EUTHANASIA
By: Gerry Guerrero
The conflicting realities- the power of medicine to cure and inevitability of death- give motivation to a pressing ethical question:
How should we care for terminal cases?1
There was a strong, athletic, young man, his name is Donnie, in his early twenties when he and his father were standing close to gas pipeline that exploded, leaving him severely burned over 90 percent of his body and resulting in the loss of his sight and hearing. As he was lying in the field following the explosion, he begged a passerby to shoot him and end the misery that he was experiencing and that he knew he would experience as he underwent painful burn therapy. The passerby refused, and arranged for him to be taken to a burn unit at a metropolitan hospital. The treatment was exactly as Donnie anticipated: slow, depressing, and excruciatingly painful. Repeatedly he asked the doctors to stop the treatments and simply allow him to die. At times, he also asked them to simply end his life in the more humane way, by giving him a lethal injection of drugs. He wanted euthanasia.2
Euthanasia or Mercy Killing is the deliberate act of intending or choosing death for the purpose of ending the agony of someone who suffers from incurable disease or injury.”3
There are two kinds of Euthanasia the active and the passive. In Active Euthanasia, committing an act that kills; a physician or a friend causes death (perhaps by injecting a toxin or by shooting the patient) though for merciful reasons. In Passive Euthanasia, is refraining from an act that prolongs life.4 There are different Kinds of Passive Euthanasia: (1) Unnatural Passive Euthanasia is allowing someone to die by deliberately withholding natural means of sustaining life, (2) Natural Passive Euthanasia, is the withholding of food, air, water leads directly to the person’s death, it is negligent homicide. 5
Proponents of Euthanasia believe this act is humane because you are helping a person to escape from suffering of pain. Terminal illnesses like the case of Donnie surely they wish to end their lives in a painless way rather than to continually living in agony. Hemlock society and the Society for the Right to Die increased their effort to legitimize euthanasia, like Netherlands making it legal for all practical purposes. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Michigan pathologist Dr. Jack Kevorkian made the headlines with his "suicide machine," a simple device that allowed a terminally ill patient to release a lethal dosage of drugs into his body, thereby ending his life. Once the patient was connected to the machine, releasing the drug was a simple matter left in the hands of the patient, not the physician. Kevorkian was indicted on two occasions for second-degree murder. Although the charges were eventually dropped, he has been prohibited by the state law from assisting people with euthanasia.
Christians generally believe, however, that mercy killing is immoral because it involves intentionally destroying something of great value, namely, a human life.7 It rejects God’s sovereignty over human life. God told Moses, “I put to death and I bring life,… and no one can deliver out of my hand” (Deut. 32:39). It is contrary to the sanctity of life, human are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Human life is sacred.8
One day someone will approach you and share the same concern that one of his/her family member is terminally ill. Technically brain dead, life sustaining devices and medical treatment postpone the moment of his/her death that cost big amount of medical bills. Aside from that the emotional pain the family experiencing seeing their love one suffering. The patient’s situation pressures them to considering ending his/her life by withdrawing the life sustaining devices, since there is no chance at all for him/her to survive. If you are in the shoe of this person how would you respond to this? Would you consider euthanasia as the final remedy to stop the patient’s agony?
Bibliography
Clark, David K. and Robert V. Rakestraw. Reading in Christian Ethics: Issues and Application, 2nd
ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996.
Scott B. Rae, Scott B. Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1995.
Geisler, Norman. Christian Ethics: Contemporary Issues and Options, 2nd ed. Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
1 David K. Clark and Robert V. Rakestraw, Reading in Christian Ethics: Issues and Application, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), 95.
2 Scott B. Rae, Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 161.
3 Clark, 95.
4 Ibid.,96.
5 Norman Geisler, Christian Ethics: Contemporary Issues and Options, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapid, MI: Baker Academic, 2010) 170- 171.
6 Rae, 162.
7 Clark, 95.
8 Geisler, 172.
My comment on mercy killing is that it is possibly a good option as long as the patient is medically dead already; as long as the patient is only being made to survive by machines and medicines. But of course this should be taken with real care before agreeing with the family members and the doctors. This does not mean that we are not to believe or have faith in God. This is to show the obvious especially if the patient is suffering meaninglessly.
ReplyDeleteOne must not subscribe to euthanasia if there is hope of surviving. But if one is clinically dead if not for machines, the loved ones may consult the Lord's decision in prayer.
ReplyDeleteIt is very complicated issued in our society. From my perspective, we can't make decision between the live and death of the person. It's belong to God and need wisdom for the advantage and disadvantage of the family members, patient and the doctors.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that easy to decide if one of your members is terminally ill. I have witnessed the same case when one of my young people was hit and run by a motorcycle and was comatosed for four days. The patient was brain-dead and the bill in the ICU became bigger. The doctor said that the patient has 10% chance of living and the only instrument that sustained his life span was the machine. Considering all the possibilities and expenses, the family decided to remove the machine attached to the patient.
ReplyDeleteJob 1.21 says, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away." He is the author of life. Thus, I have no right to end someone's life eventhough the patient is in pain already. Euthanasia is not the final remedy to end someone else's life.
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ReplyDeleteThe decision of the family members will depends upon the situation. Practically most people right now choose Euthanasia. In some cases if the family cannot support the terminally ill patient financially, they can choose unnatural passive euthanasia that allows someone to die by deliberately withholding natural means of sustaining life. Yes, God is the author of life and by that decision, it is upon the Lord if He will take away the life of the terminally ill patient or give his/her a chance to live because God can do miracles. There's a reason why circumstances just happens but God has a purpose, God has a plan.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who looks at a difficult situation such like a family member who is in a terminal condition and terminating his or her life would be mercy because that would end the suffering instead of prolonging the agony of those who are dear to us. This decision would be very difficult for the family of the sick to decide since it is normal for the family to exert every effort to extend one's life whatever the situation and the cost. But my personal wish if ever I would be in a situation of terminal case of heart attack and my heart have stopped and for me to live to be attached to life support in the ICU my desire is for my family not to try to revive me anymore. I rest my case in the hands of my Lord.
ReplyDeleteMuang Guite:
ReplyDeleteGod gives life and He alone can take it back.
To address this kind of practical life challenges is not an easy one. And we should remember that there is nothing called "EASY" in life. Actually to face and meet the challenges in life is a courage act. And I believe this is what God's want us to do and be. We can face the challenges with the help of God. Pain, suffering, agony etc are parts of life. By ignoring and trying to escape the pains, one can not choose to ruin life or against God. Everyone experience suffered pains once in life (I do...) but "LIFE" is more imp. than just the paint we are going thru.
This is a very complicated issue for the church. For me personally i would leave to the Lord and Family members of the sick. If family members are tiered of spending money and there is no hope God might forgive us or His will might have that person need to rest with him.
ReplyDeleteI think it is hard to decide whether to apply euthanasia or not if I am going to put my situation on the member of the family of a person who is sicked. But one thing I consider is what the Word of God tells us about life "we don't have the right to take lives, only God" When it comes to the issue of finance (medical expenses), I think it's the family's decision to decide whether they will continue send the ill person to the hospital depending on the situation if they still have the hope that the person will recover. In most cases, I observed that people entrust to God their family member who is sick severely especially if they don't have enough money for hospitalization.We should also consider that sufferings are to be endured cause God might be teaching us something or we need to persevere from it.
ReplyDeleteI've known 2 persons who experienced the same dilemma, how to decide whether they will to take life sustaining support for their patient who are clinically dead or just let the the patient to suffer and the family. We need to consider also their difficulties of taking care with their patient.It was also the family that suffering because of the patient's situation.As a family we empathize to the situation of the patient but if the family would also suffer with the same intensity (emotionally, mentally, financially, physically) like the patient, I think it is reasonable to withdraw life sustaining support since it just prolonging the agony and even not a single chance for the patient to survive.
ReplyDelete