Euthanasia

Lately, the issue of mercy killing has been bugging me.

It started with the Terry Schivo case. Before that, I think I was against assisted suicide and such, like a lot of people I think I relegated it to the domain of God to decide when someone dies. Now, I am unsure, maybe ranting and raving will clear my mind.

The thing that bothers me is, Terry Shivo died, and the doctors helped her die. Let's face it, she was going to die eventually, she was a vegetable. And the thing that bothers the hell out of me isn't so much that she died, but how she died. They took her water and food tubes out. 11 days later, she died from dehydration. 11 freaking days, she starved and went without water. If that was done at a prison camp, the entire world would be crying out torture. But because it was done in a hospital, it's ok? The same with "pulling the plug". When you cut the power to breathing tubes or what not, that still means that the person has to lie there, suffocating. How is that good? I guess I am recalling the old story from the Bible, where the Teachers critize Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. His reply, which is better, to do good, or not?

My uncle died of cancer, it was the most horrific way to die I've ever seen. By the time they buried him, he was a sliver of his former self, and the horrible pain and trouble he went through still makes me sick. At some point, the doctors acknowledged that they could absolutely do nothing for him, his only option left was to die, and there was no hope. So why then is it illegal for the doctor to help him die peaceably? Painlessly? Some, if not all, hide behind the Hippocratic oath. But tell me, which is "doing good", letting a patient die in pain as they wither away, or letting them die with dignity and on their own terms and without pain?

I am not advocating the wholesale killing of anyone that medical science can't help. That should be each person’s choice. I am just thinking that the doctor’s creed to do no harm is misinterpreted. Do no harm, it's bull shit. Sometimes it's just as evil to do nothing then it is to do actual evil. This is the case here I think. The doctors that carry out the choice of the patient, should do so, if they are morally willing of course. They should not fear jail time, nor should they fear that they are doing something wrong. They are helping stop suffering, which is what doctors are supposed to do!

I think it odd, that I am advocating the choice of death, when I am against abortion. And while I don't want to start an abortion debate, I do want to talk about this inconsistency, if nothing else to clear my own mind. I think regardless of what you believe about abortion, I think we can all agree that the fetus is alive, you might classify it along the lines of single celled life, but alive none the less. Scientifically, it fits the definition of life. But in abortion, the life being terminated has no choice in it. But with Euthanasia, the person dying has the choice. They chose, they die.

What about God? As a Christian, I can not ignore that factor. If I was in the situation, I would have to consider that as well. The Bible says, Do not Murder. Does suicide fall under that. Maybe, I don't know. The modern church says yes, but murder typically falls under the category of what you do to others, not yourself. What about God choosing when you die? I don't know, but if God was to heal me, wouldn't have done it already? Should God choose when I die, or him? I don’t know. I guess the questions that factoring God brings up for me, I don't have answers.

For me, I guess it all comes down to doing good by action, or causing suffering by doing nothing. I can not in good conscience advocate letting someone die by pulling a plug and watching them die painfully. I don't have the whole issue solved in my head, there are other questions that I can't answer. However, I think I would rather spend time in jail for doing good (ending suffering) then stand and watch someone wither and die in pain.

Ok, rant over, I'm feeling better now.