by Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
“Your body…is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God. You are not your own property: you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of God.” 1 Cor 6:19-20
CCSJ urges you to get ready to observe Respect For Life Week (November 12-19) on the theme: Respect Life: Promote Justice.
Today there is a lack of respect for human life. Read Susan Yoshihara’s report: “UN considers Euthanasia and New Treaty on Aging” (30 Sept, 2011): www.lifenews.com. Participants at a recent UN meeting considered the fact that “the world will have 2 billion elderly people by 2050, up from 600 million in 2002. According to UN projections, the percentage of elderly in almost every country is rising faster than ever before.”
How do you think they are planning to meet their needs? Yoshihara reported that, “The Holy See condemned attempts to inject euthanasia into the right to health. At the Human Rights Council in Geneva the Holy See representative said his delegation took ‘strong exception’ to a report at the meeting which referred to ‘issues of patient autonomy in respect of deciding to end life.’ He urged doctors and scientists to resist ‘practices that shorten the life of the aged and sick, practices that would turn out to be, in fact, forms of euthanasia.’”
Fr Chris Mahar, who is studying for his PhD on the issue of euthanasia, said that “nations also need to address the problem of physician assisted suicide in the name of ‘human rights’ [which] ultimately sends the message that [the elderly’s] participation in the community is no longer necessary, perhaps even unwelcome.”
On October 1, I read about Justice Baker’s 54-page judgement in the UK case involving 53 year-old Margot who suffers from severe brain damage after contracting a rare virus. Helen Weathers says that, “doctors agree it is highly improbable she will improve significantly, let alone recover.” She lies in a care home in the North of England “in good physical health”.
“Mr Justice Baker refused to allow the withdrawal of the artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) that keeps her alive after hearing remarkable evidence from her carers — the majority of whom opposed letting her die — that, despite being ‘minimally conscious’, she had some rare but startling moments of self-awareness and responsiveness. These are said to include enjoying pop music, weeping after family visits, turning her head to look at a beautiful view and even saying ‘Hello’ to her carers.”
This year Terry Pratchett’s BBC2 documentary, Choosing to Die, was aired in the UK. It showed the death of a millionaire hotelier who was suffering from motor neurone disease. The documentary has been rightly criticised. Haroon Siddique says that the BBC has now “produced five documentaries or docudramas since 2008 portraying assisted suicide in a positive light”.
Sadly, on Oct 1 I read that someone I know in the field of education, 64 year old Sir Chris Woodhead, the former head of the Office For Standards in Education, London, who now has motor neurone disease, has said that having seen Pratchett’s documentary, he is considering going to that assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland to kill himself.
A culture of death stalks our world. We do not have a right to do what is wrong. Is society leading people to feel that they are a burden when they fall ill? Do we only love our neighbour when that person has some utilitarian purpose? Being Catholic means we must promote an unwavering respect for the sanctity of life and the dignity of each human person.
Today three countries, and some states in the USA, have legalised euthanasia. Human life is a gift from God. The fifth commandment is clear. Thou shall not kill. We have a moral obligation to sustain our own life and to enhance the lives of others. Reject euthanasia and assisted suicide. Let’s treat the sick and care for the dying.
“It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honour and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.” See Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 2276 – 2283. See also the Church’s 1980 Declaration on Euthanasia by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
