The modern hospice movement began in the 1960s and many have a Christian foundation. Although many of the doctors and nurses who work at the hospices may be Christian the patients can be of any faith or of none. The staff not only looked after the patients, they help them prepare for their deaths and also help the relatives prepare for the loss of their loved ones. The atmosphere at a hospice was a loving and caring one, where the patients and the relatives were encouraged to talk about death and dying. Hospices are concerned not only with the physical heath of their patients but also with their emotional, psychological and spiritual health. The purpose of Christian care is
"..to glorify God by affirming the sanctity and dignity of life - that even the time of death can be filled with a living hope, based on trust in Jesus Christ as Lord of life and death"
Mission statement of Southwest Christian Hospice
The hospice movement can give a person who is old and dying a peaceful and exciting death. They will live the rest of their life knowing that they enjoyed it and had no regrets. It will also make their friends and relatives feel good because they will know that that person had a good time while they were dying and they won’t feel guilty for anything, in fact they will feel the opposite of guilty.
ABOVE IS A POEM WRITTEN BY A HOSPICE PATIENT
2) Voluntary Work-
Volunteering to help out in the hospices makes the people feel loved and appreciated and the main aims of volunteering in the hospices are
1) To relieve pain. Today it is thought it is not necessary for terminally ill patients to die in pain. Hospice volunteers specialize in pain control by distracting them, involving them in activities, etc. Hospice staff believe all pain, however severe can be brought under control.
2) To help patients, friends and relatives face up to death. Although many hospices are Christian foundations, no attempt is made to persuade patients to become Christians. Opportunities are given to the patients and to family members to discuss death and dying.
3) To care for the emotional needs of friends and family. The volunteers help families cope with bereavement before, during and after the death of their relative.
Many who do not support euthanasia believe that hospices allow people to die with dignity so they decide to volunteer. If the pain is kept under control the individual can live well up to the moment they die. Many Christians support the hospice movement and believe that if there were enough spaces available for all who wished to go there, that euthanasia would not be needed and they try and get involved in helping in the hospices.
'Anything which says to the ill that they are a burden to their family and that they are better off dead is unacceptable. What sort of society could let its old folk die because they are in the way?'
Volunteer’s opinion on Euthanasia.
By volunteering the person dying feels loved and doesn’t feel like they want to die. God gave every one a voice and that voice should be heard no matter the person’s age. ‘Show respect for old people and honour them.’ Leviticus 19:32. By ending their life early you are showing that you don’t honour them and think a lot less of them. That person’s family then feels that they are being looked after and may not want that person to die and both the patient and the family will have positive attitudes. This can affect the wider community because they will take notice of the fact that Euthanasia is reducing and they may even volunteer themselves.
3) Lobbying MP’s-
As members of Parliament, people such as Simon Hughes and David Alton are representing the people who gave them their support by voting for them in the elections. If a ‘Bill’ such as Legalising Euthanasia or banning fox hunting comes up it is a common practice for their ‘constituents’ (the voters) to write and state their views. If enough people state a particular view i.e. ‘say no to Euthanasia’ then technically the
Mp should vote NO to stop the bill being passed which is the first step to it being made Law. If the MP is against Euthanasia for their own reasons they too will lobby other MP’s and try and get them to vote No.
How to lobby MPs
It is a good idea to lobby constituency MPs and raise the concerns we have with the Bill well in advance of any potential vote by MPs in the coming months. This can be done by:
- Visits to the MP’s constituency surgery.
Face to face visits are the most effective way of communicating the strength of feelings that Christians have about this issue. Usually, MPs have a ‘surgery’ once a week where members of their constituency can go and raise concerns. The following information may help those who want to visit their MPs.
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For those who want to confirm who their local MP is, the Parliament website’s ‘Constituency Locata’ is a simple way of doing this:
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Having found who your MP is, use the helpful Christian Institute service to see how your MP has voted on the Religious Hatred Bill in the past .
- Before going to see an MP the Briefing Note produced by the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship should be read and used as a basis for the surgery meeting.
- Writing to MPs
An alternative way of voicing concerns to MPs is by writing. This can be done by post, by e-mail, or by fax. Again the Briefing Note may be helpful because any correspondence with an MP should be factually accurate, present a clear argument, and show consideration of the issues involved.
In conclusion by Christians putting their beliefs into action they are trying to reduce Euthanasia and trying to get more people involved into stopping any threat of Euthanasia. Next I will examine the statement that ‘Can Euthanasia can be justified,; and I will be looking at two sides of the argument.
