Euthanasia

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
2 Jun 2002

Mrs. Crick knew she did not have cancer, as did the euthanasia campaigners who became involved in her case. She was not suffering malnutrition and her weight was regularly understated.

She was in was real pain and discomfort, but she refused surgical intervention which may have rectified this. She failed to meet the official hospital definition of a palliative care patient and in no sense was she terminally ill.

Suggestions have been made that when she wavered in her commitment to suicide, she was abused by the group of euthanasia activists around her and pressured to re-commit to her decision for death.

There is a dark side to human nature. It needs to be recognized and curbed. Laws therefore have to protect and restrain people of ill-will as well as the pure of heart. We do not live in a perfect world.

It is not difficult for families to come to the conclusion that a person would be better off dead, especially when their suffering is unsightly and caring for them is expensive or hard work. Nor should we underestimate the influence that the prospect of an inheritance can have.

By definition euthanasia is final. There is no second chance, no possibility of changing one's mind.

Euthanasia is voluntary when performed with the consent of the dying person. Non-voluntary means that the patient has neither requested nor consented to being killed. Such a patient might be unable to consent, perhaps being unconscious or mentally ill or a disabled body, or might be unwilling to consent.

Christians regard human life as wonderful and sacred, the high point of all creation and the supreme expression of God's love. As we are custodians, not owners of the life God has given us, we are obliged to respect and preserve human life from the moment of conception.

We also have an obligation to God, who is the Master of life, to preserve our own lives. Human life is not ours to give away. Therefore suicide, euthanasia and any other form of murder is wrong.

"Dying with dignity," means entirely different things to different people. For some it has become a slogan to promote the cause of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. Others even see it as a slogan to encourage legal protection for the non-voluntary euthanasia of certain categories of persons such as mental defectives.

True death with dignity is helping a dying patient to live (even as he dies) by providing as much physical relief of suffering as possible as well as emotional support. Treatment that is of no further benefit to the patient should be withdrawn.

Some commentators on Nancy Crick's death have pointed out that in those places where euthanasia is legal, women vastly outnumber men among those opting for this course.

It seems that despite often having cared for people all their lives, when these women themselves fall sick they are reluctant to ask others to care for them.

Surely we can do better when it comes to caring for those who have cared than euthanasia.

a person who is terminally ill is not a burden if the burden of their suffering is willingly taken on by others with love. We all need a lot more love and lot less death in our world. And this is especially so for those gravely sick.