Religion Assessment By Jacob Grima 10 Blue
Definition of Euthanasia:
Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. The word "euthanasia" comes straight out of the Greek"eu", goodly or well and "thanatos", death meaning the good death.
It refers to the situation when a doctor induces the death with a lethal injection, of a patient who is suffering unrelievably and has persistently requested the doctor to do so.
The Netherlands is the only country in the world where euthanasia is openly practiced. It is not specifically allowed by statute, but Dutch law accepts a standard defense from doctors who have adhered to official guidelines. These guidelines hinge on the voluntariness of the request and the unrelievable-ness of the suffering. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are defined by the State Commission on Euthanasia. Euthanasia is the intentional termination of life by somebody other than the person concerned at his or her request. Assisted suicide means intentionally helping a patient to terminate his or her life at his or her request.
Under Dutch law euthanasia is the termination of life by a doctor at the express wish of a patient. The request to the doctor must be voluntary, explicit and carefully considered and it must have been made repeatedly. Moreover, the patient's suffering must be unbearable and without any prospect of improvement.
Pain relief administered by a Dutch doctor may shorten a patient's life. As is the case in other countries, in this is seen as a normal medical decision in terminal care and not as euthanasia.
For Euthanasia:
Against Euthanasia:
We need it – 'the compassion argument'. Supporters of euthanasia believe that allowing people to ‘die with dignity’ is kinder than forcing them to continue their lives with suffering.
Alternative treatments are available, such as palliative care and hospices. We do not have to kill the patient to kill the symptoms. Nearly all pain can be relieved.
We want it – 'the autonomy argument'. Some believe that every patient has a right to choose when to die.
There is no ‘right’ to be killed and there are real dangers of ‘slippery slopes’. Opening the doors to voluntary euthanasia could lead to non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia, by giving doctors the power to decide when a patient’s life is not worth living. In the Netherlands in 1990 around 1,000 patients were killed without their request.
We can control it – 'the public policy argument'. Proponents believe that euthanasia can be safely regulated by government legislation.
We could never truly control it. Reports from the Netherlands, where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are legal, reveal that doctors do not always report it.
The assumption that patients should have a right to die would impose on doctors a duty to kill, thus restricting the autonomy of the doctor. Also, a ‘right to die’ for some people might well become a ‘duty to die’ by others, particularly those who are vulnerable or dependent upon others.
Catholic Church Teachings Regarding Euthanasia:
General Christian View:
Christians are mostly against euthanasia. The arguments are usually based on the beliefs that life is given by God, and that human beings are made in God's image. Some churches also emphasise the importance of not interfering with the natural process of death.
Christians believe that the intrinsic dignity and value of human lives means that the value of each human life is identical. They don't think that human dignity and value are measured by achievements in life.
The Roman Catholic View:
The Roman Catholic church regards euthanasia as morally wrong. It has always taught the absolute and unchanging value of the commandment "You shall not kill".
The church has said that:
nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a foetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying.
Pope John Paul II has spoken out against what he calls a 'culture of death' in modern society, and said that human beings should always prefer the way of life to the way of death.
The church regards any law permitting euthanasia as an intrinsically unjust law.
Importance and relevance of Euthanasia and how it relates to Christian living:
Importance of Euthanasia:
Euthanasia involves a clash of two important values: respect for individual autonomy and respect for life. Pro-euthanasia advocates give priority to autonomy; anti-euthanasia proponents to respect for life.
Respect for life is not just a religious value as pro-euthanasia advocates argue. All societies in which reasonable people would want to live must uphold respect for life and at two levels: respect for every individual human life and respect for life in society in general. Even if legalizing euthanasia were viewed as not contravening the former, it seriously harms the latter.
Relevance of Euthanasia:
Every society known to us subscribes to some principle or principles prohibiting suicide. But there are great variations between cultural traditions as to when suicide is considered incorrect. If we turn to the roots of our Western tradition, we learn that in Greek and Roman times such practices as infanticide, suicide and euthanasia were widely accepted. Most historians of Western morals agree that Judaism and the rise of Christianity contributed greatly to the general feeling that human life has sanctity and must not deliberately be taken. To kill anyone is, in these traditions, to usurp the right of God to give and kill people. It has also been seen by influential Christian writers as a violation of natural law.
How Euthanasia relates to Christian Living:
To the Christian, quality of life judgements are irrelevant. Because we were each created in the image of God, each human life is sacred and has intrinsic value. There is no such thing as a life that is not worth living – every kind of life has meaning and purpose. The Christian knows contentment, happiness, and fulfilment as resulting from one's attitude and response to situations.
As Christians, we were called to be salt and light within our spheres of influence. The Bible is clear on this. Interestingly, Albert Camus, a non-Christian Nobel Prize winner, concurs: 'The world expects for Christians that they will raise their voices so loudly and clearly and so formulate their protest that not even the simplest man can have the slightest doubt about what they are saying. Further, the world anticipate of Christians that they themselves will eschew all fuzzy abstractions and plant themselves firmly in front of the bloody face of history. We stand in need of people who have determined to speak directly and unmistakably and come what may, to stand by what they have said.' Christians have to, on the one hand, be against euthanasia by boldly proclaiming God's truth, and on the other hand, promote life through a practical demonstration of His love and compassion.
Bibliography:
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7365
https://www.care.org.uk/our-causes/sanctity-life/arguments-for-and-against-euthanasia
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/euthanasia_1.shtml
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2017/02/28/4627671.htm
https://www.worldrtd.net/euthanasia-fact-sheet
http://www.tkc.com/resources/resources-pages/euthanasia.html