SUICIDE
IS A SIN
AND OTHER RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS
Most of the religions of the world condemn
irrational suicide.
Some religions have stronger sanctions than others.
And some believers in religions that regard suicide as a sin
affirm this principle more strongly than other believers.
Even within the religious leaders and thinkers of each religion,
there are sometimes differences of opinion on just what constitutes a
'suicide'.
In theocratic countries of the world,
the laws concerning actions near the end of life
are based on the established religion of those countries.
In such places, the religious authorities decide the laws about
'suicide'.
There is no point in discussing laws based on religion here,
since such laws against 'suicide' are handed down from above
and are not open to public discussion or debate.
In secular countries and states,
the secular laws about end-of-life decisions
usually permit believers of any religion to follow their own faiths.
Sometimes when a major portion of the population is religious,
the lawmakers for that region will follow the principles of religion,
especially when most of the people belong to one faith-community.
In such cases, the legislators themselves were raised in that faith.
And they might see it as their right and even duty
to embody the principles of their faith in the secular laws they create.
Truly secular countries and states
carefully separate church and state:
Organized religion is usually permitted to operate openly,
but whenever laws were written to favor one religious group or another,
they are later removed from the law books
because they violate the principle of separation of church and state.
Laws against the sale birth-control methods might be
an example.
Some states used to prohibit the distribution of various means of
birth-control
because some religions prohibited 'artificial' means of birth planning.
Later these laws were all repealed or ruled unconstitutional in the
United States.
They improperly imposed the beliefs of one religion on all the people.
And even some believers in religions that prohibit 'artificial' birth
control
decided for themselves to disobey that moral principle.
Religious sanctions could still be imposed by those
churches
on their own followers even after birth-control measures became legal.
The churches could tell their members that if they used 'artificial'
birth control
they were barred from the sacraments.
They could even tell them that they would go to hell
if they used 'artificial' birth control.
No attempt will be made here to sort out the various
moral principles
concerning death-planning based in religious belief.
In secular societies such as ours,
each person who affirms a religious belief
will have to work thru those principles for himself or herself.
Organized religions have a right
to attempt to influence the decisions of their members.
And religious leaders have a right to join in any rational discussion
of all issues related to the end of life.
Also religious believers have a right to vote on any public issues
based on their own religious faith or belief.
However, all secular systems of law should resist
attempt
to put religious principles into the laws.
Some people have been taught that 'suicide is a sin'.
And some of these believers hold this to be an absolute principle,
which is not open to discussion, elaboration, or interpretation.
Voluntary death and merciful death are prohibited. End of story.
But some religious believers are open to using
reasoned argument
to apply the principles to each bedside situation.
For example, dialysis for patients who suffer from kidney failure
is well accepted by religious believers.
And most religious leaders and their followers
would also consider it legitimate to discontinue dialysis
when the patient is dying despite this treatment.
Disconnecting life-support systems is not considered
to be 'suicide',
because the resulting death comes from natural causes (kidney failure).
This death comes after
a medical treatment is withdrawn,
but the death is not caused
by 'pulling the plug'.
Exactly how religious principles apply to each
death-bed situation
will have to be decided by each patient and/or that patient's family.
If they believe it would be a sin to follow a certain course of action,
then they will not authorize that course of action.
This principle of respecting religious beliefs is well established in
law,
especially as seen in the right of Jehovah's Witnesses
to refuse blood-transfusions and all blood products.
Another religious principle that should be respected
is the belief that only God can decide when life is over.
This belief is sometimes expressed by objecting to 'playing God':
Humans must not 'play God' by making life-ending decisions.
Another way to manifest this belief is to wait for
God to take us.
We should not hurry or hasten the dying process.
Let nature take its course.
However, such religious thinking is seldom applied
to the other kind of medical intervention,
namely slowing or delaying the dying process.
Are we 'playing God' when we use life-support measures?
Without the respirator or the feeding-tube, the patient would surely
die.
Such religious questions will have to be worked out
between the believers and their religious advisors.
The practice of medicine should respect religious beliefs whenever
possible.
But when medical principles and religious principles conflict,
as for example when religious believers demand futile medical care,
then the medical principles must ultimately prevail.
However, with respect to life-ending decisions,
the exact timing of removing life-supports, for example,
can usually be coordinated with the religious beliefs of the patient
and/or family.
Using their own religious principles, when is the best time to 'pull
the plug'?
SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS
The following 12 safeguards make sure
that the consciences of religious believers
are not violated in any life-ending decisions.
In open societies such as our own,
followers of any religious tradition are free
to apply their own moral principles to their end-of-life situations
in whatever ways seem best to them.
The following safeguards allow ample opportunity
for several different persons
to make sure that religious principles are not violated.
These safeguards are arranged beginning with the
safeguards
that would be most relevant and powerful:
A
MEMBER OF THE CLERGY APPROVES OR QUESTIONS THE CHOICE FOR DEATH
RELIGIOUS OR
OTHER MORAL PRINCIPLES
APPLIED TO THIS
LIFE-ENDING DECISION
STATEMENTS
FROM FAMILY MEMBERS
AFFIRMING OR
QUESTIONING THE CHOSEN DEATH
PHYSICIAN'S
STATEMENT OF CONDITION AND PROGNOSIS
INDEPENDENT
PHYSICIAN REVIEWS THE CONDITION AND PROGNOSIS
PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONSULTANT EVALUATES
THE PATIENT'S
ABILITY TO MAKE MEDICAL DECISIONS
ADVANCE
DIRECTIVE FOR MEDICAL CARE
REQUESTS FOR
DEATH FROM THE PATIENT
INFORMED
CONSENT FROM THE PATIENT
UNBEARABLE
SUFFERING
UNBEARABLE
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUFFERING
ETHICS
COMMITTEE REVIEWS THE LIFE-ENDING DECISION
Created March 29, 2007; revised
4-1-2007