Currently there is a big debate – and a big push – for people with terminal illness to have the ‘right to die’. That is to say, to choose the timing and place of their actual death, and potentially spare themselves some of the pain that may be associated with it. There are many moving stories with people who fit into this category.
This debate actually opens up a lot of big questions. Behind it, unspoken, is a fundamental belief about the meaning of life, or lack of it. This is a belief that as individuals we have the right to choose our lives and destinies, how we live and how we die. Furthermore, having a right to die seems the compassionate response to suffering. We put our pets to sleep if they are suffering, why can’t we do that with a human? This appears to have a logic to it that is difficult to refute, so what can we say?
1. A different starting point. The starting point for Christians in thinking about such issues is Genesis 1, where we are told that human beings are made uniquely in the image or likeness of God. Animals are also part of God’s creation, but humans are uniquely in God’s image. This underlines the value and significance of all human life, as distorted or perverted as it sometimes is.
2. We are not just individuals with a right to do what we think best for ourselves. We are also individuals in community and the needs of the community can moderate the perceived rights of an individual. What form of living or dying is appropriate for our community and for the good of the people?
3. Both the moment of birth and the moment of death are holy moments. The moment of death is a moment when time and eternity intersect. I have sympathy for those who want to end life well. However, my understanding is that life is a gift not a personal right. If we are given the option of ending it, how are we to know when that time is? As Christians we know that the evil one wants to destroy life and will feed thoughts of death and destruction into peoples’ minds.
4. Human beings are fallen and sinful. If we legalise the premature termination of life, can we trust that this will not ultimately lead to other abuses, like terminating life when those lives become a drain on society? I am not confident we could keep such a boundary. We have very good palliative care options which enable people to die with dignity when their time comes. That to me is the proper approach.
I find it ironic that those who have promoted the ‘right to life’ for unborn children have been trumped, yet now we have the case for a ‘right to die’ gaining momentum. It would appear to me that the rights are the wrong way round! Jesus says, “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). In the midst of the difficulties of life in a fallen world, that is our focus, and it was what Jesus came for – not just life but even life eternal!