Variations of Death with Dignity Laws or End of Life Options Acts
have been enacted by eight legislatures throughout the country: California,
Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and
Washington. This year, 23 more legislatures will consider such laws.
The Virginia legislature now is seeking public input before the
legislative session in 2019. The simple matter is that these laws legalize a
physician to help another person who is terminally ill commit suicide.
“Physician assisted suicide” (PAS) is different from euthanasia.
In cases of euthanasia, a second party commits "an action or omission
which of itself or by intention causes death, in order that all suffering may
in this way be eliminated" (Declaration on Euthanasia) for another person.
In the laws in question, PAS is defined as “medical aid in dying” whereby a
second party, i.e. a physician, provides the means by which a terminally ill,
mentally capable adult self-administers medication to end life. While the laws
attempt to distinguish “medical aid in dying” from the illegal acts of suicide
or euthanasia (like the physician administering a lethal injection), the
actions are the same: the patient commits suicide with a means (drugs, whether
pill form or injection) provided by the physician.
High emotions surround the debate on this issue. The media and
other organizations highlight the person who is suffering from a slow,
debilitating, excruciating death. The purpose is to then decide this issue on
emotion and circumstances: Why can’t this person end this pain and suffering?
Why should this person be a burden on the family? Why shouldn’t this person die
with dignity rather than waste away?
Rather than decide issues by emotion and circumstances, we must
use faith and reason to examine the objective action — a person willfully
killing himself with the help of a physician who is trained to heal and support
life.
So how do we as Christians respond? First, both the dignity of
each individual person and the gift of life are sacred. We respect the
sacredness of the continuum of life from conception until death. Each person
has been willed by God, and each person has a purpose — no matter what the
particular circumstances of the present moment. We have a vision not only for
life here and now on this planet and in this time frame, but also for eternal
life, hopefully with Almighty God in Heaven. Therefore, each person is bound to
lead his life in accord with God's plan and with openness to His will, looking
to life's fulfillment in Heaven.
Rather than looking at the end of a physical life without hope,
we have hope: death is only a passing to the fullness of life with Our Lord. As
St. Paul said, we “by his grace have become heirs, in hope of eternal life” (Ti
3:7).
Second, although Our Lord suffered a slow, debilitating,
excruciating death, we see this as the greatest act of redemptive love.
Therefore, our own pain and suffering does not lessen our dignity, just as it
did not lessen Our Lord’s dignity. Our own pain and suffering is not worthless,
but is redemptive when united with Our Lord. Each of us has been baptized into
Christ's passion, death and resurrection. We all share in Our Lord's cross, and
that at times may be very painful. This suffering, however, especially at the
last moments of one's life, must be seen as a sharing in Our Lord's sufferings.
By uniting our suffering with Our Lord's, we expiate the hurt caused by our own
sins and help to expiate the sins of others, just as some of the early martyrs
did who offered their sufferings for sinners. Sometimes, such suffering finally
heals the wounds that have divided families. Our Lord offers tremendous graces
to those who suffer and those who suffer with them.
Third, when we love, can a dying person really be an unbearable
burden on the family? The family members who care for the dying relative share
in suffering. They support the person with love, showing that the dying
relative has dignity, is loved, is wanted, and will be cared for until death.
Rather than cut short precious time that can be spent together in this life,
they support each other in life and love. I do not know a person who has lost a
beloved spouse, parent, or child who would not say, “If only I could have had
more time with that person.”
These laws law set a dangerous precedent. First, physicians are
entrusted to promote the health and well-being of those in their care; with
PAS, they now formally are cooperating with the evil of taking of a person’s
life. Second, since terminally ill people have the legal right to end their
lives, when will insurance carriers pressure such individuals do so rather than
carry on medical care or treatments? Third, while most laws stipulate that a
person must be “mentally capable” and within six months of death, to end one’s
own life is an act without hope, motivated by depression and anxiety rather
than “mental capability.”
The overwhelming circumstances of a moment can be endured and
conquered by knowing the love of Jesus and the family members who care.
Therefore, we must be witnesses of the hope and love and Our Savior, Jesus
Christ. As St. Paul said, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, now has it so
much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor
2:9).
Fr. Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope Church in
Potomac Falls and episcopal vicar for faith formation and director of the
Office of Catechetics.