Christians Attitudes Toward Euthanasia

Catholicism, Christianity, and Islam are some of the main religions with outspoken views towards euthanasia. In the eleventh edition of the Webster’s Dictionary, the term ‘euthanasia’ itself is defined as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals ... in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy,” allowing comatose patients to be removed from artificial mechanisms which would keep them alive, despite remaining in a vegetative state (Alters) The question asked is: how do religions respond to “mercy killings”? Buddhism followers follow five basic precepts, one emphasizing on the not killing of another. However, their precepts are “given as training rules and not commandments” (Buddhism)

Betty Miller, cofounder of Christ Unlimited Ministries, believes that if “anyone considers mercy killing, they are directly denying the power of life that God has put so strongly into His creation” (Miller). Exodus 20:13 states “You shall not murder,” and interprets euthanasia the unlawful killing of life (Miller). Matthew Slick, president and founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM), also interprets assisted suicide being “an attempt to deny God His sovereign right to appoint who dies when,” and cautions that one should not take the right of God into their own hands (Slick). As a result from their principles, the Catholic Church has firmly confirmed their condemnation of euthanasia in recent decades with support by Pope John Paul II determined through his teachings on the topic by, considering euthanasia a sin

Despite differences among the Sunni and Shiites, both teach that Allah controls the moment of death, ajal, and humans should not interfere. However, there are two situations where euthanasia may be permissible by Islamic law for terminally ill patients. Administering analgesic agents to a patient, has the purpose to “relieve physical pain or mental distress,” withdrawing a “futile treatment in the basis of informed consent allowing death to take its natural course,” making living less sufferable, and allowing Allah to end their lives on his terms. Another instance where euthanasia is accepted is when a medical patient is presumed brain dead, and it’s “clear that the life support machine becomes of no use for the already- dead patient,” as well as in cases where organ and tissue can be donated “for saving another person's’ life which is a routine practice in Iran and some other Muslim countries” (“Euthanasia”). Despite the general belief system to preserve one’s life in control to Allah, removing artificial means of keeping someone alive who is comatose or terminally ill is an acceptable solution for