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Views of the Church

• Abortion and Contraception
• Alcohol
• The Alpha Course
• Animal Welfare
• Small Arms
• Copyright
• Domestic Abuse
• Drugs
• Euthanasia
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• Genetic Engineering
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• Peace and War
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• Methodist boycott of goods from illegal Israeli settlements

Euthanasia

Nowadays euthanasia has the special sense of taking deliberate steps to end human life, usually with the intention of avoiding extreme pain, distress or helplessness.

So what is the Methodist Church's view?

The Methodist Church is strongly opposed to euthanasia.

Why?

This opposition is partly based on the practical difficulties that would be faced by doctors and other medical staff. Who would make the decisions? What would the impact be on staff working in the hospital of knowing that euthanasia was administered there? Would relatives be encouraged to be present … as loved ones, as witnesses? These practical problems, and their implications for relationships between professional staff, patients and close relatives are obvious. The medical profession as a whole is opposed to legalising of euthanasia.

There is also the difficulty of framing legislation in such a way as to exclude its misuse in the shape of allowing ‘difficult' patients to be done away with, allowing relatives to short circuit the natural life span of a difficult individual.

But isn't it compassionate in some extreme cases?

A firm conviction against euthanasia does not lessen the complex moral problems integral to the final stages of some terminal illnesses. Sometimes, for example, the management of excessive pain may have the outcome of shortening life. On other occasions it may be extremely difficult to ascertain in what sense, if any, a patient may be judged still to be alive (for example, persistent vegetative state).

Should people have the right to decide not to be kept alive 'artificially'?

One of the issues being examined in a current Methodist study is that of ‘living wills'. This is an indication by the author of what would be a legal document that he or she does not wish, should they become ill with no apparent hope of recovery, to be ‘kept alive'. In other words, once that stage is reached, no further treatment would be given except to relieve pain. This is proving to be a more acceptable way forward for some who, while remaining opposed to euthanasia, believe that the manner of the ‘ending of life' is becoming a very difficult issue in our increasingly long-lived society.

What guidance can we get from Bible?

The Christian conviction is that ‘the life of men and women bears the stamp of God who "made man in his own image" (Genesis 1:27). This is the source of our basic dignity and it is the biblical basis for the sanctity of human life.' What God has given, we should not take away. Death is an event marking a transition rather than a terminus. We are called to use all God's gifts responsibly and to find in every situation the way of compassion. This compassion can be shown in energetically developing better methods of care for the dying. The hospice movement has made an invaluable contribution here.

Resources

Sources: Methodist Conference Statement on Euthanasia, 1974; 'Shadows – A Study Pack on Euthanasia', 1994 (Methodist Church / Baptist Union). Text reproduced with permission from "What the Churches say on moral and social issues" (Christian Education Movement).

For further information

The first point of contact is your local church where the minister can discuss your questions with you.