RS Work- Medical ethics

Euthanasia (literally “good death” in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless and humane manner. There are numerous controversies about Euthanasia, one of them being is it in the hands of humans to take a life? Euthanasia is illegal in 49 states of America and the UK, but is legal in Switzerland and the Netherlands, provided that the person undergoes rigorous psychiatric assessment. There are various methods of Euthanasia; sometimes the person will have a lethal injection administered by a doctor, or they can ask not to be rescesitated if they stop breathing, or they can have their life support machine turned off.

Catholic Views on Euthanasia

Catholicism teaches that Euthanasia is always wrong, as it goes against the sacrament of the preservation of life. It also means putting your death into a humans rather than God’s. The Declaration on Euthanasia states that, “When inevitable death is imminent… it is permitted in conscience to take the decision to refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to a sick person in similar cases is not interrupted.” This means that people can refuse further treatments but they cannot, for example, be given a strong overdose of morphine. The Declaration concludes that doctors, beyond providing medical skill, must above all provide patients “with the comfort of boundless kindness and heartfelt charity”. Catholics believe that, instead of Euthanasia, Christians should be allowed to die in peace in hospices. Hospices are places where the elderly and terminally ill can spend their last weeks in a caring and loving environment, rather than in a hospital bed.

Church of Englands view on Euthanasia

Protestant views vary greatly- from those, like Catholics, who believe it to be a sin to kill to those that think of Euthanasia as a mercy killing. Ever since 1970, the Church of England has been working with Catholics to try and determine the official sanctity of life, to determine where they stand on issues such as Euthanasia. Whilst their official position is not clear, the more liberal Protestants accept Euthanasia, whilst the more devout (such as Lutherans) refuse to believe that Euthanasia is lawful in the eyes of God.

Abortion is a practice undertaken when a pregnant woman may have a lethal injection that will terminate her unborn child, resulting in its death. Abortion is legal in the UK, from around 3 months (the ‘quickening’) up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and in some states of America. UK women must have the professional opinion of two doctors to conclude she is of sound mind to have the abortion, and in some areas of the world the woman may only abort the pregnancy in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the pregnant woman’s life or health.

Catholic views on Abortion

Catholics have always believed that abortion is evil, impure and immoral. They see it as a violation of some of the 10 Commandments- a primary one being ‘thou shalt not murder’. In the Bible, it says “If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely, but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot”. Also, Catholics believes that a human soul is formed straight at conception. David says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”. This shows us how seriously and literally Catholics take the bible. In 1995 the Pope declared that “abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being… No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsically illicit, since it is contrary to the law of God which is written in every human heart, knowable by reason itself, and proclaimed by the Church”. Therefore abortion is always wrong to Catholics.

Church of England’s views on Abortion

For the most part the Church of England believe the same thing as the Roman Catholic faith- that abortion on the whole is immoral and wrong. However, there are a set of circumstances in which abortion is acceptable:

1. If the baby has a severe risk of being born with a handicap.
2. The mother’s life is in danger.
3. The pregnancy is the result of a rape.

The General Synod of the Church of England agreed that, “every human life, created in the divine image is unique … and that this holds for each of us, born or yet to be born. We therefore believe … abortion on demand would be a very great evil. But we also believe that to withhold compassion is evil, and in circumstances of extreme distress or need, a very great evil… in an imperfect world the ‘right’ choice is sometimes the acceptance of the lesser of two evils.” This shows that, under certain conditions, abortion can be the better choice. However, a woman may not just have an abortion because she doesn’t want a baby- the criteria must be followed.

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