Reflect on the analysis of the sin of suicide and thus euthanasia from the topic readings

Re: Topic 4 DQ 2
Reflect on the analysis of the sin of suicide and, thus, euthanasia from the topic readings. Do you agree? Why or why not? Refer to the lecture and topic readings in your response.

I have always been taught to believe that suicide is a sin and that it is a sin you cannot ask forgiveness for after committing it. Therefore, the teaching, as I understood it, about suicide is that it is an unpardonable sin.

We have been commanded not to kill (Exodus 20:13).

Euthanasia is putting someone to death by restricting or hindering treatment when a person has an incurable disease (Wells, Frey, & Cataldo, 2013).

I agree with the article written by the aforementioned authors about assisted suicide and euthanasia causing medical professionals to look at how they interpret the intention of medical treatments (Wells, Frey, & Cataldo, 2013). I also believe that nonmaleficence and the preservation of life are the root of what medicine is all about and that we can control pain and suffering without killing or assisting in killing (Wells, Frey, & Cataldo, 2013). Due to the inaccuracies of medical prognoses toward the end of life, and that dying patients are often depressed, it is claimed that physician assisted suicides [PAS] could endanger populations that are vulnerable such as the elderly, disabled, poor, or other minorities (Sullivan & Taylor, 2013). It is also claimed that these lives may be deemed as a burden to society and may lead to medical killing becoming commonplace and that patients may see themselves as a burden and be coerced into accepting PAS (Sullivan & Taylor, 2013).

ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER Reflect on the analysis of the sin of suicide and thus euthanasia from the topic readings

Could we live with ourselves if we thought we were coercing someone into accepting assistance to die? I absolutely could not. Could we live with helping them to be comfortable until their time for death? I strive to do this with every patient I care for.

References

Exodus 20:13. (n.d.). Retrieved from

            https://www.esv.org/Exodus+20:13

Sullivan, D., & Taylor, R.. (2018). THE ETHICAL LANDSCAPE OF ASSISTED SUICIDE: A BALANCED ANALYSIS. Ethics & Medicine, 34(1), 49. Retrieved

from

            https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/2002984411?accountid=7374

Wells, K., Frey, R., & Cataldo, L. (2013). Euthanasia. In Gale (Ed.), The Gale encyclopedia of nursing and allied health (3rd ed.). Gale. Credo

Re: Topic 4 DQ 2

The Christian view of suicide and euthanasia is one and the same, with both being morally wrong. Suicide and euthanasia are both viewed as contradictions of our nature as creatures and as an unwillingness to accept life as it is given to us by the creator, God. Reflect on the analysis of the sin of suicide and thus euthanasia from the topic readings

Bioethics: a Primer for Christians uses the example, humans are the characters in a story written by God; hence, humans are the created and God the creator. Suicide often results from depression or other emotional illnesses. In such instances, suicide is not a rational undertaking, and a person in such a state is not regarded as a responsible agent. Ultimately, the Christian view is not to eliminate sufferers but to minimize suffering through maximizing care(Meilaender,2013).

How can it be said that suicide in a depressed or otherwise emotionally ill person cannot be held responsible for their actions? How can it be proven who is emotionally sick and who is not?

I am having a hard time understanding how CPR and life-saving measures are ok, yet suicide or physician-assisted suicide is not. In either scenario, humans are, in fact, attempting to be the creator vs. the created, the author vs. the character. Performing life-saving measures and suicide are both examples of an unwillingness to accept what God, the creator, has given us. If it is morally wrong for us, characters, to end the story, isn’t it also morally wrong to try and continue the story when God, the creator, and author, says it should end?

If I agree with CPR and life-saving, might that mean I agree with suicide or euthanasia as well? I’m not sure of this answer. I’m not sure I would ever know this answer.

Resources

Grand Canyon University(2019).PHI-413V Topic Overview: Death, Dying, and Grief

Meilaender, G. (2013). Bioethics: a primer for Christians (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B.

Eerdmans Pub. Co.