Euthanasia

Euthanasia is “an act or omission which, of itself and by intention, causes death, usually in order to eliminate suffering, (perceived or real)”. This term often encompasses the similar practice of physician- assisted suicide, in which a person enlists the aid of others to set-up the means for them to end their own life. These acts generally involve the terminally ill, people with disabilities, older people and people living with chronic pain.

The word “euthanasia” derives from a Greek word meaning “good death” and is sometimes also known as “mercy killing”. The debate is generally seen as an ethical confrontation between Judeo-Christianity and Humanist groups, and it is now a topic being fought out in the political arenas.

Common forms of euthanasia involve the administration of lethal injections or the negligent withholding of vital human necessities in order to cause death, such as food, water and essential medications.

Whether it is despair, guilt at being “a burden” upon others, or even the result of a carer who no longer sees value in the fulfilment of their role, euthanasia is the action of a person who has given up. Our role is to support people. Older people and people with disabilities can be especially vulnerable to thinking that they have no worth and this can be overwhelming. The support of loved ones, neighbours and others in the community can demonstrate the dignity of the individual, and their potential to contribute to the happiness of those around them.

The appropriate approach to assisting the vulnerable is through patience and care. Much recognition is due to the dedicated carers who use their lives to improve the quality of the lives of others. Carers can help a person see their own value and dignity. In the instances where a patient is suffering from a terminal condition accompanied by debilitating pain or other symptoms, palliative care offers the hope of a meaningful improvement or resolution of symptoms in a supportive environment.

The objective of palliative care is to ensure the best possible quality of life for the patient. Palliative care provides the following:

By assisting people to experience value and worth in their life, we reveal to them their dignity and give them reason to persevere.

Care and attention are the answer.

The Catholic Church clearly teaches that all forms of euthanasia are wrong. The key principle is that one does not will to cause death. The Church founds its teachings in the dignity of humankind, recognising human life as a gift from God. In its Declaration on Euthanasia (1980), the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith noted that to end one’s life is to reject God’s love for us.

The Church acknowledges that psychological changes caused by the experience of prolonged suffering may lessen, or even eliminate, the culpability of one who seeks for themself euthanasia, but stresses again and again that the act of euthanasia is always wrong.

On the question of the suffering of a patient, the Church encourages us to consider uniting our sufferings with those of Christ, in union with the redeeming sacrifice which He offered in obedience to the Father’s Will. Nevertheless, the Church is quite clear in permitting palliative care and the administering of pain medication, and encourages this as good and proper.

Finally, the Church teaches that a patient has a right to refuse certain treatments that would merely prolong life with no hope of improvement, but high likelihood of additional pain or risk to the patient’s situation. An example of this would be refusing to undergo an experimental operation that could possibly add three months to your life expectancy, but was considered a risky operation that may cause pain or unacceptably long hospitalisation, thus reducing the time and opportunity a dying person has to spend with their family or being engaged in their community. This concession does not include the withholding of food from a patient, declaring that basic human needs such as food and water, must be supplied to the patient (unless its provision is unjustifiably burdensome or puts the dying person at risk).

Indefinite ‘nil by mouth’ status without other nourishment will end in certain death. This path contrasts with known risks of inhalation pneumonia which arise from eating when the swallowing mechanism is reduced. In a palliative care context, where such a patient may be hungry, careful allied health support may enable the intake of food for comfort and some nourishment.