Euthanasia, abortion and suicide

The title of this post covers three of the most contentious and difficult subjects facing us today. There are no easy answers just difficult perplexing and, often, distressing questions. I am fortunate not to have required to give any of these consideration in relation to my own life, but here are my thoughts.

 Euthanasia - it is argued that we have a right to chose the manner of our own death, that it is right that people suffering terribly should be assisted to die. We wouldn't allow an animal to suffer like that; he/she has no quality of life; he/she wants to die.

 I believe that God ultimately decides who will be born and who will die. It is argued that you will never be asked to suffer more than you are able to cope with - God will end that suffering when He considers it best. If, therefore you chose to end a life through compassion, for example, you are acting as god. It is murder, no matter what you might call it, and no matter the method used, drugs, deprivation of food or water. In short, you commit euthanasia at the risk of angering God. Now, if you are prepared to risk that, so be it, but the decision should not be taken lightly, nor should anyone be coerced into doing so or assisting in such an act. Euthanasia is murder, a direct breach of one of the commandments.

 Abortion is another difficult area. God decides if a woman will become pregnant. We all know of birth control failures and of couples being told that conception is impossible yet who go onto conceive. So, it follows, that abortion defies the will of God. But what if there is a good reason? Again the person aborting must decide if he/she is willing to defy God. Not a decision to be taken lightly, but not, I believe, necessarily as serious as euthanasia. It must depend on whether you are taking a life or just destroying a bunch of cells to which God intends to imbue life at a later date.

The question, therefore, is has life already been imbued, does the foetus or embryo have a soul? I think it is unlikely that God would ensoul a foetus until its development is complete When is that?

I have seen remarkable pictures of very young foetuses which are clearly complete. Modern medicine can help very immature babies to survive. Conversely, I have seen aborted mature foetuses which bear little resemblance to a baby. I am no doctor. Considering abortion, would, I believe, need careful thought. Abortion before "ensoulment" would be against God's will, but after "ensoulment" would, again, be murder.

Killing can sometimes be justified, murder cannot.

What of suicide? You are attempting to dictate a course of action to God. You risk much. No method of suicide guarantees success, and failure could leave you terribly disabled. A risk I would hesitate to take.

Time is relative. Perhaps the brief second of pain when, for example, shooting oneself, would seem like an eternity.
Suicide defies God's will, but is not murder.

None of these three actions should be undertaken without consideration of the consequences of angering God. I believe that God is loving and compassionate. Perhaps if your intention is good, your punishment would be small, but remember the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Thank for reading