Euthanasia



Euthanasia

Introduction

The current "debate" on the legitimacy of euthanasia is a good indicator of the overall moral state of Canadian society. This debate also illustrates how secularized some Christians have become, blindly adopting anti-Biblical concepts such as the "quality of life" or even the "right to die." It may be that many Christians have difficulty understanding the complexities of this issue - after all, doctors already hasten death by stopping life support or using high doses of morphine in cancer patients, don't they? And, isn't it cruel to deny a suffering person an easy death when they are dying anyway? (Wallace 13)

This two-part series addresses the issue of euthanasia from a Christian perspective. In part one, we will discuss definitions and contrast the Christian world view with the prevailing ideologies in our society that have engendered the push for euthanasia. In this paper we will discuss the ramifications of these disparate perspectives, examine the related issues of quality of life and autonomy, and conclude with thoughts about what each of us can do.

What Euthanasia is and is not

In a war of ideologies, the first casualties are the definitions of the terms used. Euphemisms abound when people resort to deceit in attempting to convince others. For example, in the language of the day, administering a lethal injection becomes "aid in dying." (And how can you be against giving "aid" to someone who is terminally ill?) What is generally meant by the term euthanasia is mercy killing - the deliberate ending of a person's life to reduce their suffering. More commonly used today, however, is the phrase the "right to die." These are noble sounding words that literally mean that someone can request that a doctor kill him. In the terminology battle, the proponents of euthanasia are seeking to redefine what is now known as a form of homicide and call it acceptable medical practice.

The debate is very much an ethical one. Natural death, which results from illness or degenerative processes, is the antithesis of mercy killing. Even when life could be prolonged by medical treatment and is not, the death that may ensue is a death from the underlying illness, not a result of the withdrawal of care. The withholding of medical therapy is reasonable when the treatment is disproportionately burdensome (that is, the therapy - not the disease - is hard on the person) and relatively ineffective ("futile"). In other words, we are not ethically bound to use unwanted, non- beneficial therapies that serve to only prolong a person's dying. In fact, not doing so shows profound respect for the boundaries of natural life. (Waddey 14)

It is important to understand that euthanasia cannot be equated with the current understanding of palliative care. Palliative care is the active relief of suffering in a terminally-ill individual, and although there are occasions when treatment may shorten life, this is not the intended or anticipated result. It is simply a side effect or complication of therapy and is therefore ethically ...