Day 296: The Sin of Euthanasia (2276-2279)

• It’s Day 296!!

• EUTHANASIA

• There is something gravely disruptive about the sins of euthanasia, abortion, and suicide

• They break our hearts

• We can get away with skipping Mass and not resting on the Lord’s Day

• That doesn’t break my heart

• These sins directly affect our hearts in a different way

• Euthanasia is a Greek word that means “good death”

• It is a euphemism for killing another innocent human being 

• Any time we take another innocent human life, it is not a good death

• It is murder

• Let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and glory and we thank you. We thank you for bringing us to this day, for bringing us to this moment. Lord God, for all of those people around us who suffer, all those people whose suffering seems like it is unending, for all those people and families who feel like they have a death sentence, and they are simply waiting out the death and are tempted for this euthanasia, tempted to murder others out of compassion or to murder themselves out of pain, out of fear. We ask that you please send your Holy Spirit of wisdom to prevent them from doing this. Send your Holy Spirit of truth, so they can see clearly in the midst of what might be a foggy and very, very unclear road ahead. We ask that you please send your Holy Spirit into their lives right now and be with them. Be with all of us that we not only hear the truth and know the truth, but we can also live the truth if we ever get to that moment. That if we ever face that temptation, help us to face it with grace, with your help, the help that comes from you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• The Church is teaching, it is not giving an argument

• The argument has already been given

• What is the argument?

• The argument is human nature

• The argument is the dignity of the human person

• If this is true, then abortion is wrong

• If this is true, then euthanasia is wrong

• If it is true that all life comes from God, and that God is the one who decides and GOd is the one who creates life, then He is the one who can end life

• We as human beings may never ever intentionally end the life of an innocent human being

• Who are the kind of people who are euthanized?

• Paragraph 2276 says, “Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.”

• What kind of culture is it that not only tolerates but celebrates abortion?

• It is a culture that is dead set on the name of compassion

• Weaponized compassion

• Moms should be helped and families should be helped, absolutely

• The newborn children should be helped to grow

• If the individual or couple cannot take care of the baby, then the local community should or a family should or the parish should be helping

• That is one of the reasons why Catholic Charities was the leader in adoption agencies in so many ways 

• There are laws now that have shut down the adoption wing of many areas of Catholic Charities

• So what happens when abortion is not only tolerated but celebrated?

• The culture gets distorted

• Euthanasia is very similar

• What happens in a culture that sees euthanasia as a compassionate answer?

• When you get too weak and when your life and health are too diminished and you are not living a life that society thinks is not worthy of life, then that is when we can take your life

• The difference here is a QUALITY OF LIFE ethic vs a SANCTITY OF LIFE ethic

• A quality of life ethic would read the first two paragraphs and say we are talking about people whose lives are diminished, weakened, sick, handicapped, and they are a burden on other people and they are in pain

• What kind of quality of life would that be?

• If we actually base the value of someone’s life off of what we call the quality of their life, then our culture is in a nosedive

• BUT…

• If we continue to hold onto the reality that one’s life is not worth anything because of the quality of their life but because of the SANCTITY OF THEIR LIFE then the weak are worth fighting and caring for

• The handicapped are worth fighting and caring for

• The sick are worth fighting and caring for

• Paragraph 2277 says, “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of the handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable…”

• If the motive is because we care about this person and we don’t want to see them suffer, that is a good motive

• BUT…

• The ACTION of directly ending someone’s life is not a good action

• Some people argue in favor of euthanasia because they think the person is a BURDEN to the taxpayer

• EUTHANASIA CAN NEVER BE TOLERATED

• EUTHANASIA CAN NEVER BE CELEBRATED

• As a Church, we can never accept it and as a culture, we need to fight against it

• Paragraph 2277 continues, “...Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.”

• Withholding water or nourishment in order to cause death, that is murder

• Paragraph 2278 says, “Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of ‘overzealous’ treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decision should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.”

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike’s example of someone who has cancer…

• The human heart has compassion for others like the weak and suffering

• That is good

• BUT…

• Just because it is done out of compassion, that does not change the nature of murderous act

• Remember when we talked about the three aspects of a moral act in order for it to be morally good

• We consider the act itself, the motivation, and the circumstances

• So our motivation can be great, real compassion

• This does not change the nature of the murderous act

• This is very different from those who discontinue medical treatment and procedures 

• In euthanasia, we are discontinuing ordinary treatment or giving some kind of treatment that would kill the person

• THAT IS MURDER

• In the second case, I am merely accepting the fact that everything that is alive at some point dies and I cannot indefinitely stop death

• So my inability to impede it is accepted

• There is a limit to burdensome, dangerous, and disproportionate treatment

• We do not want to hand these kinds of decisions to policy makers and bureaucrats

• If the patient is not able to make these kinds of decisions for himself, then we go to family

• We want to keep this at the most local level possible

• Why?

• Because we are talking about life and death of an innocent human life

• So we have to understand that there are limits

• At the same time, this kind of decision is not handed over to anyone other than the patient and their family

• Paragraph 2279 says, “Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the suffering of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.”

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike’s story about someone taking morphine…

• If you kick up the dosage of morphine to hasten death, that is morally illicit

• That is euthanasia

• That is murder

• BUT…

• To use the drug to alleviate suffering through palliative care is encouraged

• The Catholic Church has not only provided adoption services around the world, but the Catholic Church invented the hospital system

• The Catholic Church invented palliative care in so many ways

• Yes there are other cultures that have their own way of caring for their old, dying, and sick

• BUT…

• There are so many good people who have been motivated by Jesus and His concern for the poor, the outcast, and the sick

• Everyone else says they are unworthy of life or that is a low quality of life

• Those people who are motivated by Jesus and who have come into the lives of those who are dying and journeyed with them from this life to the next is not minimal

• It is incredibly significant

• There are doctors and nurses and medical staff who work at palliative care facilities or hospice

• Their job is to help people in those last days and hours of their life

• This section of the Catechism highlights, in a backwards way, the good work that they do

• They fight against death and they are the people who are there when it is time to accept the inability to impede death

• Many of us have lived through this with family members

• They fight and fight

• At some point, they decide that it was a good fight and accept that they were unable to stop death

• That transition is all Catholic 

• That transition is all Christian

• We fight against death because life is good

• At some point we accept death because Eternal Life is good

• When it comes to the battle against euthanasia, we have two worldviews

• One is a quality of life ethic

• If your quality of life is not at some subjective level then it is unworthy of life

• One is a sanctity of life ethic

• Regardless of how weak or sick you are, regardless of whether you are alone or have family surrounding you, your life is worthy of life

• Your life is not just worth fighting for, but your life has been purchased at a price by our Lord Jesus Christ’s life, death, and Resurrection

• From the strongest among us to the weakest

• From the healthiest among us to the sickest

• From the most brilliant among us to the most challenged

• EVERY LIFE IS WORTHY OF LIFE

• Jesus has declared this to be ABSOLUTELY TRUE by His life, death, and Resurrection

• We REJECT the quality of life ethic

• We CLING TO AND LIVE OUT the sanctity of life ethic

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT…