Ethical Dilemmas
Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, is currently legal in four states (Eareckson Tada, 2015). This has become a controversial issue in our modern society. Many people support the desire to have death with dignity on their own terms, while others do not think doctors should be placed in the position to end their patient’s life. People with a Christian worldview see euthanasia as an ethical dilemma, that concerns their core beliefs, and affects how they resolve the dilemma, which involves consequences and benefits from the resolution, and the resolution differs in comparison to another worldview option.
Joni was a vibrant and physically healthy teenager when a diving accident with her friends left her as a quadriplegic. She fell into a suicidal depression since she was no longer an independent and capable woman and her future looked hopeless. Should euthanasia be a valid option for Joni in this bleak situation? This is an ethical dilemma that presents the problem that she may be a burden to others if she lives. And if she chooses euthanasia, she would take on the role of playing God by deciding when she should die. If Joni lived where euthanasia was legal, she could choose to
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Joni is going to face physical and emotional pain as she recovers and learns to live in this new condition. It will be a struggle. She will face astronomical medical bills that may take a lifetime to pay back. And, she will lose her complete independence and require dependency on others for some areas of her life. However, in living she has the opportunity to draw closer to God (“Lecture 6,” 2015). God can be of great comfort when she turns to Him in her loneliness and trials (Psalm 25:16-18). Joni’s life can become one that offers hope to others living with a disability. As long as she is alive, there is still purpose for her life even if it looks different from what she had originally