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Euthanasia

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Christian attitudes to euthanasia (Part 2): Church of England and other Christian views

Information: This is part 2 of an article looking at some of the main Christian beliefs about euthanasia. A version of this article was originally published on the website www.faithnet.org.uk.

The Church of England (Anglican Church)

The Church of England follows the same route as the Roman Catholic Church on the matter of euthanasia (or assisted dying). This being that the act is morally wrong! The church also believes that euthanasia would put vulnerable people at risk, and devalue the role of palliative care:

'This issue is literally life-threatening for society: it would endanger the lives of sick and vulnerable people.' (Rt. Reverend Christopher Herbert, Church rejects latest move to bring in Assisted Dying Law)

The word palliative is associated with alleviating pain. Palliative care is to do with helping people who are suffering, to deal with their pain. However, palliative care does not necessarily involve curing people of any illness, or making their pain stop once and for all. It is more to do with helping people to cope.

The Church of England encourages its members to actively oppose any proposed changes to the UK bill on assisted dying, which it says will, 'make it easier for terminally ill people to kill themselves... [and] make it legal for doctors to prescribe fatal drugs to people who have asked to die' (Church rejects latest move to bring in Assisted Dying Law [Bracket mine]). It also sees any attempt to introduces laws allowing people to do this, as a 'slippery-slope' towards the introduction of full legalised euthanasia in the UK.

Something to do: Find out what a 'slippery-slope' argument is.

The Church believes God has given people life, and as such they have no right to take it away themselves. Although it accepts that the matter of life and death is very much a personal decision, the problem is that changes to the law may encourage society to adopt unhealthy attitudes towards the sick, elderly, terminally ill and even death itself:

'There is a real possibility that terminally ill people may feel pressured to ask for an early death to avoid feeling a burden to their family or the health system.' (Church rejects latest move to bring in Assisted Dying Law)

The Hospice Movement was founded by Cicely Saunders in 1967. She was a doctor, and also a member of the Anglican Church. She opposed euthanasia because she felt that the end of a person's life was just as special as any other - 'I have seen people achieve so much in the ending of their lives - times that their families would have missed [were euthanasia practiced]'.

The Church also believes that changes to the UK law on euthanasia, would put doctors under pressure to make decisions they currently do not have to make. Under UK law, assisted suicide (euthanasia) is currently illegal (2007). However, were the law to change so that doctors could prescribe medicines for people who are suffering and terminally ill to take their own life, this may begin to erode the bond of trust between doctor and patient. It would also involve doctors having to make decisions they have not been trained to:

'What is now a clear line between what doctors can and cannot do would become a blurred one, applied inconsistently between one doctor and another and easily crossed.' (Church rejects latest move to bring in Assisted Dying Law)

Something to do: Read Letter to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill 2nd September 2004. This was a letter sent on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, with the Joint Submission of the Church of England House of Bishops and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in response to proposed changes by Lord Joffe to the UK law on assisted dying, asking that the law not be changed.

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Other Christian groups

Here is what other Christians have to say about the matter of assisted suicide:

The United Methodist Church (UMC)

The UMC is opposed to all forms of suicide:

'We believe that suicide is not the way a human life should end. The church has an obligation to see that all persons have access to needed pastoral and medical care and therapy in those circumstances that lead to loss of self-worth, suicidal despair, and/or the desire to seek physician-assisted suicide... A Christian perspective on suicide begins with an affirmation of faith that nothing, including suicide, separates us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39)... We urge pastors to provide pastoral care to attempters, survivors, and their families, and to those families who have lost loved ones to suicide, seeking always to remove the oppressive stigma around suicide.' (The Book of Discipline 2000, Social Principles - Suicide)

The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is also opposed to assisted suicide:

'The Salvation Army believes in the sanctity of human life. It considers each person to be of infinite value and each life a gift from God to be cherished, nurtured and redeemed. Human life is sacred because it is made in the image of God and has an eternal destiny (Genesis 1:27)... All persons, including those who are physically or mentally impaired, possess God-given human-hood... Assisted suicide is defined as directly helping or encouraging someone to end his/her own life. Therefore, The Salvation Army believes that euthanasia and assisted suicide undermine human dignity and are morally wrong regardless of age or disability... the possibility does exist that subtle pressure will be placed on the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the dying to act contrary to their own wishes in order not to become a burden. The Salvation Army believes it is important to communicate by word and deed to the sick, the elderly and the dying that they are worthy of respect, they are loved, and that they will not be abandoned.' (The Salvation Army (USA) website, Euthanasia)

Quakers (The Religious Society of Friends)

As with abortion, Quakers have no official statement on the matter of euthanasia:

'This is a topic on which Quakers are not united. We would make a distinction between allowing someone to die whose life was being painfully prolonged by medical treatment or artificial life support systems, and so-called mercy killing or euthanasia where someone, perhaps a doctor, administers a drug intended to kill the person. Although it would not be easy deciding to switch off a life support machine, most Quakers would probably feel this might be the right thing to do for a loved one who, for example, could no longer live without artificial support and who had no possibility of recovering consciousness... There are some Quakers who believe that people should be allowed to die with dignity and would wish the option of legal euthanasia to be available. Other Quakers would say that if we care for each other, offer proper support and pain relief, euthanasia should not be needed. Some Quakers work in the hospice movement which seeks to care for patients so that the quality of life is maintained as death approaches. Some Quakers hold 'clearness meetings' to prepare themselves and make decisions about how they wish to be treated, when they know that their death is likely.' (Quakers in the UK, Quaker Views - Life & Death - Questions of Medical Ethics: Euthanasia)

Something to do: Find out what Christians believe about living wills.

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