Although the Catholic Church does not support euthanasia we as Christians have the responsibility to make decisions when a person is in a great deal; of pain and asks to be given euthanasia. We should treat all other people, as we would like to be treated. The Catholic Church teaches that all euthanasia is wrong. Suicide and voluntary suicide and voluntary euthanasia are also wrong because its murder. One of the Ten Commandments though shall not kill as Christians we have to follow this.
Is Euthanasia Ethical? Euthanasia is a major ethical topic all around the world. Euthanasia is the deliberate killing of a person for the benefit of that person. In most cases euthanasia is carried out because the person who dies asks for it, but there are cases in euthanasia where people are unconscious, in a coma or unstable and can’t make that decision. Some people focus on how people should die without pain and if someone wants to be injected they should be allowed.
The Church also refers to euthanasia as “assisted suicide” and the “mercy killing”. “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable. Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church – 2277).
There are many different forms of euthanasia such as voluntary, involuntary and non-voluntary. Euthanasia can be characterized as active and passive. Physician-assisted suicide is also used as a term for euthanasia. Many people feel that it is unethical to practice any form of euthanasia. Some say that euthanasia is a form of murder and that it is killing innocent people when they could have
Religiously evidence would point out that many Christians are against euthanasia. “God gives and God takes away” (King James Version, Job 1:21). Christians feel that patients or doctors should not have authority over life. Doctors are human and subject to enticement. Legalizing euthanasia would give doctors boundless control which can be too easily abused.
Those people also state that euthanasia has many more bad side effects in the long run. They believe that people would kill their parents faster just to get rid of them or to claim the insurance money sooner. Others say that euthanasia prevents people to see the value of suffering which may be something that god is trying to teach to all of us, if we commit euthanasia then we are turning are backs on god. Many people try to compare euthanasia with suicide but the fact remains that they are two totally different things and are carried out under extremely different circumstances. One author of a book about euthanasia stated that "Just as our society discourages suicide, it should discourage euthanasia because in both the person is running away from life and its responsibilities" (143).
Religious creed like the Bible and the Koran openly condemn suicide and murder. The act of euthanasia involves extinguishing the life force of a person. The Abrahamic religions view this as murder and a direct violation of God’s teachings to his people (Gielen, Branden, Broeckaert 1-17). Euthanasia is given to nearly-dead patients for the purpose of alleviating suffering. Many doctors however, do not want to violate their Hippocratic Oath as well as encroach on their religious beliefs.
“Even a passive withholding of help to prevent death has frequently been severely punished. Euthanasia, however, occurs secretly in all societies, including those in which it is held to be immoral and illegal.” There are two main types of euthanasia, passive and active. Passive euthanasia is the deliberate disconnection of life support equipment, or cessation of any life-sustaining medical procedure, permitting the natural death of the patient. Active euthanasia is deliberate action to end the life of a dying patient to avoid further suffering; there are two types of active euthanasia. Active voluntary euthanasia is when a lethal injection is giving by a doctor into a dying patient to end life by request of the sufferer.
All in all, mercy is not receiving punishment which we deserve for the sins we have committed. Mercy is demonstrated by qualities of compassion and forbearance. According to Romans 6:23, we deserve death and eternal separation from God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. (Rom 6:23) Not only do we deserve death but because of our sin mankind is in opposition to God to the point that “God’s wrath burns against you and me” (Etzel & Gutierrez, 2015, p133).
The Beliefs Christians Hold about Their Responsibility at the Beginning and End of Their Lives Christians believe in the sanctity of life, and that all life is scared. God creates all life and therefore only he may take that away. In Corinthians 1, it states that the body is a temple and should be looked after. If a woman falls pregnant, the child is seen as a gift from God, and anything God does he has a reason for. Roman Catholics believe that abortion is murder.