Sunday, March 22, 2009

Physician Assisted Suicide from a Christian (student) Nurse's Perspective

DISCLAIMER:: I have the utmost respect for everyone who has ever suffered from debilitating disease and their friends and family members, regardless of what treatment they did or did not choose. The following is not me advocating sticking a needle in every sick person's arm, but me advocating to give them a choice in their course of treatment. Just like DNRs.

Wow. Just, wow.
ReveLife post on PAS (Physician Assisted Suicide). I’d forgotten how many Christians outside the health community are so vehemently opposed to it.
And they don’t have any good arguments! See the sampling:

1. God should be in control of life and death.
Are you implying that when PAS is used, He isn’t in control?
"Hey, God, how are you liking that shoebox You’ve been put in? Comfy enough for You?"
Please.

2a. You’ll be sending nonChristians to hell!
Wow I have a lot of untapped power. I wonder what else I can do. I always wanted that spontaneous healing like Wolverine and Claire...
First of all, no one gets sent to hell. We’re all headed there by default and can choose to change course at any time.
I have ultimately no say in what anyone else chooses.
What is implied, of course, is that in PAS the person may die before they hear that one thing that changes their mind about God.
If you know you’re about to die I’m pretty sure your beliefs in the afterlife or lack thereof is pretty front and center. And in the US you've almost undoubtedly already heard about Christ at least once or twice.
Second, I realize that in that tiny shoebox God doesn’t have much room to stretch His legs but I seriously doubt He sees me headed for my patient’s IV line and thinks Oh noes! I hope that’s not going to kill him/her! If only that dang nurse could wait another 4 hours, now my plan is ruined!!!!!!
-.-
Yeah. No.

2b. Christians can’t cut out early! They have more work to do!
Exactly how is one going to accomplish anything when they’re in unrelenting pain that is not being helped with any amount of medication?
How many people have decided to become a Christian because they saw a Christian moaning/screaming in pain in a hospital bed, struggling to breathe?
I personally think it shows just as much faith in God’s plan to say, "Ok, I realize this is my time to go. I realize I can’t do anything anymore. My body has turned on me, I’m ready to go home."

3. If they die so soon then their family will never get over it.
Excuse me, but "so soon"? Terminal patients have been dying for long periods of time. Scripts for fatal doses of morphine aren’t given out with your diagnosis. You have to have a prognosis that says you’re very near death’s door. They aren’t given out willy nilly to everyone with a funny looking mole. Good grief.
And no, their family probably never will get over it. But that’s the same regardless of when they die.
And this really isn’t about their family, now is it? Are their family members having nasty cells literally eating holes in their bones, clogging up their liver or smashing their brain up against the side of their skull? NO!

One of the biggest things I see contributing to people being opposed to PAS is that they don’t really understand how much pain these people are in.
Cancer patients rarely do the whole thrashing about thing because their pain is chronic. That doesn’t mean it isn’t the worst pain they’ve ever felt, but they don’t have the energy to thrash or scream and it wouldn’t help if they did.
We’re a society that can’t even survive a stomach bug without tylenol or chicken soup or a nap.
Yet we expect vulnerable members of our population to suck it up when they’re body has been ravaged by disease to the point that it’s not even functional anymore!??!?!?

Mmm, yes, that sounds compassionate and loving and Christ-like. Let's all do that!

No comments:

Post a Comment