FACING REALITY OR A DISGRACE?
The issue of Assisted Suicide has once more come to the fore during this last week. The decision of the Royal College of Nursing to take a neutral stance on this subject based on 0.3% of their members voting on the issue and 40% of them voting against has been greeted with alarm and approval in almost equal measure. A representative of the RCN said they were facing reality. Baroness Audrey Emerton, a fellow of the RCN, described it as a disgrace.
Then the decision of the Law Lords that the Director of Public Prosecutions should clarify the law in respect of Assisted Suicide and especially the status of family members or others who help someone to take their life has been hailed at a great step forward by pro-Euthanasia campaigners. Staggeringly it is claimed that over 80% of the population are in favour of some degree of loosening of the law in respect to Assisted Suicide.
No doubt this subject will continue to be a matter of public concern for a long time to come. It is important therefore that we get behind the emotive case of Debbie Purdy and other people who are hailed as heroes when they take their lives and look at what is at stake in this particular debate.
The first issue that we have to face is the question of the value of life. It is claimed by some that a stage is reached when life becomes not worth living. Many disabled people are rightly angry about that, since they suffer many restrictions due to their disability yet rightly believe that their lives are worthwhile, enjoyable and valuable. But the argument about the value of life has now reached the point where there are increasing calls for those, for instance, with severe Dementia to have their lives cut short. At the bottom of all the discussion about Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia is a view that life only really has value if it meets certain social, economic and physical criteria. Who defines these criteria is left open, but the fact is that generally people in the affluent West who argue about ‘quality of life’ would write off a life of deprivation, physical hardship and constant pain. And yet that is how many people in poorer countries live and they still fight earnestly for another day of life. Of course there are very complex issues and very difficult situations and we should not be over-simplistic. But much of the argument for Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia has a particular view of life.
That leads onto the second issue which is the right to choose. People, it is claimed, have a right to choose when they should die especially when there is extreme pain and distress, or when the quality of life is reduced to an unbearable level. Now as I have said those phrases are never really defined. What is quality of life? Does a severely dementing old lady have quality of life? Does someone who is totally dependent on others for absolutely everything, and who is experiencing agonising pain and discomfort have any quality of life? When is pain just severe or unbearable? Don’t people differ in their tolerance levels? Who will decide all these things? The answer usually is that the individual should. That is why Advance Decisions, Advance Statements and Living Wills are increasingly being advocated so that people can indicate their desires when they are mentally competent. But there are serious problems with this. The fundamental one being do people have the right to determine when they should die? Is there such a thing as a right to choose when to die? Once more men want to play God and defy the true God who cares for them.
The issue of quality of life leads on to thinking about palliative care, pain control and other medical procedures. The advances that have been made in these areas are quite profound, and constant development is taking place in research and further treatments. The same can be said of dementia and other mental health conditions. Surely it is here that attention should be directed and not to those who are constantly arguing for cutting life short. In talking about this aspect we need to note that withdrawal of treatment or the effects of some medicines which may slightly hasten death are very different matters from assisting the patient to die. The one is the result of care and compassion to make final hours more tolerable, the other is a deliberate act to end life.
This whole field is very complex but there are a few points that need to be made to give a Christian perspective.
Life is precious and is to be enjoyed - if people knew the real purpose of life and engaged with God to a full degree there would be far less desire to end life prematurely. People with the worst dementias have been known to be a blessing and to help to others. People suffering with the most debilitating conditions have found real delight in knowing God in the middle of the worst experiences. There is more to life than just the physical. And while that aspect should not be minimised, neither should it predominate. Let us encourage people of every condition to live life to the full in relationship with God.
God has proscribed absolute standards - Killing others and killing oneself are both against God’s Law. That law is not insensitive to the needs of individuals and the anguish they may face. There are issues of self-defence in regard to killing others that have to be considered, and there are parallels in regard to ending life. God has given a Law that is clear and compassionate. Through proper care by others who are skilled, through the support of loved ones and through a personal encounter and experience with God it is possible to face the worst of conditions and avoid killing. In all this let us remember that God gave the Law out of love and concern for mankind and those principles must always apply in the administration of the Law. We do not advocate obedience to God’s Law callously or unaware of the complexities. But we must not discount or minimise the absolute authority of God and His Law.
Thank God for the teaching of the Bible which tells that life is a gift from God to be valued and enjoyed, and that shows us how to cope triumphantly with pain and loss even to the extreme degrees that some endure. I would rather listen to God, than the RCN or Matthew Parris. If those latter two are reality then it really is a disgrace!