Can somebody help me improve this paragraph on suicide and religion? Edit +...

[Aspire]

...help lessen word count plz.? David Hume in his essay ‘Of suicide’, reasoned that if assisting a suicide is immoral then it must be because it ‘violates some duty to God, others, or ourselves’. Indeed, the basis for the law against assisted suicide seems to be rooted in Anglo-Christian values, which have unquestionably shaped a large part of Australian law. These values include the sanctity of human life and the prohibition against intentional killing. The sanctity of life is a principle which holds that human life is sacred, has intrinsic value and must therefore be respected and preserved . Therefore, by decriminalizing assisted suicides, those who believe in the sanctity of life argue that human life will be devalued and hence people could feel obliged to end their lives if they believed they were becoming a burden on loved ones. Additionally, the principle holds that life is a gift from god and that by destroying it we reject God’s sovereignty. Thus, if we are to abide by our Christian values, the law must punish those who choose to reject God’s gift. Similarly, the prohibition against intentional killing is rooted in one of God’s Ten Commandments ‘thou shall not kill’. Hence, prosecuting assisted suicide as an unlawful homicide is an unnegotiable instruction by God. Moreover, Eric Radkowski, in the ‘Sanctity of Human life’ argues that, even from a moral viewpoint, it is ‘instinctively human to protect life’. Whilst these doctrinal arguments are compelling for believers, if such arguments were to prevail legally, it would be a horrific violation of the separation of church and state. Australia is a secular society and it is inappropriate to allow religious beliefs to impinge on the freedom of others. Hence, if a rational, competent person decides that life is not worth living because of illness, suffering, loss of a loved one, or whatever reason, then that person has the right to end his or her life with the assistance of another person. Just as one should be left free to pursue rational values that do not violate others' rights, one should also be free to terminate their life on their terms.