Members of most religious groups believe that life is to be revered and that only God can make the decision of when and how a person should depart this existence. I found it very confusing that many of the "religious" people I had spoken to about assisted suicide believed that it should be illegal but they also believed in capital punishment.
This seems like a contradiction to me, but I was advised that some crimes are cited in the Bible, as being punishable by putting someone to death, as rape and murder. I am not an expert on the Bible, so I cannot argue that point. I do know that many people who belong to organized religions support the legalization of assisted suicide.
We have all witnessed priests and ministers shown accompanying the condemned prisoner to the death chamber in movies. Does their presence mean they agreed with the death penalty? Today assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands, and clergy may be present. Would the clergy present at these deaths choose assisted suicide if they had a terminal illness?
I repeatedly encountered four ideas while reading the beliefs on physician assisted suicide by the major religious organizations. The first idea surrounded the belief that God never gives us more than we can handle. That administering to the dying gives us opportunities as Christians to witness and serve our fellowman. That the dying person should focus on God to handle their suffering and that finally, suffering serves a spiritual purpose in itself.
How do we address the issue of defending our country and killing the enemy during a war or killing an intruder in our own self-defense? When speaking of religious beliefs, the question also arises if it is alright to force our beliefs on those who do not share our values. It brings up the question, "Who should decide the issue of assisted suicide?"
The questions raised by my last two paragraphs, has caused me to spend many hours both in my personal and my professional life, trying to decide what I really do believe about the issues. I always come to the conclusion that it varied depending on my function.
