John Wyatt helps us to navigate the arguments for assisted dying with hearts and heads engaged, and above all with our Bibles open.

John Wyatt

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Recent cases and media debates

Recent cases

Changing debates

Rational suicide

Human pain

2 History of euthanasia and international scene

Early developments in the UK

Euthanasia in Nazi Germany and beyond

Euthanasia in the Netherlands

Current euthanasia practice in the Netherlands

Assisted suicide in Oregon

Euthanasia in Belgium

Assisted suicide in Switzerland

3 United Kingdom experience

Campaigners aim for assisted suicide, not euthanasia

Lord Falconer's Assisted Dying Bill

The language of the debate

What does 'assisted dying' mean?

Defining euthanasia

Defining assisted suicide

4 Underlying forces

Increasing lifespan

Health consequences of an ageing population

Economic consequences of increasing lifespan

How do these factors influence the assisted-suicide debate?

Euthanasia as an altruistic option

5 The argument from compassion

Christian voices for assisting suicide from compassion

So, what's wrong with the argument from compassion?

Is there a difference between 'unbearable' and 'bearable' suffering?

The shaky logic of euthanasia legislation

'Compassion' has been used to justify horrific crimes

Are we more compassionate than we used to be?

Can suffering have any positive value?

Your 'compassion' may threaten my life

The core meaning of compassion: 'It's good that you are alive'

6 The argument from autonomy

I am the captain of my soul

The individual is king

Christian voices arguing for choice and control over death

Respect for autonomy in English law

Autonomy is not as simple as it sounds

Additional barriers proposed

Individualism – I am at the centre of the universe

Fear of dependence

Is sudden death the best way to go?

Respecting the rights and needs of others

7 Christian responses and perspectives

Freedom to be the person I was made to be

Made in God's image

The narrative of a human life

Designed to be dependent

Being a burden to others

How should Christians regard suicide?

Human intuitions about the destruction of human life

The human family

Death: an outrage and a mercy

The person of Jesus

Human suffering: a mystery of human dependence

Suffering and glory are inextricably linked

8 Medical issues in the care of the dying person

Individual responses to imminent death

The problem of medical overtreatment

Recognizing the limits that come from our human nature

Good medicine recognizes the difference between intention and foresight

The Hippocratic medical tradition

The birth of palliative care

Risks of assisted suicide legislation

9 Palliative care and legal frameworks

Curative treatment and palliative medicine

The goals of palliative care

Attitudes of palliative care specialists to euthanasia and assisted suicide

Communicating honestly with the healthcare team and with loved ones

Making palliative care widely available

Can we afford to provide palliative care for everyone who needs it?

Current legal framework for end-of-life decisions

10 Dying well and dying faithfully

Surveying the journey

Dying well in the light of the future

Appendix 1 Example Statement of Wishes and Values for a Christian believer

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4 Report of the Liverpool Care Pathway Review Panel

Provision of fluids and assisted nutrition

Terminal sedation

Notes and references

1. Recent cases and media debates

2. History of euthanasia and international scene

3. United Kingdom experience

4. Underlying forces

5. The argument from compassion

6. The argument from autonomy

7. Christian responses and perspectives

8. Medical issues in the care of the dying person

9. Palliative care and legal frameworks

10. Dying well and dying faithfully

__The case for assisted suicide can seem so compelling. Surely it can't be wrong to help desperate people to kill themselves? Don't we have a right to take our own lives in certain circumstances?__

There are no trite or easy answers. John Wyatt helps us to navigate the arguments with hearts and heads engaged, and above all with our Bibles open. There are practical and compassionate alternatives to assisted suicide, and as many who have gone before us have found, the end of our lives on this earth may turn out to be a strange and wonderful opportunity for growth and internal healing.

Hot Topic: what does the Bible say about assisted suicide and what are the practical implications - find answers here

Right To Die?

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