PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ASSISTED DEATH?
Key Facts
Eight US states as well as Washington DC have statutes that allow assisted dying under certain circumstances and with certain diagnosis and prognosis.
As of February 15, 2019, in Oregon, prescriptions have been written for 2,217 people, and 1,459 patients have died from ingesting the drugs that were legally prescribed to them under the law. [1]
The Belgian Act on Euthanasia of May 28, 2002 went into effect on Sep. 3, 2002, legalizing both euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide for “competent” adults and emancipated minors suffering from “constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated.” The patients do not have to be suffering from terminal illnesses. On Feb. 13, 2014, the law was extended to minors.[2]
Key Scriptures
1 Corinthians 15:26 “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”
1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 record the assisted suicide of Saul and the response of David; refer to this story to compare and contrast between the death of Saul and modern assisted deaths.
Application
There are many philosophical and emotional arguments in support of physician assisted suicide (PAS). While there is a good philosophical and emotional case to make against PAS, the Bible sufficiently teaches a correct perspective on death and terminal illness.
First, the Bible teaches us that death is an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). While 1 Corinthians 15:26 does heavily refer to spiritual death, it also relates to physical death. In modern society, death is continually becoming more of an idol. Practices such as abortion, euthanasia, and PAS look to death as a solution to human problems. But the Bible says that death is an enemy. Death is not to be viewed as the solution.
Second, the Bible teaches that human life is valuable, even in sickness and old age. God created humanity in his image (Genesis 1:27). As image bearers of God, humans have intrinsic worth and value that cannot be measured. Matthew 10:29-31 and many other biblical passages show just how valuable human life is to God. This value applies to both the spiritual and the physical aspects of an individual. This means that, as Christians, we too should care about the wellbeing of the body and not impose harm on it.
One common argument of those who support physician assisted suicide is that people should have control of their own life, even in the last portion of it. Death with Dignity, an organization advocating for physician assisted death, argues this in their testimonials regarding people that have pursued PAS. [3] However, control over life and death never belonged to humans. The nature of mortality is such that God is the only one who knows how many days a person has to live (Job 14:5, Psalm 139:16). As Christians, we recognize that God is in control of life and death, even in the most difficult situations. A terminal diagnosis may be one opportunity to have faith in God as the preserver of life and serve Him until the end rather than attempting to hold onto the control and plan our own end to life.
Consider Job as an example. He had every reason to long for death as he had lost everything—his family, his health, his wealth—everything except for his life. Just about every person in Job’s life had turned against him and he was in excruciating physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. His case would be one in which mercy killing would seem better than the state he was living in. However, even he, during the most painful and least dignified time of his life, says that no purpose of God can be thwarted (Job 42:2). Job recognized that God was in control and that even in such a horrifying time, God has purposes and plans for his life. This is an example of how true faith in God allows Christians to endure difficult times and even have trust in God through those times.
Conclusion
Pain in sickness can be an awful part of living in a fallen world. But Christians can have faith knowing that God is in control of life, even in the most difficult situations (Psalm 68:20). We can do what is within our power to reduce physical pain and even allow natural dying processes to continue (such as in a DNR order). However, this does not permit humans to step into the role of deciding when and how a person should die. All death will be defeated. The Bible does not view death as a solution to our pain, rather God is seen as the one who has the power to defeat both pain and death (Revelation 24:1). No matter what kind of pain or suffering there might be, Christians can be encouraged knowing that there is always hope and joy, both in this life and in the next.