rae, moral choices: euthanasia 2

8/4/2019 Rae, Moral Choices: Euthanasia 2

1/17

And now toRae...

Wednesday 21 September 2011


2/17

The case of Terri Schiavo washeadline news in the USA fairly

recently-

this is a brief retelling:- she went into a near vegetativestate as a result of a heart attack

which deprived her of oxygen

and meant she was severely braindamaged

- in time she required a feedingtube to be inserted into herstomach to keep her alive

- her prognosis (forecast of thelikely course of a disease,sickness) for recovery wasconsidered very poor



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- her husband asked that the tube beremoved and she be allowed to die

- her family disagreed saying she wouldhave wanted to live

- a court case followed with each arguingtheir case

- eventually the feeding tube waspermitted to be removed and she wasallowed to die

- the relationship between husband and

parents had been good at first butdeteriorated rapidly- accusations madeof physical abuse by the husband andthat he had children by another woman

whilst Schiavo was on the feeding tube



4/17

Traditionallythe 6th commandment, Ex20:13- "You shall not murder.[c]

[ESV footnote: Exodus 20:13 TheHebrew word also covers causinghuman death through carelessness ornegligence]

and the Hippocratic Oath, haveprevented doctors from assisting insuicide or killing patients.

Schiavos case shows that modern

medicine has great ability to prolonglife even with poor life quality. Forthe elderly this is a problem to beconsidered - do they prolong life evenif quality is poor?

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex%2020;eph%202:7;dan%202:44-45;matt%2025:31-34;Philippians%203:8-11&version=ESV;NIV;MSG;NLT#en-ESV-2065http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex%2020;eph%202:7;dan%202:44-45;matt%2025:31-34;Philippians%203:8-11&version=ESV;NIV;MSG;NLT#en-ESV-2065http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex%2020;eph%202:7;dan%202:44-45;matt%2025:31-34;Philippians%203:8-11&version=ESV;NIV;MSG;NLT#en-ESV-2065http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex%2020;eph%202:7;dan%202:44-45;matt%2025:31-34;Philippians%203:8-11&version=ESV;NIV;MSG;NLT#fen-ESV-2065chttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex%2020;eph%202:7;dan%202:44-45;matt%2025:31-34;Philippians%203:8-11&version=ESV;NIV;MSG;NLT#fen-ESV-2065c


5/17

Some organisations now work for thelegalisation of assisted suicide - they

provide information on how to be free fromthe torment of terminal illness with orwithout medical assistance. Oregon was thefirst state in the USA to legalise assisted

suicide-

other states enforce their lawsprohibiting it. Some European countrieshave laws allowing assisted suicide andeuthanasia, e.g. Netherlands & Belgium -Switzerland has clinics established forpeople to go die with dignity in.

This is a hotly debated topic - and manystill have concerns about euthanasiaspreading to those who are not terminally ill



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Definition of key terms

Withholding or withdrawing of

medical treatment from a dying

patient and allowing them to die.

- withdrawing ventilator support

- not administering cpr

(cardiopulmonary resuscitation) topatients



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Definition of key terms

Withholding or withdrawing of

medical treatment from a dying

patient and allowing them to die.

- withdrawing ventilator support

- not administering cpr

(cardiopulmonary resuscitation) topatients

Termination of life support



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Physician assisted suicide

The physician is more active inhelping cause the death of the

person. Normally they provide a

medical means by which a person

can end their own life - usually a

lethal dose of medication, which is

given along with instructions on

how to use. Death should happenin minutes and is caused by the

medication not the underlying

disease.



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Euthanasia

Comes from the Greek meaning

good death. sometimes a personis so ill or close to death they

cannot manage to do it for

themselves so the doctor is more

directly involved. This is also calledmercy killing. it is the direct and

intentional effort of a doctor or

medical professional in helping a

dying person to die. Usually a lethalinjection is administered to the

patient - death is a direct result of

the doctors action.



10/17

Ordinary and extraordinary means

End of life medical decisions are sometimes distinguished

on this basis. Ordinary means are the normal course of

treatment for a disease without it becoming excessively

burdensome on the patient - such as antibiotics for an

infection - these are morally obligatory. Use of a respiratormight be thought of as extraordinary and is morally

optional. There is flexibility in their meaning due to the

progress of medical science - and the patients situation

has to be considered, ordinary depends on the condition

and prognosis of the patient. Some now use the words

obligatory and optional.



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Living will / advance directive

Some people decide before

becoming ill what treatment theydo and do not want to receive - thisis an advance directive or living

will. Here you can select a personto act in making medical decisionson your behalf if you are unable to.E.g. The desire not to be onmechanical life support systems ifno real possibility of recovery orlow quality of life - or moredetailed like no food or water bymechanical means or do notresuscitate.



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Living wills enable the

person to make decisions

before any medical

situation arises - and tohave properly thought

them through.

Living wills are more

common now in the USA



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Competence

Competenceethics refers to the

patients level of understanding of thetreatment options and give informed

consent to the option taken.

Patients become incompetent when

they fall into a coma, vegetative state,

are in extreme pain etc. - in such a

case a living will can guide the

medical staff

. If no living will has beenmade a surrogate or proxy decision

maker is recognised to act on the

patients behalf



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US legal precedents



15/17

The end of life in biblical perspective

The Bible says we are made in Gods

image - and life is sacred - innocent lifeis not to be taken. The time and mannerof our death belong to God -Ecc 3:1-2,Heb 9:27. Rae says we also have anobligation to care for the vulnerable insociety- which includes the dying.

Death was not originally in Gods plan -it was a result of the entrance of sin -Paul Ramsey, an evangelical ethicistsuggests that death is wholly alien tomankind, imposed as a result of sin - we

were made for eternal life, and death isinconsistent with this fact.



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The Bible does say death is a normal

part of life -Ecc 2:14-16, 3:19-21,

5:15-

16- it is an enemy and a normalpart of life - though death is now

conquered through the work of Christ

- and if it is conquered does it always

need to be resisted?Should we delay an inevitable death? If

the prognosis is poor and treatment

will not give benefit shouldnt we

welcome death as entry to eternal life?Rae says the foundation of the

sacredness of human life make it clear

that suicide is prohibited by the Bible.



17/17

Rae says, the notion that

innocent life cannot be takenbecause the timing and

manner of someones death

belong to God alone suggests

that while life support can be

removed and death can be

allowed to run its natural

course, physician assistedsuicide and euthanasia are

very problematic

rae, moral choices: euthanasia 2

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