The Difficult Decision of Death

 

Student Persuasive Essay by Claire Davis

        Three patients are in the hospital. Patient number one has been suffering from pancreatic cancer for several years, and her chemotherapy treatments have started to become ineffective. Patient number two was in a car accident recently and is paralyzed from the neck down. Patient number three is 89 years old and has severe dementia. From a medical perspective, all three patients’ quality of life is obsolete or diminishing rapidly. 

        There are three courses of action that could be taken. Euthanasia is when a doctor administers drugs to a patient to painlessly end their life. Physician assisted suicide, “PAS,” is when a doctor gives a patient drugs to aid them in committing suicide. In PAS, the patient administers the drugs himself; in euthanasia the doctor does. The third option is for the patient to continue living as is and then pass away naturally.

        So what should patients and their families choose? Christians need to know what the Bible says about life and death in order to stand up for and do what is truly right, and not just what feels right. Although sometimes it may seem to be the most loving thing, euthanasia and assisted suicide are wrong because, as the sovereign creator, God values life from beginning to a natural end. 

Instead of assisted suicide being kind to the patient, it is quite the opposite. God values each and every life, and because of that, assisted suicide is wrong. Assisted suicide is still suicide and the Bible makes it very clear that “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) That includes committing suicide. Male and female, healthy and sick, Christian and non-Christian, God has made humans in his image (Genesis 1:27), and no one should ever compromise the sanctity of life because life is holy and precious. Each life has intrinsic value, independent of the circumstances, and is a gift from God, conception to natural death. It should never be a death that is taken by force; instead, Christians must trust God and His plan. 

Just as we are told to value life, they must also remember that God is sovereign and that He works all things together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). God is in control of all things and PAS is not trusting in God’s sovereignty and goodness. When people take lives into their own hands, it shows that they think their timing is more important than God’s. It is basically trying to steal God’s authority. Only God has the ultimate power over life and death. Death is not an answer to physical problems; instead, death is the enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), and life is a blessing. No one should ever take a person’s life, even their own, no matter the extent of the suffering. Suffering produces endurance (Romans 5:3), and through it God tests us and we learn from it. God gives purpose in life to the very end, whether they are suffering or not. Only God knows what’s best, and for his people to choose when a person's life is at an end is to go against God’s will. Christians must rest in the fact that God is sovereign and in complete control.

        While assisted suicide and euthanasia may seem like the ideal response to extreme suffering; doctors, patients, and patients’ families should always choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19).  No one wants to see loved ones suffering, but immediate death is not the only option to eliminate suffering. Hospice is one example of choosing life while easing the patient’s pain by giving pain-relieving medications. Thinking back to the three patients previously mentioned, though their road ahead may be hard, they should trust God’s timing for each moment of their lives and not only avoid premature death, but as far as possible, sustain and preserve the God-given gift of life. In knowing what the Bible says in regards to life and death, Christians can, despite what their feelings may be, stand firm in their decisions to honor God by choosing life.