To Die Or Not To Die: Issues of Life At It’s End
Series: In But Not Of May 15, 2005
Preamble:
Before we take a look at today’s topic, issues of life at it’s end, which is part of our series of sermons addressing issues in our society from a Christian perspective, I want to acknowledge that this is a difficult topic. And it is a very personal one for many of you, who have faced or who are facing the death of a loved one. So, in sensitivity, I want to begin with a perspective by Henry Van Dyke, and then a prayer:
Gone From My Sight
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white
sails to the morning breeze and starts
for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come
to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says;
"There, she is gone!"
"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull
and spar as she was when she left my side
and she is just as able to bear her
load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone
at my side says, "There, she is gone!"
There are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad
shout;
"Here she comes!"
And that is dying.
by Henry Van Dyke, a 19th Century clergyman, educator, poet, and religious writer.
Intro:
You and I live in the middle of our world, and our culture, with the encouragement from Romans 12 that we, in the Phillips translation “Do not let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within”. In this series we have been taking a thoughtful look at issues like marriage, disaster, and life at its origins, beginnings, and in the living. Today we are going to look at end of life issues. How should we approach death? How should we view the suffering that often comes at the end of life? What does the Bible have to say about euthanasia, “right to die”, or doctor-assisted suicide?
Foundations:
Let’s build our foundation from Scripture. I’m going to run through these fairly quickly:
God Is In Control Of Death:
Rev 1:18 “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Job 14:5 “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
This Life is Temporary:
2 Pet 1:13-14 “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”
What Happens When We Die:
1 Thess 4:13-18 (NLT) “And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.
I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.
A Christian View of Death:
There is an image in Scripture that describes death, which I am going to read next from 1 Cor 15. It is the image of a seed, and so I want to give you each a seed. This is a sunflower seed, and I want you to take it in your hand. I want you to touch it, hold it, reflect on how amazing a seed is. You take a seed, that tiny little seed, put it in the ground, and something beautiful and amazing happens.
1 Cor 15:35-57 “36But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?" 36What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting. 38Then God gives it a new body--just the kind he wants it to have…
42It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die. 43Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power. 44They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies…
54When this happens--when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die--then at last the Scriptures will come true:
"Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
56For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
What that all means is that death is not final. Death is not the enemy. Death is the threshold to something better, it is the doorway to a better world, it is not defeat but rather victory. For all of us who by faith have accepted Jesus, we can face death with assurance and hope and even joy.
On Dependence and Independence:
So why is death still so hard? Why are we still afraid? It is hard for us when someone we love dies because we feel the loss, we have to say goodbye, we have to stand on the shore and watch the ship sail out of sight, as Van Dyke puts it.
When we talk about our own mortality, it is hard for a different reason – it is hard because it is out of our control. We are completely dependant – primarily on God, but also on those around us who care for us. Most of us don’t like to be out of control, we don’t like to be helpless, we don’t like to recognize that that time will come when our lives here on earth will end and there is nothing we will be able to do about it.
Our culture is pretty mixed up about death, and faces a whole series of ethical questions and dilemmas, and of a shift in our culture. We see violent images, video games, and movies that at once glorify death and yet also make it very un-real. In the “real world” we have “right to die” activists, we have big pushes towards euthanasia, we have movements to write “living wills” wherein people attempt to make their medical wishes known in advance. We live in a culture that is surrounded by death and yet at the same time denies death – I see that in every embalmed body where the mortician attempts to make the dead body as life-like as possible. I see it as people ignore messages like the anti-smoking advertisements, honestly believing that they will be the exception. I hear it in how we talk about death and in our language, which is illustrated by a story I read in the Edmonton Journal Religion section several months ago, which you’ll forgive me for reconstructing from memory as best as I can…
A local pastor was called to perform the funeral for a wonderful Christian man in his congregation who was well known for his disdain of the language we use for death. He would read the obituaries, and always observe that no one had actually “died”. He would regularly complain that so and so “passed away”, this guy “got promoted”, this person “crossed over the river Jordan”, this person “went to Jesus, and this guy “met his maker.”, but it looks like nobody died again…” The pastor began the funeral service by saying, “George has died. He has not passed away, he did not get promoted, and he has not gone to meet his maker…”
As Christian’s we view death much differently from those who have no hope in a loving God who has provided a way to an eternity beyond this life. As people drift away from God and from faith and from assurance that a good God is in control of our lives and our universe, we find an increasing tendency to pursue control in our own lives. I believe that at the root of our death denying culture, with the push to euthanasia and “assisted suicide”, is a futile attempt to be in control and to be independent. It is an extension of a religion of autonomy, where personal choice is the ultimate value. It is the extension of that belief and desire for autonomy and control that desperately wants to choose the time and means of our death.
For us as Christians, personal autonomy and independence are not the ultimate goal or good. We do not worship personal autonomy, but rather willingly submit to God and are gladly aware of our dependence on Him and, in many cases, on one another. And that is ok, that is even good, because for us as Christians loving one another is greater and more important than our personal autonomy. (repeat). We can extend that to the end of our lives and declare that it is ok for us to entrust ourselves to people we know and love, and whom we know will make the best medical decisions for us. We don’t have to be in control at the time of death; we know God is.
Defining Our Terms:
Before going further, let’s define our terms. “Euthanasia is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. (The key word here is "intentional". If death is not intended, it is not an act of euthanasia).” (http://www.euthanasia.com/definitions.html). Assisted Suicide is actively helping a person take their own life. There are numerous other related terms, including “mercy killing.”
Mercy Killing Is An Oxy-Moron
Both euthanasia and assisted suicide masquerade as attempts to be compassionate and merciful. Both parade heart-wrenching stories of suffering individuals and declare that they should “have the right to die with dignity”. They advocate that mercy and compassion demand that we prematurely end the life of the suffering persons.
As Christians, such an idea is repulsive. The word “compassion” means to join someone in their suffering, not end their life so that they no longer suffer. Killing is not mercy, and any act that intends to end a life is an act of murder, regardless of motive. Mercy, for those of us who are Christians, is about entering into suffering alongside others, much like Saint Therese of Calcutta did. Mercy is about coming alongside and maximizing care, about alleviating pain as much as possible but remaining focused on maximizing care instead of minimizing suffering (Gilbert Meilaender, Bioethics: A Primer for Christians, p. 65-67), about helping a person be as comfortable as possible and prepared to face the reality of their death in the midst of love and an atmosphere that affirms the sanctity of life. As Christians, we see suffering as a hard road, but also as a refining one. We recognize that the suffering of Jesus enabled our salvation.
“Even when not motivated by a selfish refusal to be burdened with the life of someone who is suffering, euthanasia must be called a false mercy, and indeed a disturbing "perversion" of mercy. True "compassion" leads to sharing another’s pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear. Moreover, the act of euthanasia appears all the more perverse if it is carried out by those, like relatives, who are supposed to treat a family member with patience and love, or by those, such as doctors, who by virtue of their specific profession are supposed to care for the sick person even in the most painful terminal stages.” (The Gospel of Life, #66 - John Paul II, 1995).
Refusing Treatment Is Not Euthanasia
A significant factor in this conversation comes from how advances in modern medicine have opened up the question of at what point life should be maintained “artificially”, and have left many individuals and families feeling the pressure and often guilt of making a decision of at what point to refuse treatments. Two criterions guide us in making those decisions – first we can refuse a treatment if it is useless. “This criterion is especially important when a person is in the last stages of dying… For the patient who is irretrievable dying, few if any treatments can really be useful. Continued attempts to cure such a patient only impose needlessly and may well get in the way of the effort to care for this person as best we can… It is not killing but “allowing to die.” (Meilaender, p. 72-73).
A second criterion is that we may be right to refuse treatments that are excessively burdensome. It is really a choice of two types of life, one perhaps longer but of a greater burden, one perhaps shorter. Refusing treatment because the “cure is worse that the disease” is valid, and is not a rejection of life but a rejection of treatment.
Especially when we are deciding for others, the moral difference lies in the motive, or the intention. If the primary intention is to cause the end of life, such as injecting potassium chloride, we call that murder. If a feeding tube is removed in a mentally handicapped adult, the intention is to cause their death and thus is also murder. But if a 95yr old says no to chemotherapy, that is not suicide. If a family decides to remove a car accident victim from life support because there is no hope for recovery, that is not euthanasia. At such points, which many of us have or will face, the key thing to remember is that the death is not caused by stopping the treatment, death is caused by the illness or accident that came before the treatment.
True Death With Dignity
For anyone who wants to see what “dying with dignity” really looks like, we need look no further than Pope John Paul II. He fought, resisted, accepted treatments as long as they were still likely to provide help, then he endured suffering patiently, and then in God’s time he died. True dignity is not in trying to be in control of our death, but accepting that life and death are God’s alone and then facing that reality with hope.
Whose Side Is God On?
As Christians in our society, we take our direction from God’s heart and actions as revealed to us through Scripture. There we see that God has always been on the side of the outcasts, the weak, the powerless, the defenseless, and commanded His people to do the same. Just one quick example, from Isaiah 1:17 “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
In this debate, we must stand up for the weak and stand for life. Ending someone’s life is not an act of mercy, but an act of murder generally motivated more by a desire not so much to end the suffering of the person who is ill, but instead to end the suffering of the loved one burdened with the responsibility to care for them as they die. Yes it is difficult, yes it is heartbreaking and exhausting and draining. But that is part of what it means to love someone.
Conclusion:
Look again at the seed I handed out earlier. Now look at what it becomes – a beautiful flower, so much more glorious. That is what Scripture says happens through death. As Christians we do not need to fear death, although we are right to fight it as much as possible as we recognize that it is already defeated. I love how John Donne puts it, and I’ll close with this:
John Donne, Holy Sonnet
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure: then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
Remember
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more, day by day,
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that I once had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894)
MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF DEATH
How do Canadians die? For decades, the media have bombarded us with dramatic stories of violent, bloody, and sudden death. Daily televised newsreel images of war victims and fictional depictions of multiple murders dull our sensitivities and blur the line between reality and make-believe. The modern health system shields us from the scenes of real death that once occurred in the family home. In the past five years we have witnessed a new form of death-sensationalism. Highly selective and emotive vignettes and media clips have been utilized to portray dying as a painful process that robs us of dignity and control. As a result, many caring citizens have come to believe that prevention of unbearable suffering for the terminally ill requires the legislated right to euthanasia. We are being told that the only real choice facing a person with terminal illness lies between a quick and easy death by assisted suicide or a slow, painful, and meaningless death by disease progression. The Netherlands experience shows that poor pain control is rarely a cause for requesting euthanasia. Nonetheless, Canadians who support some form of physician-assisted death do so only because they believe that significant numbers are being forced to face death in unrelieved pain.
In reality, there is solid evidence that
• the pain of advanced disease can be relieved with existing drugs and techniques (20)
• the other psychological and physical problems of dying can be well managed by palliative care (21)
• the dying are not being kept alive, by means of tubes and machines, against their wishes (22)
• most deaths occur gently without agitation or distress (23)
• the option of euthanasia is not seen as necessary or desirable by the frontline doctors and nurses caring for the terminally ill. (24)
Somehow we must tell the other side of the story to the people of Canada. The cry for euthanasia is not arising from the bedside of the dying but from powerful minority political groups.
CONCLUSION
Beneath all pain lies fear - fear within the patient, family, professionals, and community. The fear of pain itself and of death are central, yet one also can recognize the fears of:
abandonment
losing control of decision-making
overtreatment or artificial prolongation of suffering
incontinence
going crazy
dying in distress from bleeding, suffocation, etc.
becoming a burden to family
Relief can only be achieved by attacking what is a viper nest of terror. Advocates for euthanasia in Canada are, with rare exceptions, healthy persons who are afraid of death and pain and losing control. Euthanasia is promoted as the solution to fear, promising to end our fears of suffering and losing autonomy by offering, instead, control over the method and timing of death. This is a false promise. Euthanasia and assisted suicide have arisen as a direct consequence of unresolved fear and denial; sanctioning it would lead to a spiral of mounting fear, both in dying patients and in the worried well of the community. (30)
Euthanasia legislation, far from diminishing suffering, would enhance the pain of dying by
increasing mistrust between patient and professional care givers
increasing fear of the drugs of symptom control
diverting attention and resources away from palliative care.
The relief of pain requires more than sophisticated pharmacology. Both assessment and therapy are built on a covenant of trust between patient and care giver. At national conferences in recent months, frontline palliative-care professionals have said that the fear generated by the media debate on euthanasia is already having an impact on the care of patients and families.(31) Increasingly patients are distrustful of palliative care, concerned that their death will be hastened in some way. There also appears to be a growing fear of narcotics and other symptom-relieving drugs, reminiscent of 20 years ago when oral morphine was first introduced into Canada. Fears of overdosage and sedation lead patients to refuse relief and endure unnecessary pain. Of equal importance, at a societal level, the burden of suffering is increasing because public attention and government funding are being diverted away from palliative care. While the submitted briefs and discussions of the Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide have been full of rhetoric in support of palliative care, this appears to be largely politically correct lip service.(32) There has been no significant increase in the infrastructure for palliative care within the provincial health systems since the debate began, and several examples of decreasing support in many provinces.(33)
The pain of advanced disease presents us with a tremendous challenge. Canada has the skills and resources to meet this challenge as long as we maintain our focus and our courage. We must not be diverted by the mirage of euthanasia, by this seductive quick-fix approach to suffering and death. Euthanasia, in fact, would open a floodgate of fear and pain. It would rob us of scarce resources and block the development of the effective community responses to pain that we so urgently.
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Last edited: 1 March 1998 by mmdr
(http://www.deveber.org/text/euthan.html)
Jonah once spoke: "O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life ... Death is better to me than life ... I have good reason to be angry, even unto death" (Jonah 4:3,8,9). When they do, let us not assist them in their death, but let us act like God did with Jonah; care for them, comfort them and communicate with them.
the difference between "sanctity of life" and "quality of life."
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Fears media coverage of assisted suicide
Letter appeared in the St. Thomas Times-Journal
Letter to the Editor by John Van Eyk
President, St. Thomas Evangelical Library
I respond to Saturday’s column by Tom Harpur "Palliative Care is Not Always the Final Answer."
First, that Mr. Harpur is able to pass himself off as a religious editor shows society’s ignorance of the Bible. He might quote the Bible to seem credible, but none of his articles ever present the Christian viewpoint. So it doesn’t surprise me that he is for assisted suicide.
Also, I fear the frequent press coverage of Rhonda Clarke by the T-J. The battle was lost in Holland because the media was monopolized by the advocates for euthanasia.
Mr. Harpur’s reasons for doctor-assisted suicides are 1. "being drugged out of one’s mind for weeks is not everyone’s concept of a good death"; 2. "Nobody should have to suffer because of the religious beliefs of others"; 3. He quotes the Bible, we are all "fellow workers" with God, as though this is God’s work. But he unknowingly revealed his real reason when saying "palliative care is extremely costly." Is he really being compassionate?
The Bible says "there is no new thing under the sun" and history is repeating itself if we study the history of euthanasia under Hitler. Leading medical doctors were calling it "final medical assistance", an "advancement in science", and "merciful" - but the outcome was devestating.
Mr. Harpur should study the results in Holland where doctors admit that pain is actually a factor in only about five per cent of deaths, and even depression qualifies now. For he states that euthanasia must be "accompanied with the strictest possible safeguards." How gullible we are. For once you start looking at killing as a means to solve problems, you always have more problems.
Doctors in this nation must oppose the subtle pressures from the media and society and oppose euthanasia lest they find themselves being made the killers. Will the doctors in St. Thomas speak out? May God help us!
Palliative care is not always the final answer
by Tom Harpur
Toronto Author / Broadcaster
In her fine book, A Gentle Death, Marilynne Seguin, R.N., talks about some doctors who seem to believe that the initials M.D. after their name stand for "Medical Deity." She is not more anti-doctor than you or I. She is simply drawing attention to the fact that some doctors like to project an aura of infallibility.
They like control. They don’t like anyone, least of all a layman, suggesting that they can’t control all pain or that they may not always be acting in the best interests of dying patients. I have heard from a number of physicians of this mould lately in response to columns in which I argued for a change in the criminal code to permit doctor-assisted dying under certain stringent conditions. Their differing opinions have been welcome. But, I must say the tone has often been both defensive and offensive. The most arrogant of all seem to come from the school of thought that believes the best in palliative care would render the entire debate over euthanasia and assisted death unncecessary. If you’re looking for a simple answer to the ethical dilemnas surrounding dying, they’ve got it. Palliative care means doing everything possible to look after the dying patient’s quality of life, physically, spiritually and mentally until the end is reached. Efforts to cure are stopped and, accepting that death is inevitable, the focus is to make dying a comfortable and meaninful experience. I’m strongly in favour of the aims and the philosophy of the palliative care movement, for those who desire it and for those to whom it is available. I have great admiration for both professionals and volunteers who engage in this kind of work. But, it’s far from being the panacea its enthusiastic supporters maintain. This is a most crucial point. Many doctors and nurses give good palliative care without advertising it. But, palliative care, like every other aspect of medicine, has become a speciality. It’s extremely costly. Consequently, it is estimated that only about five per cent of patients who need it in Canada right now can get it - even in major centres. There’s absolutely no use in telling people to ignore the issue of assisted dying because nobody would ever ask for it if they had good palliative care when the latter option simply isn’t there for most! Furthermore, there are still palliative care experts who are very puritanical when it comes to using the amount or kinds of drugs needed to relieve chronic pain. Their idea of what level of pain the dying patient could or should stand may not be acceptable to the patient himself. Anyway, dying in a hospice or palliative care ward, possibly drugged out of one’s mind for days, weeks, or months, is not everyone’s concept of a good death.
While on this topic, I was unable to accept an invitation to appear as a witness before the Special Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Dying in Ottawa recently and so sent a written brief. Here are some of the key points made in it:
* It is frequently argued by religious opponents of any change in this direction (to permit freedom of choice to people suffering from an irreversible, terminal illness) that we must preserve the sanctity of human life at all costs. I am convinced that true observance of the sanctity of human, personal life - as opposed to simple biological life - is most truly preserved when the deepest wishes of the dying person are acknowledged and honoured. Nobody should have to suffer and die according to the religious or philosophical beliefs of others, however well-meaning. The Judeo-Christian tradition gives evidence of the utmost regard for the sacredness of the individual and for his or her autonomy.
* Some religious thinkers put great store by the supposedly purifying effects of suffering. But, the mental and physical anguish of those who want to die but cannot is the very opposite of this. It’s a form of cruelty to make people accept other people’s assessment of how much suffering they should endure and whether or not it is ultimately "good" for them.
* One often hears the cry ... that doctors must not "play God." But, modern medicine "plays God" every moment of every day with ever intervention conceivable. We are already playing God; the question is will we be compassionate, respectful of the individual kind of God or an authoritarian "we know better than you" kind of deity. My reading of the Bible is that God’s intention is that we should be "fellow-workers" with him in an adult partnership. That makes taking full responsibility for our actions and technologies and not backing off at the end to leave the terminally ill patient stuck there, helpless to act, impotent.
* Any change in the law must, however, be accompanied by the strictest possible safeguards to prevent its abuse. Any such decision on the part of a patient must be informed, competent, wholly voluntary and subject to review by responsible family members and at least one other physician.
Hunger striker says CMA stand dangerous
by St. Thomas Times-Journal Staff
A local hunger-striker who launched a petition in favour of doctor-assisted suicide says the Canadian Medical Association’s stand against it could make things worse for sick people.
"It’s stupid for the medical association to vote this way because people will start doing it (without a doctor)," Rhonda Clarke said.
Mrs. Clarke, who works at a downtown chip wagon, said she has been asked three times by people who want her to assist a sick person to die, but she was refused.
She said her petition asks the government to change the law so terminally ill people have the option of a doctor’s assistance to end their life. She said doctors should assist with a request for death because untrained people may botch the procedure and leave the sick person worse off.
Tuesday was the 27th day of Mrs. Clarke’s hunger strike to publicize her attempt to get 50,000 signatures on her petition.
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Responding to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are both deliberate attempts to end a patient?s life. The act is called euthanasia when a person other than the patient directly does something to cause the patient?s death. If a doctor injects a patient with a drug with the intent of bringing about the patient?s death (perhaps in response to the patient?s request), this is an act of euthanasia. Assisted suicide takes place when someone provides the patient with the means to take his or her own life, but the patient is the one who directly initiates the action causing death. If a doctor intentionally prescribes a drug which a patient may take at his or her discretion to bring about death, this is a case of assisted suicide.
In 1997 the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases involving assisted suicide. The Court denied that physician assisted suicide is a constitutionally protected right of terminally ill persons and their physicians. At the same time, the Court did not completely rule out assisted suicide, but put the question of the legalization of assisted suicide into the hands of the states. Currently, physician assisted suicide is legal in the State of Oregon.
The societal movement towards euthanasia and assisted suicide did not arise in a vacuum. Some see it as resulting from a failure in our society to provide good care for the dying.
The report Care of the Dying: A Catholic Perspective from the Catholic Health Association of the United States (1993) notes that ?many who care for the dying tell us that people are generally not afraid to die.? Rather, ?they fear...the process of dying, especially the dependency, helplessness, and pain that so often accompany terminal illness...?. The report also notes that ?one of the major arguments of euthanasia advocates is that for some people dying is too painful to endure and so bringing about death by lethal injection or assisted suicide is the only merciful way to end the pain and suffering.?
On the issue of euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1994) states:
Catholic health care institutions may never condone or participate in euthanasia or assisted suicide in any way. Dying patients who request euthanasia should receive loving care, psychological and spiritual support, and appropriate remedies for pain and other symptoms so that they can live with dignity until the time of natural death. (no. 60)
This statement sets out the two-pronged response of the Catholic Church to euthanasia and assisted suicide. On the one hand, the Church unqualifiedly condemns these practices. On the other hand, the Church urges us to constructively address the needs of dying persons who, out of a sense of desperation, may request euthanasia or assisted suicide.
The Declaration on Euthanasia from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1980) likewise reminds us of the support needed by persons who are dying:
The pleas of gravely ill people who sometimes ask for death are not to be understood as implying a true desire for euthanasia; in fact it is almost always a case of an anguished plea for help and love. What a sick person needs, besides medical care, is love, the human and supernatural warmth with which the sick person can and ought to be surrounded by all those close to him or her, parents and children, doctors and nurses.
Thus we should keep in mind that the Church calls us to do two things in responding to euthanasia and assisted suicide. We should oppose these practices and the legalization of them. At the same time, we should commit ourselves to taking active steps to provide good end-of-life care for the dying.
Prepared by Janine Marie Idziak, Ph.D. Health Care Consultant, Archdiocese of Dubuque, IA
July 2000 This document may be reproduced.
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