Religion and Medicine

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Do doctors play God? There have been many controversial debates on whether or not it is religious or not to be saved from death. Every religion has it’s own opinion on how to accept modern medicine, but even further than that, every person must decided where religion and medicine intersect in their own faith. The fact is that medicine becoming more and more advanced every day, and we must find a happy medium between religious beliefs and medical reality.

Probably one of the most recent and highly publicized events was the Terri Schiavo dispute. Terri Schiavo went into a vegetative state in 1990, because of an ice tea diet related to her bulimia, which caused irreversible brain damage, and the may cause of Terri’s vegetative state; Terri would remain in this same state for the fifteen years. Terri’s husband, Micheal Schiavo, disputed that his wife would of never wanted to be to be kept live by medical needs. However, Terri’s parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had made evidence that Terri could eventually recover. They got the attention of local politicians and eventually had a law made “Terri’s law” which had Terri’s feeding tube re-insisted, after her husband had had it removed. However, on March 18, 2005 Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was finally removed and she died thirteen days later (“Terri”). This whole disagreement really highlights the question, if people believe in heaven why are they scared to die or let their loved ones die? Terri was of the Roman Catholic religion and believed in God, therefore her parents should have respected her wishes and allowed her to be one with God.

Do doctors over step their bounds, in terms of religion? There is a growing trend that doctors should become clerics or spiritual advisors. Those in...

... middle of paper ...

...ose where medicine and religion meet in his or her own lives. To me, God made humans and humans are the ones who come up with the advances of medicine, and when it comes the point to decide whether or not I need medicine to live or die, I will know what to choose.

Works Cited

Dreweke, Joerg. "Contraceptive Use Is the Norm Among Religious Women." Guttmacher Institute: Home Page. Guttmacher Institute, 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. .

Sloan, Richard P., and Larry VandeCreek. "Religion and Medicine: Why Faith Should Not Be Mixed With Science." Medscape News. Medscape General Medicine, 4 Aug. 2000. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. .

"Terri Schiavo." NNDB: Tracking the Entire World. Soylent Communications, 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. .

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