not whether Virginia will embrace a culture of death. The question is whether you will stand for life when it does.
Pick up the phone. Email your senator. Confront your pastor. Mobilize your church.
This is a fight you can win—but only if you show up.
For more on Virginia’s coordinated assault on life and liberty, read Virginia’s Perfect Storm: How One-Party Rule Threatens Life, Liberty, and Law Enforcement.
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Category: Sanctity of Life
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Jeff Bayard is Content Manager at Virginia Christian Alliance, where he champions biblical values and constitutional principles. Read more from Jeff at https://vachristian.org/author/jbayard/
