Dying Easily
We just had the
traumatic experience of having to have our pet dog euthanized. Lady
had been a part of our family for the past 15 years, and was
unquestionably the best behaved dog that we have ever had. In a
matter of minutes, she quietly slipped into death from an injection
from her vet. I arrived home somewhat shaken from the experience, and
in considerable pain from the loss of "man's best friend" and one of
the first pieces of mail I opened was a letter from the Death With
Dignity Alliance (e-mail: info@dwda.org)
asking for support to allow what I had just done for my dog to be done
to human beings. The letter is promoting "painless death" and identifies
the enemy of their movement to be "the hierarchy of authoritarian
churches, the so called `Right to Lifers,' and the extremist right
wing" who are ".imposing their view of `morality' on the rest of us."
It is unfortunate
that this organization has chosen to assume an anti-religion position
to promote its message. There is a need for all of us to look at the
questions that have been produced by our medical technology and search
for solutions that can reduce the pain and suffering that many people
have to endure with cancer and other wasting diseases. In the past,
people died relatively quickly with diseases that today are
controlled--sometimes for decades. My wife has been an insulin
dependent diabetic for over 50 years, and has taken something in the
ball park of 75,000 shots of insulin during that time. In the days of
Solomon, such a person would have died in a matter of weeks. Her
quality of life so far has been excellent, and none of us would want to
go backward in man's medical advancement and the quality of life it can
afford. On the other hand, people can live a very long time powered by
machines that allow their biological system to function, but bring no
quality of life and cause enormous amounts of pain. This issue is
going to get larger and more critical as the years go by because more
and more extreme medical procedures are becoming available. Mechanical
hearts, kidneys, pancreases, and lungs are already being used and the
medical establishment is getting better and better at using these
devices. There is a need for more information and help in this area of
discussion because more and more of us are facing the issue of how to
die for ourselves and for our loved ones. We certainly do not pretend
to know all the answers in this subject area, but there are some points
that we feel need to be made that may be helpful to our readers and
hopefully will be of assistance to all of us as we face this issue.
There Are More
Than Two Options
Programs like Death with Dignity Alliance suggest to us that there
are only two options when a person is terminally ill--a long and
terrible death with massive amounts of pain, or a physician-assisted
death that is easy and painless. The fact of the matter is that a
terminally ill patient can have help in conquering the pain, and the
potential for the elimination of the pain is there. In Solomon's time
alcohol was used in this way, and Solomon tell us "It is not for kings,
O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine: nor for princes strong
drink: lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of
any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to
perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and
forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more" (Proverbs
31:4-7). Today we have everything from electronarcosis in which
electronic signals can be used to block and stop pain to chemical pain
relievers. If the medical establishment applied itself to this issue in
the same way it has to extending life, the pain issue could be largely
solved without euthanasia being the only way to stop the pain of
terminal illness. The removal and control of pain that allows people to
continue to function in meaningful and quality ways is another option
that is already available to some extent and should get to be a more
workable option in the future.
Death
Involves More Than the Individual
So many times when someone dies, the people around them focus on
that individual while the person dying is focusing on someone else. I
have seen a parent who realized they were near death and was trying
desperately to get a message to a spouse, son, or daughter that they
felt was of great importance. As Jesus hung on the cross, one of the
very last things He did was to commission John to take care of His
mother and treat her as His own mother (John
19:25-27). In death there are always earthly matters that the
dying have a right and a need to take care of. It can be physical
things or more commonly it can be emotional and spiritual things.
Leaving this earth
means that you have no more opportunities to apologize for the past.
Any need for forgiveness must be taken care of before one leaves this
physical existence. You no longer are able to tell someone about those
spiritual messages that you know are important. This is a two-way
street because those left behind often have the same things that need
to be said to the one dying, and one of the saddest things I have ever
observed is a young man or woman who desperately wants to tell a dying
father or mother how much they love them, but not be able to do so.
The finality of death makes it especially important that all loose
ends are taken care of, and many times we do not know what ends are out
there or how to take care of them. Ending a life that could resolve
these kinds of things before they are taken care of is unfair to the
living and can prevent the dying from being able to die at peace with
the Lord, with family and with friends in the world.
Life
Never Loses Its Potential to Be Meaningful
Proponents of euthanasia have a tendency to evaluate the
meaningfulness of life entirely in terms of pain. In no way do I want
to minimize how bad pain can be or how important it is to control pain,
but as we said in our first point, medical science has the tools to
reduce pain of all situations to a manageable or nonexistent level. The
fact is, however, that there is never a time in one's life when
meaningful things cannot be done. I have known cancer patients who have
begun a ministry to other cancer patients when they realized what they
were going through and how isolated a person can feel when extreme
treatment techniques are being applied to a person. The book A
Whiner's Guide to Chemotherapy which we make available through this
program points out clearly how much a person can relate to others when
they have been through what the other person is dealing with. Cancer
patients can carry on an incredible work with people also struggling
with cancer. Heart patients can uniquely help other heart patients.
Whatever has happened in your life can be a ministry to reach out to
others. When a person is in the last stages of a chronic health problem
and obviously has very little time left, they can have a huge impact on
the lives of others.
I have known parents and grandparents who were able to motivate
their children or grandchildren to great achievements by showing them
the courage and strength that they possess to deal with their disease,
and then to encourage the child to better themselves through education
or whatever challenge the child is facing. I remember a grandmother I
knew who had a child who was about to give up on college. The
grandmother went to the child and told her that she was going to fight
to stay alive to see the child graduate. Every few days the grandparent
would call to encourage and support the child, and sure enough the
child graduated and the grandparent proudly attended the commencement.
Never give up on the Lord's ability to find meaningful things that you
can do with whatever situation you find yourself in life.
The
Slippery Slope Problem
The other factor that is an issue in the question of how to die
easily is the problem of death becoming too easy and becoming
involuntary. In Holland (where euthanasia has been an accepted medical
practice for some time), there are horror stories about doctors who
decided that the patient was ready for a lethal injection without
telling the patient or their family. The question of how to avoid such
abuse is very difficult. All of us have heard horror stories of
accidents in American hospitals where miscommunication or honest
mistakes resulted in tragedy. Slippery slope arguments are never
conclusive, but they do point out a risk and do have to be considered.
Those who promote the "Dying Easy" programs have a good point and
may be very honest in just wanting to stop needless suffering, and
medically-prolonged life when quality of life is no longer there, but
there are numerous oversimplifications in their arguments. The point
where God receives a person's spirit is not even within man's capacity
to determine, and arbitrarily trying to force it puts man in an area
where he cannot make infallible decisions. The time and energy being
put into these kinds of things should be directed toward relieving pain
and providing quality meaningful outlets for the energies available at
the end of life.
--John N.
Clayton
Back to Contents Does God Exist?,
JulAug03.