1. Do we have a "right to die?"
- When people ask me about the "right to die," I respond, "Don't worry -- you won't miss out on it!"A right is a moral claim. We do not have a claim on death; rather, death has a claim on us! Some see the "right to die" as parallel to the "right to life." In fact, however, they are opposite. The "right to life" is based on the fact that life is a gift that we do not possess as a piece of property (which we can purchase or sell or give away or destroy at will), but rather is an inviolable right. It cannot be taken away by another or by the person him/herself. The "right to die" is based, rather, on the idea of life as a "thing we possess" and may discard when it no longer meets our satisfaction. The "Right to die" philosophy says there is such a thing as a "life not worth living." For a Christian, however, life is worthy in and of itself, and not because it meets certain criteria that others or we might set.
[http://www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/euthanasiaqanda.htm]
2. Does euthanasia always ensure a painless, dignified death?
- A lethal dose for one person may not be so for the other. Also there is the phenomenon of idiosyncrasy. Who knows: a drug that is lethal to one patient may be harmless to the other. Many of the lethal injections have been known to cause violent convulsions, and relatives have been asked to leave the room while the deed is done. Passive euthanasia is generally peaceful. But euthanasia activists believe that a quick end to the suffering in a painful disease, when there is no desire to live a hopeless life, is by far the better choice.
[http://www.spandan.com/edb/articles/euth/faq.php]
3. What about the people whose pain cannot be controlled, and what about those whose pain can be alleviated but they just can’t bear the loss of control and fear losing their dignity?
- It is obviously important to direct more resources into research for better methods of pain control. However, experts in palliative care state that only a very small proportion of people suffer from intractable pain and even then there are means to keep them as comfortable as possible. It is not hard to empathize with those who feel they have lost their dignity. Yet human dignity lies not in the exercise of control or even in the quality of life, but rather in the simple fact that they are human beings made in the image of God, made for life with one another. We also give life dignity by the way we respond to it – by reaching out to the dying person with compassion and attending to their most basic needs – we need each other in death in the same way that we need each other in life. This form of accompaniment can be painful and intense, but it is also full of possibilities for expressing love and gratitude, for spiritual growth and for reconciliation with God and one other.
[http://www.chac.ca/resources/other_resources/euthanasia.pdf]
- When people ask me about the "right to die," I respond, "Don't worry -- you won't miss out on it!"A right is a moral claim. We do not have a claim on death; rather, death has a claim on us! Some see the "right to die" as parallel to the "right to life." In fact, however, they are opposite. The "right to life" is based on the fact that life is a gift that we do not possess as a piece of property (which we can purchase or sell or give away or destroy at will), but rather is an inviolable right. It cannot be taken away by another or by the person him/herself. The "right to die" is based, rather, on the idea of life as a "thing we possess" and may discard when it no longer meets our satisfaction. The "Right to die" philosophy says there is such a thing as a "life not worth living." For a Christian, however, life is worthy in and of itself, and not because it meets certain criteria that others or we might set.
[http://www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/euthanasiaqanda.htm]
2. Does euthanasia always ensure a painless, dignified death?
- A lethal dose for one person may not be so for the other. Also there is the phenomenon of idiosyncrasy. Who knows: a drug that is lethal to one patient may be harmless to the other. Many of the lethal injections have been known to cause violent convulsions, and relatives have been asked to leave the room while the deed is done. Passive euthanasia is generally peaceful. But euthanasia activists believe that a quick end to the suffering in a painful disease, when there is no desire to live a hopeless life, is by far the better choice.
[http://www.spandan.com/edb/articles/euth/faq.php]
3. What about the people whose pain cannot be controlled, and what about those whose pain can be alleviated but they just can’t bear the loss of control and fear losing their dignity?
- It is obviously important to direct more resources into research for better methods of pain control. However, experts in palliative care state that only a very small proportion of people suffer from intractable pain and even then there are means to keep them as comfortable as possible. It is not hard to empathize with those who feel they have lost their dignity. Yet human dignity lies not in the exercise of control or even in the quality of life, but rather in the simple fact that they are human beings made in the image of God, made for life with one another. We also give life dignity by the way we respond to it – by reaching out to the dying person with compassion and attending to their most basic needs – we need each other in death in the same way that we need each other in life. This form of accompaniment can be painful and intense, but it is also full of possibilities for expressing love and gratitude, for spiritual growth and for reconciliation with God and one other.
[http://www.chac.ca/resources/other_resources/euthanasia.pdf]