Die On Demand

As Singapore strives to be developed country, it grapples with more than the usual bread and butter issues. First-world ethical problems become important concerns e.g. homosexuality, legalised gambling, and more recently euthanasia. As Christians, we are called to be salt and light within our spheres of influence in this mixed-up world. Hence I find it increasingly important to seek a Christian perspective, even though sometimes my personal view may differ.

Let's begin by explaining what Euthanasia (or mercy killing) is and what it is not: 

• It is the deliberate ending of a person's life to reduce his or her suffering.
  
• It is not the same as ethically permissable palliative care (i.e. active relief of suffering in a terminally ill person) e.g. adminstering narcotics to relieve pain.
• It is not the same as withdrawing care in appropriate situations e.g. where unwanted and non-beneficial therapies that serve only to prolong a person's dying is burdensome and ineffective. These decisions require accurate information, personal humility, and God's wisdom.
• It is a form of unacceptable medical practice by "assisting" a terminally ill person to die.

 What the Bible teaches us:

• Man are created by God in His image (Genesis 9:6). There is intrinsic and immeasurable value attached to our lives, contrary to arguments that the "life is not worth living" when we deemed there's low quality of life or self-esteem in living another day.
  
• God owns our lives when he breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7). We are merely stewards of our lives to serve His higher purpose. Hence, it is not right for us to take away what God has given us.
  
• Suffering is a part of God's providence, for us to conform to the likeness of Jesus, and to complete His great work (Philippians 1:6). We may not understand it, but that doesn't mean we have to seek death as the solution.

It is important to note that the 2 main arguments in supporting euthanasia are fundamentally flawed and dangerous.

• "Quality of Life"

There is no objective criterion to determine the level of functioning and the degree of suffering, as it is affected by factors including emotional state, past experiences, family wishes and financial outcomes. An assessor does not have the right to play God and decide that a patient should be better off dead. The decision may well be involuntary if the patient is unable to decide for himself.

• "Autonomy"
  

Personal freedom is deemed a human right, but there must be limitations according to God's moral laws.

So how should we respond?

Christians must oppose euthanasia by boldly proclaiming God's truth, and promote life through a practical demonstration of His love and compassion. 

We can support and encourage pro-life doctors and activists (although I must admit I felt disgusted to read the Singapore Catholic leader declaring "euthanasia is immoral"). In more practical ways, we can also support hospices through donations and volunteering (giving more coins to ensure proper care of the terminally ill will make euthanasia irrelevant). And if you know some patients in need of love, we can reach out and help patients with care and compassion, and give them the desire to live.

A very tricky topic, and a very morbid one indeed. You can read this article about a real case of euthanasia in The Netherlands, one of the two countries that had legalised mercy killing. Trust me, I got really depressed after reading it.