Death With Dignity Is a Farce: Christian Voices Push Back After Senator Ben Sasses Cancer Witness

John Stonestreet and Timothy Padget Reject the Euthanasia Industry's Marketing as Sasse Models Dying Well With Pancreatic Cancer

Christian thinkers John Stonestreet and Timothy Padget have published a sharp rejection of the assisted suicide movement's signature slogan, declaring "'Death with dignity' is a farce. But there is dying with dignity." Their 12 May 2026 piece in The Christian Post uses the example of former US Senator Ben Sasse, who is dying publicly and faithfully from terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosed last December.

Sasse has used his diagnosis to model what suffering with purpose looks like, even at devastating personal cost.

Christian Pushback Against Death With Dignity Slogan as Ben Sasse Models Faithful Dying

Stonestreet and Padget argue the phrase "death with dignity" implicitly presumes that dying with dignity is impossible without the lethal drugs. The framing, they say, assumes suffering has no value, reflects a naturalistic worldview where life lacks inherent purpose, and "markets giving up as compassionate rather than courageous."

The authors quote directly: "There is no value to be found in facing suffering or enduring pain to honor life until its God given end." Drawing on theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer's concept that transformation through Christ enables meaningful dying, they contrast Christian theology with secular worldviews that offer only escape from suffering. Despite losing time with his young son and future milestones, Sasse demonstrates "dying so well" through public testimony, what the authors call "a subtle radical act" in contemporary culture.

The Crusader's Opinion

The euthanasia industry has captured the language. "Death with dignity" sounds noble. It is a marketing slogan for industrial scale suicide. Ben Sasse refuses to play along. He is dying of cancer, in public, with faith in Jesus Christ, surrounded by his family. He is dying with actual dignity. Christian readers must reclaim the vocabulary. Christ on the Cross was not "dying with dignity" by the world's measure. He was the most dignified death in human history. Suffering has meaning. Pain has redemption. Christianity does not flinch from death. It transfigures it.

Take Action

• Read: Stonestreet and Padget's full piece at The Christian Post
• Pray: For Senator Ben Sasse, his wife Melissa, and their young son
• Donate: Care Not Killing or your national palliative care advocacy
• Contact: Your representative opposing assisted suicide expansion
• Share: Sasse's witness and challenge the euthanasia industry's framing of "dignity"