Dying with Dignity

[Bruderhof News]

Check out this article at Bruderhof.com:
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Dying with Dignity - Beyond the Euthanasia Debate
by Eldad Ben-Eliezer

Dr. Ben-Eliezer, a general practitioner at the Darvell Bruderhof in East Sussex,
weighs in on the euthanasia debate. Death may involve suffering, but through
this suffering, the true meaning of dignity becomes reality.

Read the rest of this article at:
http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm
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[Bob Almond]

A clear, concise presentation of some of the reasons I, too, oppose voluntary
euthanasia. Would that more in our society were listening!

Bob Almond, Leicester United Kingdom
Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm
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[Angelo]

As always, this is one viewpoint for an extended debate.
Mine is: this could all be true and precise... if medicine hadn't evolved to
this "pushing" of organic life limits.... Why do we strive so much for a few
more years of live, when it most times comes to a decaying end? Shouldn't part
of that word "dignity" be accepting death and not trying to delay it to the
point of decay... to the point of WANTING to die with dignity?

Angelo, Portugal

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[Christine Venzon]

Beautiful. I'm sure many will dismiss it as idealistic romanticism, but we have
seen too many examples proving that such a death is possible....

Christine Venzon, Eunice, LA United States

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[Rosemary Kateri]

Dignity is when you spend your last Moments with God. I have chronic health
problems and at times when I was afraid of dying, I only thought of what I would
have to go through, and then when I realized that I needed communication with
Him in saying: If it is your will I am ready! I now have more of a calm spirit.

Rosemary Kateri, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United St

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm
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[gene heath]

Friends, I, precipituosly positioned at eighty-five years, viewing monuments
to error that I have constructed and the legions of inconsistencies that I have
embraced ask one final favor: That I have the dignity to allow the author of
life to decide when the terminus is reached.

gene heath, Tampa, FL

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm
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[Lynn Chittenden]

I am grateful for the clear, beautiful voices like Dr. Ben Eliezer's on behalf
of all of us who believe in the dignity and value of all human life. I have
a son with Down Syndrome, and it has forced me to examine all of my thoughts
with regard to the sanctity of life. I have reached the same conclusions as
the author. My son, David, is such a joy to our family and others. He has
taught me many things, and I consider it an honor to be his mother. I can't
imagine life without him, even though he is considered "less" by some. It is
the Creator's to give life, and to take it away. Thank you for your article.

Lynn Chittenden, Bellevue, Washington

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[Carolyn Gutowski]

I was deeply moved by this reading. I've just forwarded it to an elder lawyer
friend of mine who tries to convey this sense to others through her presentations.

Carolyn Gutowski, MD

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm
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[Lyn]

I'm not sure I entirely agree with the author's concept of dignity. I don't
believe there is intrinsic value in meaningless suffering. Jesus himself (quite
sensibly) prayed to avoid the whole ghastly experience "if it be possible."
However, I do recognize the terrible dangers in defining "dignity" in such
a way that we deny it to those of us who cannot reach our defined standard.
And my eyes filled with tears when I read the observations about Jesus's death
on the cross -- a death he faced because it was NOT "possible" to avoid it,
and still fulfill his purpose for living.

The question is this: how can each of us, when confronting our own death, determine
whether the suffering (either of pain or degeneration) concomitant with that
death will have any uplifting effect on ourselves or others? If we have a reasonable
expectation that it will instead have a degrading effect, is it wrong to refuse
"treatment" that would prolong the anguish? I am not arguing for outright euthanasia,
but see no reason to reject the "living will" movement that seeks to prevent
"heroic" efforts to prolong a life that is ending.

Lyn

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[Anna Jones]

I'm 16 and my mother died when i was 10 and in her last days i wish she had
been out of pain, but i would not have given up those for any thing in the world.
Euthanasia might seem right but it seems like you are not only killing them
but also hope for those who are still here after they are gone. This is great!
Thanks!

Anna Jones from Texas, United States

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[Tom Cooper]

Thank you so much for this article, and for making me aware of this.....I have
always feared that euthanasia would someday, somehow, gain a "foothold". Everything,
of course, is developmental. Euthanasia seems the next logical step after cramming
abortion down our throats! The terrifying aspect of this, of course, is that
should euthanasia become legal, whether or not acceptable, it will soon become
the choice of someone other than the one to be euthanized. Isn't that the next
step, developmentally? Many people know someone, if not several people, who
would be "better-off dead"! Remember that famous aria from Gilbert and Sullivan,
"I've Got a Little List"? (They'd none of them be missed!) GOD HELP US!!

Tom Cooper

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[Mary E. Waldron]

Thank you for this article. I am going to save it in the folder labeled "Spirituality"
on my computer's hard drive. I hope I am many years from death, and of course,
like most humans, I hope for a quick and easy death when that time comes. But
always with the understanding that I will, with God's grace, accept what comes.
I plan to re-read this article often, in the hope that when the time comes
I will be able to recall it and cite it to any who offer me the "easy" way out.

Mary E. Waldron, Ph.D., Washington, Missouri Unite

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[~margaret]

Thank you for this piece....and for sharing the responses to it as well........It
has moved me to rethink my position on euthanasia.

~margaret

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[Alison Davis]

This article has great resonance for me. I have spina bifida, emphysema and
osteoporosis, and use a wheelchair full time. I have a lot of spinal pain which
isn't always controlled even with morphine. When the pain is at its worst I
can't think, move or speak, and this can go on for hours with no prospect of
relief.

Eighteen years ago a combination of the pain and other factors led me to feel
I wanted to die. It was a settled wish that lasted about 10 years. During the
first five of those years I tried to kill myself several times - serious attempts
that were thwarted only because my friends intervened. I was taken to hospital
and given emergency treatment against my wishes. Had euthanasia been legal I
would have requested it. Under the rules that apply in Holland, where euthanasia
is legal, my request would have been accepted.

Over time my friends helped me re-establish an understanding of my own infinite
value and dignity. Now I suffer just as much, but my outlook on life has changed.
What suffering people like me actually need is help to live with dignity until
we die naturally.

Alison Davis from Dorset, United Kingdom

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[Mary Eileen Holm]

This is the most profound statement against euthanasia that I have read. I
wonder if a society so determined not to feel pain--and yet so deeply in pain
it doesn't even recognize--can comprehend the wisdom of this man's opinion.

Mary Eileen Holm

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[Rebecca Wold]

I spent 36 years of my life being a caregiver ... One of the first parients I cared for was an old lady, brought into the hospital by ambulance. She had been found by her neighbor lying on her bedroom floor for several days. She was very dirty and smelly. Her long hair was snarled and she had long dirty finger nails and toe nails. She looked like she hadn't had a bath in years. As I set about to clean her up I noticed she watched every move I made. She had had a stroke and couldn't speak, but I knew she understood what I was trying to do. I talked to her and I washed her face. I smiled and told her everything I was going to do for her.I cleaned her as best I could that first day she was my patient. The next day when I came into her room to do the same thing over again I saw a sparkle and a slight smile on her face. I told her my name and what I was going to do. As I was trying to comb out her long snarled hair, ... I sang "Jesus loves me". She began to cry as I saw a tear roll down her face. I knew she was a Christian. She had no family. At least that is what her hospital chart noted. I then asked her if she would like me to pray with her. I took her hands and prayed the Lord's Prayer, she was very weak, but a slight tighting of her one hand let me know she understood. I finished my care of her and I stroked her head and kissed her hand. I told her I loved her and so did Jesus. The next day when I got to work, I was told she had died in the night. That was a very profound event in my life and effected the way in which I nursed my patients. As the years have passed I nursed may old people as well as my two children who were born with physical and mental disabilities.. I've seen much death in those thirty some years..I know our Father God has a time table for each one of us. ... We live in a "THROW AWAY WORLD" We throw away everything, if our marriages don't work we divorce, if we don't want our baby we abort it, if we don't like the way our parents are raising us we run away. As Christians we muct take a stand and give value to each life no matter what that life is like... we must reach out as Jesus did and love and care for the sick, old, weak, disabled the widow and the orphan...

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[Candy]

Although I have at one time sought to do this in my own life, I still believe that there is nothing wrong with wanting to die with whatever dignity you still have left. Why is it humane to euthanize animals that are dying, but it is not ok with humans? I know at the time that it was not right for me to die at the time that I did want to die and I knew there was much more for me to do in this life. But I still think, that when my time comes and if I so feel it is right, then I will still die in what I call dignity. Either way, I know that God will understand.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Judy Newman]

I think that a lot of harm has been done by the notion that suffering somehow makes us worthwhile. Dying a long and painful death is valued by some major religions as somehow redemptive. Think what a different world it would be if we knew that death was simply the end of life as we know it and that having suffered all our lives was very sad and served no purpose. While the notion of suffering in order to get into heaven may help slaves, abused women and children, political prisoners and so on to tolerate horrible situations, it would be much more useful for us to spend out energies working to put an end to intolerable treatment. Let's all try to be close to our families and friends and have a positive influence on our world without having to accomplish that by making people suffer with us.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Charles Germian]

I beleive in Euthanasia. It seems to me that if you oppose Euthanasia you don't have to use it, Euthanasia should simply be an option for those who want/need it. In regards to Dignity and the lack thereof when you enter the so-called second childhood, it seems that people don't want to take the easy way out as much as they want to have a death where they can think and function enough to have a last meeting with their family and such. Additionally, being spoonfed like a child and babbling incomprehensibly would be enough embarrasment and frustration to want Euthanasia. At that point in life what purpose could one accomplish? What could be made better for anyone by staying alive the additional short amount of time? Euthanasia, is used correctly would only serve a small amount of people and only would be used by those who want it.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Louise Cartledge]

i feel that if someone is in so much pain and is fed up with their life, i think that peope should have their own opinion on what they want to do with their lives. Doctors have to make sure that they are not "drugged up" and make sure that it is the perons decision and not someone else's!

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Hannah Lock]

I think it is a bad idea because who really should choose whether someone lives or dies? Whos place is it to say "yes you can come here on this date and you will die." Surely it is Gods choice on whether a certain person should die. If a person kills another person then they are playing God and I dont think this side of it was right. Whether you call it assisted sucide or dying with dignity it all boils down to murder. You are taking somebodys life when it is their calling, so it is murder.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Joe Hine]

The writer, a medical doctor, lives at the Darvell Bruderhof in East
Sussex, England.

> http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Philip]

This piece reminded me of something I read on-line about the handling of the dying process in other cultures. I guess there has been some wisdom and experiece in this area. The most difficult part of commenting on the dying process is that it is so personal. No one can really speak for another.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Anthony]

This topic was discussed this week by the aides at the nursing home where I work. I was gently talking to an old woman about going Home. I was telling her that like my mom who passed on just before Christmas in 2000 gave me a present. Not to see her in pain and suffering. I told the aides I did not think Dr. Kervorkian should be in jail. I believe if a person wants to end this life and goes to a doctor for assistance that Doctor should not be judged. I do not believe in taking someone's life. The decision should be thiers.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Eric Hendrix]

While I agree with the writer and appreciate his comments I find that he, too, falls into the bracket of simply addressing the obvious concerning the ongoing euthanasia debate. The question burning in me over this topic has more to do with the technology available today which keeps us alive beyond when we would have died much sooner in the past. At what point does technology enter the discussion, that and the medical profession's misguided attempts to prolong death? Is the person desirous of facing the inevitable without saddling family left behind with large medical bills or the person attempting to avoid contributing to the dishonesty of insurance payments to the medical profession "wrong" for wanting to end it all? Is it fair to compare a cancer-riddled body and spirit with Christ's atoning sacrifice on the Cross? Thank you for a great essay but I do believe it is incomplete without a more thorough discussion of the subject.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Krista]

I agree completely with your conclusion.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm

[Sarah]

Your moral view is yours- that euthanasia is not dignified. I can see your point. However that is your opinion, and for someone who differed, I think that they should have the option of assisted death. Its their life after all.

Responding to http://www.bruderhof.com/articles/DyingWithDignity.htm