To Christians as well as other people, dying is a very natural thing, which everyone will face someday. Naturally many people are afraid of dying and have a strong will to live, so death is seen as the enemy. Some Christians though, who are suffering in great pain may not feel that way and welcome the idea of a pain free and peaceful death which will end their pain and suffering. Some Christians believe that this would be a compassionate, loving thing to do because if someone is in so much pain then why allow them to continue to suffer much longer? Maybe it would be more ethical to let them die than see them suffer.
Situation ethics, is made up of lots of ideas such as agape, decision-making, love and justice. These things show Christians what they ought to do but don’t actually know how to even think about dealing with it until faced with it. Another approach to the idea of situation ethics is the legalistic side to it. The main one is the moral principle of all situations ‘do what the most loving thing is’. Of course, that is difficult to do because there are many Christian beliefs about euthanasia. It is possible that people will interpret situations to their own point of view and that could cause a few problems such as pretending that you are acting in the name of love when actually it is a selfish motive. Another problem of situational ethics is that it breaks up the moral life into separate acts, denying the reality of our personal self and we do more than just function. Some Christians believe that just because you are doing a loving thing by committing euthanasia it is not good. It may seem right at the time but the long-term consequences of such a thing could be disastrous because the person who may want to die could only be saying it because they don’t think there is any other alternative when actually there is. Situation ethics is an individualistic subject suggesting that humans are actually weak about making such decisions but what ever the views it will always be really hard to make such a decision to kill someone intentionally because it depends on whether it is the most loving thing to do and some Christians may disagree with that. It is possible that euthanasia can fit into this argument because there are lots of arguments about whether it is the most loving thing for Christians to do. To do anything, it depends on the situation and whether the patient does want it. Many things have to be taken into consideration though because it isn’t an easy decision
However most Christians believe that it is always wrong to take a life. They believe that God gave us life so he and only he has the right to decide when someone dies and anyone who commits euthanasia is committing murder. In the Bible the sixth commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ stresses the sanctity of life that God has given us as a gift. Christians believe that only God has the power to create, sustain and take life because it is a gift from Him and is therefore sacred. ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them’ Christians believe they are given responsibility to protect, conserve and value life that the Lord has entrusted to us and that ‘by seeking death one is avoiding the natural course of one’s life’
The sanctity of life argument is actually based on important quotes from the Bible. One of them, ‘God made man in his own image suggesting that something can be seen of God within human life. When Christians say that they believe in the sanctity of life they believe that there is something special and holy about it. They also believe that human life is different from other kinds of life because people share something of the nature of God and because people have souls, that is the bit that will be judged by God in heaven. The creation story in genesis also suggests this because God made man in a different way to other species of life suggesting that they are special. Everyone, has a value and so Christians should respect every life.
Every Christian denomination has their own opinion on the subject of euthanasia but the Roman Catholic opinion stands out more strongly than the rest. They believe that euthanasia is totally wrong and any act that deliberately brings death is seen as murder whether or not it was done for kindness. They believe that it is sometimes acceptable to give drugs to relieve pain, which may end up shortening the life of a person. The Roman Catholic Church also believe that some treatments such as feeding a terminally ill patient must be continued but treatments which are not likely to succeed shouldn’t be carried out. They also strongly emphasise the fact that sick people do need and deserve special care while they are ill and so shouldn’t be discarded of just because some may die. The catholic teaching on euthanasia points out that human life is sacred and must be protected. Nobody must ruin that.
There is a difference between euthanasia and keeping someone alive using medical intervention because euthanasia is the intentional killing of someone who is alive but terminally ill whereas keeping someone alive on a ventilator means that they are prolonging life further. This leads to all sorts of moral and ethical issues and questions because if one person choosing euthanasia is perfectly competent then why not let the person on the ventilator who is unable to choose, and is not going to have much of a life if they remain there, die as well.
Christians who support euthanasia may feel strongly that an individual should be allowed to have the right, on whether he or she wants to die because if they suffer from a terminal illness then maybe they should have the right to choose to die sooner than they would have done especially if they are in pain but many other Christians are totally against it although committing euthanasia can be seen as a release from the guilt a family may have to suffer in watching their loved one die. Therefore there is a division in opinion and is widespread throughout the Christian race. Christians believe they are given responsibility to protect and committing euthanasia may be seen as the loving caring thing to do because it relieves them from the pain they suffer while ill. Maybe the actions of euthanasia are good if it helps human beings but if it is to set out and hurt without consent then it is bad. To some Christians the end of life will justify the means, so if someone is terminally ill and they want to die sooner than they would have done then maybe while they are able to speak for themselves, the loving thing would be the end of life. Decisions such as this may be made because of the situation someone might find themselves in, and not because they have to. They do it because they love the person and want to help them. ‘We do not know until we are faced with it. We have to use our intuition to know what the right thing to do’.
Another ethical problem with euthanasia is that if it was legalised then people may be expected to ask for it. If two people had the same illness and were both very ill and one asked to be killed so that they could be at peace then the other person may be expected to do the same and it could be considered unreasonable of them not to ask. If the first person does go through with it then he is giving up valuable resources that could be then used for someone else who needs them. The second person is hanging onto these resources and could cause disruption in their family’s life and so then he is pressured into doing what the first person did. Christians feel that that would partly be the case if euthanasia were to be legalised.
Some Christians support euthanasia because they believe that the long dying process is quite painful so then it will be widely preferred because they die quicker with less pain. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society supports this saying that everyone has a right to die Another reason is that they may feel compassionate because living in helplessness can be very humiliating but whatever the view, the question of euthanasia will always be complex because it raises further ethical, practical and religious problems for the physician, nurse or whoever goes through with it. Other Christians might argue that there could be a double effect to euthanasia in the possibility that giving an overdose of morphine is just alleviating pain of the suffering but will eventually lead to death. Doctors usually only do this because the patient could be in great distress and can think of no other solution. Euthanasia may be seen as a potential virtue because maybe it shows how much the relatives love the dying person. The ethical and moral problems associated with euthanasia are very complex and are questioned a great deal such as whether being allowed to die makes any difference morally. Some Christians do believe that there is a moral difference but it is something that is still being questioned. If someone was on a life support machine and the machine is turned off then it is a question of being able to distinguish between turning off and withholding treatment allowing that person to die. Another ethical problem is whether suffering plays a positive role in life or destroys the dignity of someone. It can have a positive effect on someone because they will learn how to deal with the pain and become stronger and able to cope. They may also become more sympathetic to other sufferers and help them to cope as well, which could bring people together so suffering can positive. On the other hand it could destroy dignity because people who are usually seen to be well would be upset if others saw them in a weaker way but someone who does ask for euthanasia may be asking for it because they can’t cope at that particular moment but don’t actually want to go through with it and that is another problem to take into consideration.
In conclusion, it is hard to say whether euthanasia is incompatible with Christian belief and practice because there are lots of different ethical and religious opinions on the subject and many Christians have lots of different ideas about it resulting in a division between them. If a request for euthanasia is going to be distinguishable from a desire to commit suicide then a certain degree of reasonableness must be applied so that objective validity is given to the assessment of their situation. ‘To distinguish between murder and mercy killing would be to cross the line which prohibits any intentional killing, a line which we think is essential to preserve’. Compassion for the suffering is a cornerstone within Christ’s teaching of love and compassion. A question asked often is whether humans actually know what a truly compassionate action is. Another idea is that if someone is in a coma and it is obvious that they won’t get better even with more treatment then Christians believe that it is justified to discontinue with the treatment but for this to happen the patient should at least have been in a condition of having shown no response of mental,
verbal or physical responses for the past year.
Atkinson D, and Field D (editors) New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology
Atkinson D, and Field D (editors) New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology - ibid