EuthanasiaIn recent months the issue of euthanasia has been brought to light through such cases as Diane Pretty who went to the European Court to plead that her husband be allowed to kill her. At the same time there was controversy over the Miss B case when she insisted that her ventilator be taken off.
Should people have the right to decide what they do with their life? If they’re going to die anyway what does it matter if they do it sooner? If it makes life easier for those around and if it is cheaper for the government isn’t it a good idea?
Dr John Ling was formerly a lecturer in Bio Chemistry at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Since retiring he has written books on bioethics including one entitled, ‘Responding to the culture of death’ (published by Day One publications) where he examined the issue of euthanasia. In a recent interview he explained what euthanasia is, what the bible says about it and what Christians can do to stand against legalising it.
There are several definitions for euthanasia; one is the intentional putting to death of a person or patient with an incurable or painful disease. There are three types of euthanasia that we need to understand. The first is voluntary which is talked about most, that is killing at a patient’s request, the patient asked to be killed. The second is non-voluntary which is killing a patient without a specific request, they may be incompetent or they may be in a coma The third is involuntary which is euthanasia when you are killing against a patient’s wishes and the Nazi holocaust would be the best example of that.
Euthanasia is a controversial issue. Killing has always been illegal. In medicine there are two foundations: the two and half thousand year old hypocratic oath which says do no patient any harm, and the judaeo-Christian doctrines, the doctrines of the bible, which have also been one of the great foundations of medicine with verses like “love your neighbour as yourself”. When you start to kill patients you are turning two and half thousand years of medicine on its head. Doctors have been trained to be healers not killers.
In most cases people should be allowed to decide what happens to them. This is encapsulated in the word ‘autonomy’ which is used a lot today; it means self-government, choosing for myself. But there are always limits to anything we can do; we are not entirely free to do what we want. A good society should always protect its weak and vulnerable. There are laws that always hem us in; we are not entirely free ever. For example we can’t steal. These sorts of freedoms and rules are the oil and grease of a good society.
There are many problems that would arise if the government were to legalise euthanasia. We have partly seen the problem with abortion; abortion is killing the unborn child. This leads onto infanticide which is killing the newborn child then euthanasia is killing the elderly. When we begin to practise all three really nobody is safe. The elderly will be afraid to go to hospital. There is a slippery slope, once you let a few cases in then it will get more and more and more. We’ve seen that with abortion, we’ve seen it with infanticide and undoubtedly the same will happen with euthanasia.
When we look at what the bible has to say about euthanasia in a word we have to say it says nothing, you won’t find the word in the bible just as you won’t find the word infanticide, suicide or abortion. It does say plenty about life and about death. The key verse to look at would be Exodus 20 v 13, the sixth commandment “you shall not murder”. The bible always has an extremely high view of human life, that man is made in the image of God and that he is precious and human life is sacred. God gives life and God takes life away, he gives our breath, how we live and move and have our being in him. The bible certainly has a lot to say, in general about human life, how it should be lived and that he is the author and finisher of that life.
Even though our society in general rejects the bible it is still relevant. The bible speaks to believers and unbelievers; it speaks to all men all women and all children. Our society has been structured on Christian principles. For example look at the benefits of biblically based institutions such as the family, marriage, education and medicine. All of these benefits are for all people and they are good. We can look at the bible as the maker’s handbook; it gives the best reasons to live, the proper ways to live for all men, women and children. People have recognised this over the years, it’s given the best that is in our society, the mostly highly thought of aspects have often been biblically based whether people believe the bible or not.
As Christians we need to understand God’s word. God’s word says all human life is unique and special; we are all made in his image that is foundational to any understanding of such issues like euthanasia. It also says that human life begins at conception and ends at natural death. We need to understand that human life requires stewardship. We don’t own our lives; if we owned our lives then maybe we could take them, but we’re stewards of it, God has given it to us in a steward relationship. We also need to understand that innocent human life is not to be taken. All human life needs special care. We need to protect the dignity and the worth of all human life. We must cherish human life whether it is pre-born, that is in the womb, whether it is born, whether it is young, whether it is old. We should also pray about these issues, educate ourselves. We’re called to be salt and light in our communities so we ought to speak up. We are to care for those in difficulties, care for those that are at the end of their lives. We can of course also join pro-life groups and be active in those if we want to prevent the legalisation of euthanasia. Lastly we need to prepare to die one day. We certainly will and like in all of lives activities those who prepare well usually cope best with those activities and we one day have to prepare to meet our God as Amos says. Return to Home Page |
