Why should euthanasia be sinful?

[Robert_Sock]

Let me be quick to say that I do believe it to be sinful and I know what the CCC says about it.

But it troubles me deeply to see pain and suffering, and when I was an atheist I was all for euthanasia. I find it perplexing that the Catholic Church places such a high value on pain and suffering, from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the pain to the suffering of the terminally ill. My take as an atheist, again, was that the Catholic Church placed much too high a value on pain and suffering, but I now believe that the pain and suffering MUST be somehow necessary for salvation for the people given the opportunity to experience it. Some folks, it seems, really do do their purgatory here on earth.

I have a brother who is about to die from pancreatic cancer, and I pray that he is taken quickly, with no unnecessary pain and suffering. I also prayed for my mother, who died in 1999. She was undergoing great mental anguish after my father died earlier that year. And, I often pray for those suffering from terminal illnesses that they may be taken to Heaven as soon as possible.

Christianity, with its high value for pain and suffering, sure makes it a peculiar religion!

 

[thistle]

Let me be quick to say that I do believe it to be sinful and I know what the CCC says about it.

But it troubles me deeply to see pain and suffering, and when I was an atheist I was all for euthanasia. I find it perplexing that the Catholic Church places such a high value on pain and suffering, from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the pain to the suffering of the terminally ill. My take as an atheist, again, was that the Catholic Church placed much too high a value on pain and suffering, but I now believe that the pain and suffering MUST be somehow necessary for salvation for the people given the opportunity to experience it. Some folks, it seems, really do do their purgatory here on earth.

I have a brother who is about to die from pancreatic cancer, and I pray that he is taken quickly, with no unnecessary pain and suffering. I also prayed for my mother, who died in 1999. She was undergoing great mental anguish after my father died earlier that year. And, I often pray for those suffering from terminal illnesses that they may be taken to Heaven as soon as possible.

Christianity, with its high value for pain and suffering, sure makes it a peculiar religion!

Its very simple. Euthansia is MURDER and self euthansia is SUICIDE.

 

[kmuestwin]

Euthanasia takes the person’s life out of God’s hands.

It may deny someone the chance to turn their life over to God, repent confess, and die in a state of grace.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Its very simple. Euthansia is MURDER and self euthansia is SUICIDE.

I can’t buy that. There’s got to be more to the story than simply labeling euthanasia as murder or suicide. There’s go to be a higher-ordered moral value that is being promoted. An all loving God cannot condone needless pain and suffering. To simply say that euthanasia is murder or suicide is to trivialize it; it becomes a set of meaningless rules. Pain and suffering, without a higher-ordered moral value, is a great evil!

 

[ANNE_2]

I can’t buy that. There’s got to be more to the story than simply labeling euthanasia as murder or suicide. There’s go to be a higher-ordered moral value that is being promoted. An all loving God cannot condone needless pain and suffering. To simply say that euthanasia is murder or suicide is to trivialize it; it becomes a set of meaningless rules. Pain and suffering, without a higher-ordered moral value, is a great evil!

Try the 10 Commandments.
THOU SHALL NOT KILL.

CCC - " 2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons.
It is morally unacceptable.
Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.
The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded. "

Jesus suffered far more for our sins.

CCC - " 2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of “over-zealous” treatment.
Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted.
The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected. "

CCC - " 2279 Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted.
The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable
Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged. "

 

[Swiss_Guy]

Euthanasia is murder. I don’t care if you give your consent. If I gave my consent for you to shoot me now, and you did, I bet that you would end up behind bars.

Plus, why do you need to kill the person when there are pain killers and stuff like that out there to deal with the pain? Because its the easy way out? Christ didn’t take the easy way out in the Garden of Gethsemane.

But I’m sure others will explain better than me.

 

[Heuchler]

Because pain and suffering are a part of death. To use euthanasia is to run scared from suffering. While it is natural to be afraid of suffering, it is still a good thing and something we can offer up to God. And why should we run from suffering when our God walked straight into Jerusalem and accepted it. No, those who are truly strong and faithful to God will not be so selfish as to rather die than accept pain. They will know the value of life and want to hang on as long as possible. (This is not meant as offensive, as there are cases where the pain is terrible and the person may not be in the right state of mind, making it easier to give in to this sin)

And when will it stop. Will we start offering suicide to anyone with chronic pain. Will people in wheel-chairs be offered euthanasia. Will we make the age 65 the year you commit suicide, because it costs too much money to care for you and your life starts to degenerate at that point. Euthanasia opens the door to giving up on life at any point when it starts to get hard. It goes completely against the virtue of fortitude where we are to be strong and carry on no matter what.

 

[Warrior1979]

I’ll start off by saying I don’t support euthanasia, that being directly taking an action to cause a person to die quicker than they naturally would die. I don’t see any issue with the person denying treatment and letting the natural (God’s) order of things to proceed.

 

[Robert_Sock]

I can’t help but think that people are responding without fully reading the OP. Or maybe I should have posted this in the philosophy forum.

Try the 10 Commandments.
THOU SHALL NOT KILL.

I believe in having faith, but I think trust needs to enter the picture too. Having faith that “thou shall not kill” requires some kind of trust that pain and suffering has a higher-ordered purpose for those experiencing it. If pain and suffering had no higher-ordered divine purpose, then it’s senseless not to endorse euthanasia . . . pain and suffering would become glorified if it served no purpose. . .God would necessary be an evil God to allow pain and suffering for its own sake.

 

[St_Francis]

I’ll start off by saying I don’t support euthanasia, that being directly taking an action to cause a person to die quicker than they naturally would die. I don’t see any issue with the person denying treatment and letting the natural (God’s) order of things to proceed.

You have this right. Taking a person’s life before natural death is wrong, stopping extraordinary treatment is allowing nature to take its course.

 

[St_Francis]

I can’t help but think that people are responding without fully reading the OP. Or maybe I should have posted this in the philosophy forum.

I believe in having faith, but I think trust needs to enter the picture too. Having faith that “thou shall not kill” requires some kind of trust that pain and suffering has a higher-ordered purpose for those experiencing it. If pain and suffering had no higher-ordered divine purpose, then it’s senseless not to endorse euthanasia . . . pain and suffering would become glorified if it served no purpose. . .God would necessary be an evil God to allow pain and suffering for its own sake.

First, the Church does not mandate suffering at the end of life; in facct, if a person is suffering great pain and the amount of medication to relieve the pain would cause death to occur, it is still moral to administer the medication as long as the intention is to avoid pain rather than to cause death.

Great pain should be relieved in order to prevent the patient from falling into despair.

However, suffering has redemptive value when offered up to God. When we “carry our cross,” it helps us to become more holy, and when we offer up our suffering, as we should when we fast or mortify ourselves, God can use it to help others, just as He used Christ’s suffering to open the gates of Heaven.

 

[thistle]

I can’t buy that. There’s got to be more to the story than simply labeling euthanasia as murder or suicide. There’s go to be a higher-ordered moral value that is being promoted. An all loving God cannot condone needless pain and suffering. To simply say that euthanasia is murder or suicide is to trivialize it; it becomes a set of meaningless rules. Pain and suffering, without a higher-ordered moral value, is a great evil!

Absolutely wrong.

Euthansia is MURDER, plain and simple.
Self or voluntary euthanasia is SUICIDE.

Pain and suffering is not to be sought but be accepted and embraced if it comes our way and it becomes meaningful if offered up to God as a sacrifice.

 

[Nate13]

Someone a few weeks ago posted some great clips from the tv show Bonanza on this topic haha. Might be worth finding those

 

[thistle]

For all the people who say euthanasia is MURDER…I sure hope you do not support the death penalty…or have guns in your house…or kill animals…or kill in war.
Those are all examples of taking human life…which is God’s job.

If we can kill “bad” people on death row…we should be allowed to take a good person out of pain with euthanasia, if that’s what they want and ask for.

You can’t have it both ways.
Either “thou shalt not kill” or you can.

Which is it?

I don’t support the death penalty but your argument about that is not relevant. The 5th Commandment applies to unlawful killing and does not apply to wars and capital punishment.

The Church clearly teaches that killing in wars is not a sin, killing in self defence and in defence of others is not a sin and while it should be rarely used the Church accepts that the death penalty may be necessary sometimes and is not a sin.
None of these of these situations is murder.
On the other hand euthanasia IS MURDER.

 

[Robert_Sock]

If euthanasia was not a sin, I would immediately engage in it. Instead, I sit here patiently, praying for death. Oh, the glory of Heaven! I can’t wait, and it’s hard to be content.

 

[davidv]

If euthanasia was not a sin, I would immediately engage in it. Instead, I sit here patiently, praying for death. Oh, the glory of Heaven! I can’t wait, and it’s hard to be content.

Contentment is not the goal of this life. Faithfulness and love are the goals of this life. Jesus’ death on the cross clearly demonstrates that unavoidable pain and suffering and the proper response to it are necessary for salvation.

 

[mlz]

Let me be quick to say that I do believe it to be sinful and I know what the CCC says about it.

But it troubles me deeply to see pain and suffering, and when I was an atheist I was all for euthanasia. I find it perplexing that the Catholic Church places such a high value on pain and suffering, from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the pain to the suffering of the terminally ill. My take as an atheist, again, was that the Catholic Church placed much too high a value on pain and suffering, but I now believe that the pain and suffering MUST be somehow necessary for salvation for the people given the opportunity to experience it. Some folks, it seems, really do do their purgatory here on earth.

I have a brother who is about to die from pancreatic cancer, and I pray that he is taken quickly, with no unnecessary pain and suffering. I also prayed for my mother, who died in 1999. She was undergoing great mental anguish after my father died earlier that year. And, I often pray for those suffering from terminal illnesses that they may be taken to Heaven as soon as possible.

Christianity, with its high value for pain and suffering, sure makes it a peculiar religion!

You have gone through a lot with the death of your mother and now a brother. I can already see your suffering in watching those you love suffer. To ask and wonder about things like this is not wrong. I don’t think we’ll ever fully know or understand this. (this side of Heaven) There is a good book by C.S. Lewis and right now I’m not positive about the title, but I think it’s something like “The Problem of Pain” or something to do with pain and suffering. I’ve read parts and remember it being excellent, but it was years ago.

I do believe that there is redemptive suffering because I believe God can always cause a “greater good” from anything.

I am so sorry for your loss. I will pray for your brother.

In His love,
mlz

 

[vera_dicere]

I can’t buy that. There’s got to be more to the story than simply labeling euthanasia as murder or suicide. There’s go to be a higher-ordered moral value that is being promoted. An all loving God cannot condone needless pain and suffering. To simply say that euthanasia is murder or suicide is to trivialize it; it becomes a set of meaningless rules. Pain and suffering, without a higher-ordered moral value, is a great evil!

I’m a registered nurse, and I’ve seen many, many people die of all sorts of things. Some died hideously painful deaths, others died in peace, surrounded by family and friends; and those horrible deaths, its usually the fault of shoddy medical intervention and poor pallative care.

Euthanasia is completely unnecessary from a medical stand point as there are more then enough drugs and methods to ensure the patient’s end is a nice one.

Euthanasia not only is a sin in the fact its murder, but also because it denies the family the chance to grieve correctly, families remember bad deaths, and how will they feel about themselves and the medical profession if instead of nana dying in a hospital a little sore, instead, nana was killed, at their say so? Death, both physical and emotional is a process, euthanasia abuses that process.

The other point I make in these discussions, is a grave site of pre-verbal humans were found. Amongst the remains was a skeleton who displayed a history of injuries that would have resulted in being essentially carried, their teeth were damaged that their group would have had to chew food for them. Now, the remains of the injured one showed they had died at an advanced age - not at the time of injury. What does this ask? It asks, why is it a group of pre-verbal humans can care for their loved ones, when we can not even be bothered? Where for them, it would have been so much easier to just leave the injured on the side of the valley? They can care for their kind until their natural ends, but us with all our medicine and technology cannot? What an absolute disgrace!

Then compare it to abortion. Abortion was supposed to be “safe, legal and rare” That’s what was spouted pre-Roe. Now we have 1.2 million in America, parital birth abortion (whether its legal or not is moot as it’ll still be going on) we have late term abortions for cleft palates, we have peopel killing BORN babies and then getting away with it, we have women dying, women being forced into abortions, dodgey abortion clinics staffed by rapists and murderers and theives and drunkkards.

Now, look what they say about euthanasia… that it will only be used it the most dire of circumstances? Anyone else think that sounds awfully familiar? We let Euthanasia become legal, expect many, many abuses that will make post Roe look like a church picnic. Just go to the Netherlands, where they euthanise babies with Downs Syndrome, where they’re pushing fo rlaws to euthanise children and the mentally unwell.

Anyone who thinks legalising euthanasia is a good thing is fooling themselves. We legalise it, I reckon it will only be a matter of time before its not “mandatory retirement” but mandatory euthanasia.

 

[prh546k]

I’m new to this site but I have enjoyed reading (and at times learning) from the various threads.

I have a simple belief regarding euthanasia - it is wrong because it takes life out of the hands of God and places it in the hands of man for no just reason and may denies a person the time to reconcile themselves with the Lord- it is for that reason that I oppose the death penalty EXCEPT in the case of crimes against humanity (I know I’m getting off the track there but if you would allow me that bit of latitude I’d appreciate it).

I have an advance care plan - I don’t know what it is called elsewhere but that is its title here in Australia. This is a document asking that I be given whatever analgesia is necessary to relieve my pain even if that relieving dose is going to be fatal - but that if I don’t need the Analgesia it is not to be given.

Similarly it instructs Medical Practitioners that if I am on life support i.e. that my breathing and heart are being maintained by a completely artificial means then that mechanism should be withdrawn.

One of my Sons who is totally aware of my beliefs has been appointed under this advanced care plan as my representative in the event that this situation arises. I have reviewed the care plan with my Parish Priest and he has found no impediment in it because it asks for no active steps to be taken to end my life. It is simply a recognition that I suffer from a number of illnesses which, at some time of Gods choosing, may and I stress may become terminal.

I have already had one occasion when the machine that was “breathing for me” for several days was switched off - and to the surprise of all my body kept breathing for itself and about a week later I recover consciousness and as you can tell by the fact that I’m writing this, I fully recovered.

I spoke to my son after these events and told him he had acted in accordance with my wishes and obviously in accordance with Gods plan. I also told him that he was correct in refusing permission for my dose of analgesia to be increased to an unnecessary level (as was suggested by one Medico) in order to “end my suffering”. He was correct because I was not suffering and I wanted no-one to murder me for whatever reason or how “good” their intentions were.

I would encourage everyone to have an advanced care plan in place and to discuss it with their family and Parish Priest.

God Bless All Who Visit Here

 

[Birdpreacher]

If Euthanasia takes a life out of God’s hands then I would hate to see what the Death Penalty does.