Choosing Life

The Bible

And

Euthanasia

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Deuteronomy 30:19

Moses challenged the people of Israel to hold fast to the covenant with God (Dt. 29-30).

{God said} “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life. . . (Dt. 30:19)

The same words challenge us today to “Choose life.”

We face dilemmas far beyond anything the people of Moses’ day could ever have imagined due to the technological advances in medicine.

We live in a complex world because people can be kept alive even when there is no hope of recovery.

Doctor Death

Euthanasia is sometimes called, “mercy killing,” or assisted suicide.

Jack Kevorkian has become famous because of providing “help with assisted suicide.”

But less-famous people are faced with life and death decisions everyday.

The media presents euthanasia as a solution to profound human fears:– Fear of being a burden on

one’s family.– Fear of unbearable pain.– Fear of exhausting one’s

savings.– Fear of prolonging death

with tubes and machines.

Dr Jack Kevorkian

The Supreme Court

The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court to block the only U.S. law allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients die more quickly.

Oregon voters approved the law and since 1998 more than 170 people have used it to end their lives. Most had cancer.

The Bush administration has argued that assisted suicide is not a "legitimate medical purpose" and that doctors take an oath to heal patients, not help them die.

Confusion

Confusion often clouds the issue, especially when we face decisions about using life-supported systems for ourselves or for relatives.

When is there an obligation to use such technology and when are we free not to use it?

Moses & Respirators

Neither Moses nor Jesus had to worry about respirators and feeding tubes!

Three major points come from the Scriptures

1) Life is a basic but not absolute good.

2) We are to be stewards of life, but we don’t have complete control.

3) We understand death in the context of belief in a new and eternal life.

1) Life is a basic but not absolute good.

There is a sacredness of human life emphasized in Genesis 1:27

27 God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them

Notice that the word “man” in Scripture applies to both male and female.

All creation is good, after all God made it and He doesn’t make junk.

Genesis 1:31 God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

Human life, then, possesses a dignity rooted in who we are not what we do.

Life is Holy

Life is holy, deserving of respect and reverence.

We know from our experience that life is the foundation for all other goods:– Friendship– Love– Prayer and other ways

we enjoy and serve God and neighbor.

Life, isn’t the most important good – greater even than life is our relationship with God.

Lk 9:24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.

We wouldn’t destroy our relationship with God through sin to save our physical life.

Martyrs

The powerful witness of the martyrs testifies to this truth.

Jesus demonstrated this truth by trusting in God and remaining faithful even to death on a cross.

Matthew 16:26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

St. Paul Tells Us:

Philippians 2:7 Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,

8 he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Scripture is clear, life is a basic good but not an absolute.

2) We are stewards of life, but don’t have complete control.

Stewardship means we have a responsibility to care for something that isn’t totally in our control or possession.

Control claims a radical and ultimate freedom or right to do whatever we want.

Life is a God given grace that we need to take care of but only God has control over life.

Stewardship means to care for, to foster and nourish the gift of life, our own and others.

Jesus was the ideal of stewardship (Jn 6:22-71

“Bread of Life Discourse & The Words of Eternal Life).

Jesus humbly accepted that pain and suffering can’t always be eliminated.

Before His Own Death

“Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me. But not what I will but what you will (Mk 14:32-42).

Death isn’t the end. Death isn’t the final

word. Death isn’t a transition

from life to nothingness.

3) We understand death in the context of belief in a new

and eternal life. Death marks the

transformation to a new and eternal life.

This belief doesn’t deny the reality of death.

It doesn’t deny the suffering and the separation that are part of that reality.

We look to the Resurrection of Jesus as a demonstration of that reality.

How then do these three Biblical insights enlighten us to the issues of euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the life-support systems?

1) Life is basic but not an absolute good.

2) We are stewards of life.

3) Death isn’t the final word.

The Problem With Euthanasia

Mercy killing moves beyond stewardship.

Euthanasia, even for compassionate reasons, implies that we have absolute control over life and contradicts Scripture.

Euthanasia places us, like Adam, wanting to be God.

The Problem with Assisted Suicide

Our responsibility is to be good stewards of the gift of life.

Stewardship prohibits choosing suicide or helping someone else end their lives.

Suicide is rooted in frustration, pain and despair.

It is an attempt to seize control over the life that God gave us.

The decision for euthanasia or assisted suicide may seem private but in fact it has major implications for society.

Would it breed distrust in the medical profession?

Would it place old and infirmed people in a vulnerable position?

Withdraw or Withhold Life-support Systems?

We believe:– Death moves us to

eternal life.– Life isn’t an absolute

good. Therefore, we do not

have to keep someone alive at all costs.

Ordinary means to support life must be used.

Extraordinary means are optional.

Ordinary means are interventions that offer reasonable hope of benefit and can be used without excessive expense, pain or other inconvenience.

Ordinary and extraordinary refer not to technology but to the benefit or burden the patient would receive.

What’s the Catechism Say?

CCC 2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect.

Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.

Direct EuthanasiaCCC 2277

CCC 2277 Whatever its motives and means,

direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons.

It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes

death in order to eliminate suffering

constitutes a murder gravely contrary

to the dignity of the human person

and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.

The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act,

which must always be forbidden and excluded.

Discontinuing ProceduresCCC 2278

CCC 2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate;

it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment.

Here one does not will to cause death;

one's inability to impede it is merely accepted.

The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or,

If not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient,

whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be

respected.

They’ll Die Anyway CCC 2279

CCC 2279 Even if death is thought imminent,

the ordinary care owed to a sick person

cannot be legitimately interrupted.

The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying,

even at the risk of shortening their days,

can be morally in conformity with human dignity

if death is not willed as either an end or a means,

but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable.

Palliative care (Relieving or soothing the symptoms of a disease or disorder without effecting a cure) is a special form of disinterested charity.

As such it should be encouraged.

Dying vs. Killing

Can “life-support” be removed?– Is a fatal disease or

condition present?– Will life-prolonging

efforts be useless or a severe burden on the patient?

– Then the life-support can be removed and the person can die of the disease or condition.

In this situation the person has been allowed to die but hasn’t been killed.

In euthanasia or assisted suicide the individual’s right to be the primary decision maker is put ahead of God.

We do not have to do everything possible in every situation to keep a person alive.

The Case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo

She was not dying. She had no terminal

illness. She was not in a coma. She was not on life-

support equipment. She was not alone, but

rather had loving parents and siblings ready to care for her for the rest of her life.

She had not requested death.

The Battle in Florida Rages

The battle raged regarding whether Terri Schindler-Schiavo should be starved.

She had sustained brain injuries and could not speak or eat normally.

Nevertheless, the only tube attached to her was a small, simple, painless feeding tube that provided her nourishment directly to her digestive system.

Her legal guardian was her husband, who already is with another woman -- by whom he has had children.

He wanted Terri's feeding tube removed.

Of course, he could have simply allowed her to be cared for by her parents and siblings, and get on with his life, but he refused, he wanted Terri dead.

Food, Shelter and Care News articles have

characterized Terri's situation by saying that some want to "keep her alive against her husband's wishes."

But Terri was not dying. What does "keeping her alive against her husband's wishes" mean?

Doesn’t it mean the same thing as keeping you and I alive -- that is, by giving us adequate food, shelter, and care?

“Let Her Go” or Kill Her?

Some said that Terri's family should "let her go."

But this is not a matter of "letting her go," because she wasn't "going" anywhere.

When she was deprived of nourishment, she slowly died in the same way that any of us would slowly die if we were deprived of nourishment.

It is called starvation.

A Painless and Gentle Ending

But is this really true? After all, it would be

agonizing if you or I were locked in a room for two weeks and deprived of all food and water.

What happens to non-terminally ill people with cognitive disabilities whose feeding tubes are removed?

Do they suffer from the process?

St. Louis Neurologist Dr. William Burke Tells Us:

"A conscious [cognitively disabled] person would feel it just as you or I would.

They will go into seizures.

Their skin cracks, their tongue cracks, their lips crack.

They may have nosebleeds because of the drying of the mucus membranes.

Heaving and vomiting might ensue because of the drying out of the stomach lining.

They feel the pangs of hunger and thirst.

Imagine going one day without a glass of water!

Death by dehydration takes ten to fourteen days. It is an extremely agonizing death."

Terri Went To The God Who Loved Her.

On March 31, 2005 at approximately 9.05am, Terri Schindler-Schiavo lost her nearly 14 day struggle against starvation and dehydration and died at the Hospice Woodside in Florida.

Her biological family was not permitted to be with her as she passed.

Kate Adamson

At age 33, Kate Adamson collapsed from a devastating and incapacitating stroke.

She was utterly unresponsive and was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS).

At the urging of doctors, who believed she would never get better, her nourishment was stopped.

But midway through the dehydration process, she began to show subtle signs of comprehension, so her food and water were restored.

“Locked In” Adamson eventually

recovered sufficiently to author "Kate's Journey: Triumph Over Adversity," in which she tells the terrifying tale.

Rather than being unconscious with no chance of recovery as her doctors believed, she was actually awake and aware but unable to move any part of her body voluntarily.

Kate appeared on the "The O'Reilly Factor," hosted by Bill O'Reilly who asked: “So you were feeling pain when they removed your tube?”

Yes. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. To say that — especially when Michael [Schiavo] on national TV said that it's a pretty painless thing to have the feeding tube removed — it is the exact opposite. It was sheer torture, Bill.

Pain

Kate felt pain but couldn’t express her feelings.

Terri reacted to painful stimuli.

Kate was half-way to being dehydrated and starved to death.

Mercy killing or Murdered?

The Catechism & Euthanasia 2324

2324 Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives,

is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the

human person and to the respect due to the living God, his

Creator.Are you putting yourself first or are you

placing God first?

Acts of Violence The courts permitted

Terri to be starved to death.

Their decision will surely not be limited to her.

There is no way to limit their decision to others.

Countless others would follow, and their deaths would be described as "letting them die" instead of "killing them."

Where, indeed, does the state get the authority to starve people?

Court decisions permitting this, lack all authority, as Pope John Paul II taught in “The Gospel of life" (section 72).

These decisions cannot be obeyed, because they are not binding on the conscience and are in fact acts of violence.

Cardinal von Galen For the past several

months it has been reported that patients who have been suffering for a long time from apparently incurable diseases have been forcibly removed from their homes and clinics. Their relatives are later informed that the patient has died, that the body has been cremated and that the ashes may be claimed.

There is little doubt that these numerous cases of unexpected death in the case of the insane are not natural, but often deliberately caused, and result from the belief that it is lawful to take away life which is unworthy of being lived.

August 3rd, 1941 - Germany

A Way To Solve The Issue

One way to help your doctors and relatives with this emotionally difficult situation is to fill out an “advance directive” or a “living will.”

These forms are available from your physician, lawyer or hospital.

They make known your desires about your health care.

Completing these forms can be a prayerful expression of trust in God.

They can also prevent great pain and many legal problems for the family.

Things To Think About

I have presented two case studies– Terri Schindler-Schiavo– Kate Adamson

These are only two people that have come to the attention of the media.

How many others, are “let go?”Will you be “let go?”