A
i) What is Euthanasia?
The word 'euthanasia' comes from two Greek words whose accurate meaning is "well death". It causes a death to take place because someone suffers from an excruciating and untreatable disease or injury. They would rather die and have the pain stop than continue living with a pain that is incurable. It is also understood as causing or bringing about a person's death painlessly, usually because the person is suffering greatly, fatally or permanently ill or brutally psychologically or physically immobilized. It means doing something with the intention of causing death, the intention being the most vital aspect.
There are two kinds of euthanasia; voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is when someone asks to die before or during illness. There are 2 types of voluntary euthanasia; active and passive.
Voluntary active euthanasia causes the most debate out of all areas of euthanasia. It is when "mercy killing" is involved. This is when someone asks for immediate death. Being put to death through an injection is an example of this. Voluntary passive euthanasia is the type that many Christians allow. It means not taking prolonged or vigorous action to preserve life.
Involuntary euthanasia is when the decision of death is made by someone other than the patient because the patient cannot or would not make the decision themselves. For example, a close relative or doctor might make the decision if the patient is not mentally stable.
ii) Explain what Christian teachings might be used in a discussion about Euthanasia
In a discussion about euthanasia many biblical or Christian teachings can be referred to. Here are some examples;
Genesis 1:26-27 teaches Christians that God made all human beings and our life is therefore a gift of God; it is sanctified and has dignity. He made human beings so they would be like Him. Christians can understand from this that we belong to God and it is not us who shall decide when our life is to be ended, it is God's decision.
Exodus 20:13 teaches Christians that murder is a sin. Some people may see euthanasia as murder and therefore think euthanasia is a sin as it goes against what the bibles tells us.
Jesus healed many sick people and those who were nearing death. He taught Christians to love their neighbour. Christians should learn from this example and care for those dying and help to make the patients life worthwhile. By doing this Christians are respecting God's wishes.
Romans 5:3-5 teaches Christians that God transfers his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us and in return we shall do the same. Jesus suffered for us and we shall suffer for Him.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 teaches Christians that the body is where God's spirit lives, and that the body is the temple.
"So if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple."
This teaches Christians about the importance of your body being respected.
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Romans 5:3-5 teaches Christians that God transfers his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us and in return we shall do the same. Jesus suffered for us and we shall suffer for Him.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 teaches Christians that the body is where God's spirit lives, and that the body is the temple.
"So if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple."
This teaches Christians about the importance of your body being respected.
In 1Kings 19:1-18, Jonah 4:3, 8-11, pleads for deaths. The pleads were made as a result of a confused mind which was brought on from despair, dread, aloneness and fury. God would not accept this and the answer for the pleads was not death, but to succeed through this bad time with the help of God. This teaches Christians that God can help you spiritually and physically if you have faith and do not give up when you reach such a state where you would rather be dead than alive.
Some Christians may debate over whether or not euthanasia is murder, because it completes the Christian commitment to love one's neighbour and fight evil by allowing a distinguished, pain-free death on appeal. Some Christians dispute that it is wrong to use modern medical equipment to border with natural process of death because although Jesus spoke about healing, he did not speak of delaying death.
Some Christians believe that death is not the end but leads to eternal life with God, so this leads to arguments about whether or not euthanasia shows faith. On the other hand, euthanasia goes against the Bible. It is wrong to opt out of this life to spend eternal life with God. Although it is correct to say death is not the end of life but just a stage in its process. Christians should not be afraid of death but have the duty to care for those who are dying.
The Catholic Church denounces euthanasia completely; it is the strongest opponent. In 1940 the Catholic Church officially condemned the administering of euthanasia to a person with corporal or psychological imperfections or for financially viable or cultural reasons. The Church has repeated its opposition many times ever since then.
The Church of England and The Methodist Church both are not in favour of euthanasia. Islamic and Buddhist faiths also do not agree with euthanasia. Any purposeful killing of the guiltless exclusive of God's power is immoral, and against the natural law. Church authorities traditionally believe that voluntary euthanasia is against The Sixth Commandment; "thou shall not kill". Although, according to Christian teaching, physical suffering is part of God's heavenly preparation for the human race. Suffering has a sacred significance, and should be looked straight on, in the awareness that it guides to a development in virtue and helps in salvation. Voluntary euthanasia is therefore, as a means of ending the suffering of a terminally ill patient, discarded. Many Christians do think this belief is unkind and ineffective.
None of the religious arguments brought up in discussions that are against euthanasia are applicable to those who do not share those beliefs. Regardless of these teachings, many of those who are religious do not oppose voluntary euthanasia. In effect, many of those who support euthanasia do so because of their religious attitude. To them, assisting a person to die can be a term of Christian consideration and the love, 'Agape', and support that Christians present to those in need.
B
The Hospice Movement represents one Christian response to the problem of pain and suffering. Explain how a Hospice works and what it seeks to achieve.
A hospice is a place where individuals who have life-threatening illness are taken care of until they pass away. The hospice movement specialises in pain control and the plan of the hospice movement is to give people with excruciating and fatal diseases the best promising quality of life. A hospice doctor once said the following;
"Hospices are places where people come to live, not to die"
Many hospices have a Christian philosophy of life. They show Christian empathy and unconditional Christian love, 'Agape', to the terminally ill. Awareness of being cherished reduces the fear of suffering. They help patients to live with dignity during the last months or so of their life. Some hospices have a treatment centre or hospital. Many other hospices give their care in a private home or nursing home. Hospices can also provide medication and medical equipment needed for a patient. They provide better pastoral care for the dying and knowledgeable help for their loved ones. Hospices usually consist of many different levels of trained workers such as a medical doctor, nurse, social worker and sometimes volunteers. They all help to make the last period of living relaxing, dignified and quiet.
The Christian motivation behind those working in a hospice is to bring comfort and care to terminally ill patients and their families. They help to control the pain and prepare the dying patient psychologically and spiritually for death. Not only do workers at the hospices help, but the family and friends of the patient also are concerned in providing the patient with the sensation of having a valuable and significant life.
All hospices are different to another. They all focus on similar elements which are the patients and the families of the patients. They arose in order to respect the dignity of the terminally ill by helping them understand their own suffering as a process of growth and fulfilment in their life. They attempt dedication to the human and Christian support of the dying. Some workers in a hospice may try to recreate patients' happy memories in order to help them look back on their life and realise all the happy times they experienced. Patients also need to be loved and be showed compassion as they may feel that their lives are meaningless. A hospice can grow to be a threshold of hope which leads further than suffering and death.
Most Christians hesitate to converse to each other about death. Therefore most patients are scared of death and need the workers in the hospices to help them through the main concerns they may have, such as; being alone, losing dignity and control, and the pain and suffering they will have to experience. Even Christians are not spared the terror of death. Worries, questions, doubts and desires are always present in the final point of life, but the workers of hospices face these questions with tenderness and sensitivity.
Hospice workers are there to give confidence to patients to be aware of limits before death. Even if solid theories of life after death seem very indistinguishable, fewer and fewer believe that everything ends with death. Those who in the last phase of life feel held up by earnest Christians can more straightforwardly trust that Christ waits upon them in new life after death.
C
'Euthanasia can never be justified.'
I agree with the above statement. I do not think euthanasia can ever be rightfully justified. I mainly think this because I think euthanasia is murder and murder is a sin therefore it is wrong. I agree with some Christian's points of view when they say that no one can determine the value or the non-value of another person's life, not even his own. The decision actively to kill a human being is always an arbitrary act, even when it is meant as an expression of solidarity and compassion.
Many people find euthanasia to be merciful to those suffering intolerable and unstoppable pain or distress. It would be cruel and inhumane to force them to remain alive in order to suffer when they would rather be put out of misery. Some Christians are in favour of euthanasia because they are unsure if death is bad thing or not. Death is only looked upon as a bad thing because human life is essentially valuable, life and death are God's business with which we should not obstruct, most people do not want to die and death violates our autonomy in a drastic way. People do not usually want to die and are eager to avoid death because they value being alive, therefore if some one was requesting euthanasia they would have to be in a critical point of suffering. People in favour of euthanasia would feel their number one reason for being in favour is because they do not want to see innocent people suffer.
Euthanasia could be used in order as a solution for the fair distribution and lack of health resources. Some countries find themselves having a shortage of health resources, this means some people who are ill and can be treated are not because they cannot get immediate access to the services they need for treatment. Another problem is while this is happening, health resources are being used on people who cannot be cured and who would rather not continue living for their own reasons. Abuse of this would be disallowed by only permitting the individual who wanted to die to initiate the procedure, and by policy that thoroughly prohibited mistreatment. On the other hand, people who are against euthanasia can argue that the above proposal is a completely practical but many people especially those who are against euthanasia will not be convinced by it. In the end it could lead to involuntary euthanasia because of shortage of health resources. This could also lead to people thinking they should carry out euthanasia because they have become a difficult burden on society.
A final argument that people in favour of euthanasia may raise is that each person has the right to control his or her body and life. This means they should be able to decide at what time, in what method and by whose hand he or she will die.
