Going Green to Extremes - Humans Must Die

The Green Movement, enlisting humans to save the planet by "going green," is no longer enough for some environmentalists. The fast-spreading word is that humans must let themselves become extinct in order to save the earth. The ultimate environmental solution.

Listed with a starting date of 1996 at their website, the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is several steps ahead of the old Hemlock Society. The Hemlock Society, now called Compassion and Choices, came to the forefront in the late 1950's to advocate "death with dignity"-voluntary euthanasia for people with terminal illnesses. The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT, pronounced vehement) simply suggests humans should no longer procreate.

Treat life like a company being naturally downsized - just don't rehire. Reproducing is taboo. This puts earth first, to an extreme degree.

VHEMT simply suggests that if we stop breeding, the Earth (a word they always capitalize) will return to its originally healthy state. This isn't a one child per family rule like China - it's no breeding at all. They define God's leaving one family behind to re-procreate after Noah's flood as an "OOPS," and state that some other "being" will be needed to help in this situation (see this page at their website, under the question "When and Where did VHEMT start?").

But...who will be around to appreciate the new, healthy Earth? Will animals appreciate this? Who will animals express their appreciation to? One thing's for sure - animals won't go around saying "Ahhhh, that's better."

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is probably not a lone wolf in their theory that humans are the worst threat to the environment. Yet, one good thing can be said for them-they don't approve of killing people to reduce the population (see their statement here).

However, VHEMT's goal could be misinterpreted by madmen; just as atheists feel "religion" is responsible for genocides past and current (mostly because true religion has been so mishandled and misused), new genocides for the sake of population control could happen. This brings to mind shades of some sci-fi movies and suicide cults we've seen. VHEMT already had to speak out against a group called the Church of Euthanasia, whose founder advocates suicide to people who really want to save the earth (funny, he hasn't killed himself).

Meanwhile, although voluntary euthanasia goes against the biblical principle of waiting for God's timing for those who believe in the Bible, both Oregon and Washington State now have "death with dignity" acts. Jack Kevorkian, once called the "Doctor of Death" for participating in assisted suicides, would probably never be arrested today.

The original version of this article first appeared in October 2009 here at The Underground Online Magazine.

Sources:
Discovery Institute, "Bioethics" - http://www.discovery.org/a/1440.
Compassion and Choices http://www.compassionandchoices.org/.
Voluntary Human Extinction Movement http://www.vhemt.org/.