by Jack
“Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more,” she wrote on Facebook. “The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type … Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”
Brittany Maynard, was 29. She was suffering from terminal brain cancer when she became an advocate for the terminally ill who would prefer to end their lives on their own terms. She died peacefully using Oregon’s doctor-assisted suicide law, an advocacy group said Sunday.
If we have reservations about such end of life decisions it’s probably because of our religious belief’s, and that’s fine by me. This is something you have to decide for yourself. Many of us (myself included) are taught that it’s a mortal sin that could rob us of eternal life in Heaven and this part conflicts with this nagging logic that says, it makes perfect sense to terminate life in order minimize suffering when death is near and perhaps reduce extreme financial loss in those final weeks. The latter could leave your ones suffering long after you’re gone, even if you extend life for only a very short time. End of life care can be costly!
We don’t denounce the soldier who dives on a grenade knowing he will die do we? He knows it will kill him, but he does it to save his fellow soldiers. But, isn’t that a form of suicide? So, is it the degree of good intentions that defines a mortal sin from a heroic act? Or how about this, if you are truly suffering from a terminal illness and there’s absolutely no way out, no hope, the bills are piling up and you’re in pain do you get a pass on this mortal sin business?
During end-of-life care we do assisted suicides all the time, it’s actually fairly routine. We call it comfort care or hospice care and we call it good. In reality a morphine drip that accelerates the end of life is assisted suicide. Is that exempt from the mortal sin clause?
I know a few Bible scholars that would argue that any form of suicide is a mortal sin, even if you speed up the end of life by a few hours or a few minutes… they would say its technically an assisted suicide and wrong. But, maybe compassion calls for a little more latitude? I know these are real tough questions and no real good answers. I’m convinced that everyone has to go with what you believe is right, just like Brittany Maynard; unless you’re lucky enough to be spared that fateful decision! Any thoughts on this one?