Abrahamic religions: no to
euthanasia, assisted suicide, yes to palliative care
 |
| Representatives of Abrahamic monotheistic religious who signed the declaration on end-of-life issues |
Representatives of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions
condemn euthanasia and assisted suicide, and encourage palliative care
everywhere and for everyone
By Robin Gomes
“We oppose any form of euthanasia – that is the direct,
deliberate and intentional act of taking life – as well as physician-assisted
suicide – that is the direct, deliberate and intentional support of
committing suicide – because they fundamentally contradict the inalienable
value of human life, and therefore are inherently and consequentially morally
and religiously wrong, and should be forbidden without exceptions.”
Representatives of the Abrahamic religions made the
statement in a position paper that they signed and released in the Vatican on
Monday regarding end-of-life issues, such as euthanasia, assisted suicide and
palliative care.
The term, Abrahamic monotheistic religions, derives from the
Old Testament biblical figure Abraham who is recognized by Jews, Christians,
Muslims and others.
Euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide - morally
and religiously wrong
They categorically condemned any pressure upon dying
patients to end their lives by active and deliberate actions.
They wrote, “Care for the dying, is both part of our
stewardship of the Divine gift of life when a cure is no longer possible, as well
as our human and ethical responsibility toward the dying (and often) suffering
patient.”
“Holistic and respectful care of the person,” they said,
“must recognize the uniquely human, spiritual and religious dimension of dying
as a fundamental objective.”
The person behind the declaration is Rabbi Avraham Steinberg
of Israel who proposed the idea to Pope Francis, who in turn entrusted it to
the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia,
the president of the Academy, involved and coordinated a mixed inter-faith
group to draft the declaration.
After the release of the position paper, the 30 signatories
were received in audience by Pope Francis in the Vatican. Among them were
some cardinals, rabbis, including David Rosen and Syamsul Anwar of Indonesia’s
second-largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah.
Palliative care for all
The Abrahamic religions encouraged and expressed support for
qualified palliative care everywhere and for everyone. “Even when efforts
to continue staving off death seems unreasonably burdensome,” they wrote, “we
are morally and religiously duty-bound to provide comfort, effective pain and
symptoms relief, companionship, care and spiritual assistance to the dying
patient and to her/his family.”
While calling for laws and policies that protect the rights
and the dignity of the dying patient to avoid euthanasia and promote palliative
care, they committed themselves to involve other religions and all people of
goodwill.
Archbishop Paglia stressed the importance of the ecumenical
and interreligious dimension of the joint initiative. She said it allowed
them to discover areas of convergence and bring fruits of communion in order to
render a service to all people in whom "we all see sons and daughters of God".
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