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Comforting the dying, not helping them die
The Council of the EKD publishes background paper giving guidance on medically-assisted suicide
November 18, 2008
There is no ethical justification for either "death on demand" or medically-assisted suicide. The document "When people want to die: a background paper giving guidance on the problem of medically-assisted suicide," is the Council of the EKD's contribution to the debate that has arisen as a result of the activities of "assisted suicide organizations" and society's increasing uncertainty on the subject. The background paper (in German) was published on Tuesday 18 November as EKD Text No. 97.
According to the Council, it is one of the Christian church's essential obligations towards persons who are terminally ill to preserve their dignity, to safeguard the inviolability of life, to provide consolation and hope to the suffering and to accompany the dying person with love and compassion. However, some clarification is necessary with regard to the attitude churches should adopt in the case of persons who wish to leave this life. Can and should Christians help others to die in certain cases?
The problem of assisted suicide has become more acute in recent years for several reasons. For one, assisted suicide organizations have appeared on the scene. Also, suicide machines and devices have become commercially available, for example, it is possible to order on the Internet so-called "exit bags" that promise a questionably humane death. The EKD cannot remain silent in the face of such developments. The Advisory Commission of the EKD for Social Responsibility has, therefore, prepared the document "When people want to die." It is the duty of the EKD to protect the life and dignity of human beings at all stages of life, but especially at the beginning and the end, says EKD Bishop Wolfgang Huber in his preface.
This situation constitutes a particular challenge for doctors because it is they who are called on to prescribe death-inducing drugs to critically or terminally ill patients. The EKD Council document is therefore directed towards doctors especially. They are the interface between suffering patients, their loved ones and new, sometimes commercially-available offers of assisted suicide and, therefore, are the ones most in need of ethical guidance. Another group targeted by the document is politicians, who at present are having to grapple with this crucial, urgent and complex issue.
After thoroughly examining the moral, theological, legal, medical and ethical arguments, the Council reached three conclusions. Firstly, it categorically rejects any legal limitation of the physician's obligation to treat. Secondly, it opposes enshrining the possibility of medically-assisted suicide in the law, but at the same time, insists on the physician's responsibility and discretionary latitude based on his or her assessment of the individual case. Finally, it calls for political measures outlawing all commercial mediation of assisted suicide including commercial assisted suicide organizations such as those that exist in Switzerland.
Already in 2005, the Advisory Commission of the EKD for Social Responsibility had issued a document presenting the Protestant stance on the issue of living wills, published as EKD text No. 80 and entitled "Sterben hat seine Zeit" ["A time for dying"].
Hanover, 18 November 2008
Press Office of the EKD
Christof Vetter
Reference:
EKD Text No. 97, "Wenn Menschen sterben wollen. Eine Orientierungshilfe zum Problem der ärztlichen Beihilfe zur Selbsttötung. Ein Beitrag des Rates der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland," Hanover 2008, 36 pages. Available online at:
www.ekd.de/download/ekd_texte_97.pdf
Printed copies may be purchased for EUR 0.70 at the EKD Church Office at Herrenhäuser Straße 12, 30419 Hanover, Fax: 0511/2796-457, Email: versand@ekd.de