Assisting Suicide; Assisted Dying

• 

Details

Written October 2024

It was not the social media posting I'd expected, but there it was, in July 2015:  Twelve hours later there was another posting:   
This family had obviously entered into the anguish of their retired officer mother’s distress. There was something beautiful about that. This family seemed united in their approach, apparently developed over some time. This doubtless enabled them to be open about the decision. They did not have to endure the shock and questioning that often goes with unexpected death, including suicide. They knew what was coming. Sadness and perhaps other emotions would nevertheless be inevitable. 

This all took place where such action is lawful. Yet her passing left me wistful: Was there really no alternative? Was better care still not the answer? But ours is an understanding and merciful Father, and we regard with respect and tenderness those who choose differently, even when they are one of us. But their decisions need not be ours.
 
During my 46 years’ experience as a medical practitioner, seven of those as a palliative care physician, I hardly, if ever, received a request for assistance with suicide from patients themselves. Remarks such as: ‘We’d never let our animals suffer like this,’ came from relatives and friends. However when adequate care and support of both patients and their families were provided, generally such remarks faded. The family dimension needs careful consideration and protection. Concern for the welfare of a loved one could create pressures that might easily be interpreted that they are unwanted. And could these concerns not sometimes really be an expression of the weariness of caring for someone whose illness or impairment carries on seemingly without end?

The Sovereignty of God
 
Those who end their lives, and those who help them do so, seem prepared to deny God's sovereignty and God's providence. Important as human autonomy is, it has moral limits.  Viewing our lives as a gift, the exercise of our autonomy must be consistent with accountability for the care of the gift.  And if we are entrusted with the lives of others, then we ought to act with humility as caregivers - not as if we were sovereign.
 
There is a widely held belief that suffering should be eliminated. How could a God of love allow this? Though a mystery, suffering is part of life. God shows that by Calvary. When endured and lovingly shared it can become a means of our perfection and continuing submission to the will and purposes of God.
  
The Bill
 
Earlier attempts to legalise assisted suicide were defeated in the Commons. Recently the Scottish Parliament did the same. But on 11 September 2015, Rob Marris will introduce the Assisted Dying Bill for England and Wales.

Proponents believe that, subject to strict safeguards, the law should allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults to request life-ending medication from a doctor. The dying patient would then have the choice to self-administer that medication at the time they choose. They acknowledge that it will require a network of collaboration and agreement between health professionals. They believe it would decrease suffering for those dying people who want the choice to control how and when they die. Therein lies the nub of the matter. We become the preserver and governor of our fate. God goes out of the reckoning. Taking life becomes more acceptable. United Kingdom law allows a woman to choose abortion. Have we now sanctified suicide to the point of assisting people in taking their own life?
 
A personal perspective
 
We should not underestimate the trauma that terminal illness causes, nor the compassionate spirit that underlies the bill.  But this seems a step too far on the journey of human freedom.
 
I am part of a profession that has committed itself to the relief of suffering without causing harm. Allowing natural death is one thing; collaborating with the intention of causing death is another. I accept that death may result from adequate symptom control. Discontinuing medication or mechanical support in the face of death may also be appropriate. 
 
We uphold the dignity of all persons, according great value to human life. We increasingly expect people to make decisions about their care. But I, for one, would not wish to see the dignity of the medical profession, and of human dignity in general, being undermined by this. I therefore wrote to our MP urging him to oppose the legalisation of assisted dying. We need more palliative care instead.
 
The bill includes provision for conscientious objectors, as does abortion law. Should Assisted Dying become law, I would invoke such provision.
 
Polls indicate strong public support for this legislation.  But public opinion is also more in favour of capital punishment than against. Lawmakers disregard that opinion in upholding what they feel is right. I hope they will do the same with the Marris Bill.  They need to take all aspects into consideration before casting their vote in the Commons. They are unlikely to take notice of our theological arguments but are bound to listen to personal experience and concerns. They need our prayers. So do those suffering terminal illness, as do the families who suffer with them. Nor should we forget those who mourn.

July 2015

Prepared for the Salvation Army paper Salvationist at the request of the editor