Dear editor,
Brendon Johnson has written a well-constructed letter about euthanasia.
As a Christian, I agree with what he has said in this letter.
However, I believe that God has given each human being the freedom of choice and by making it legal for those who suffer from such severe diseases as ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) to end their lives with the permission of a doctor and the assistance of a medical team, the law is honouring that free choice. We, as a country, cannot expect every citizen to live by the guidelines set out in the Bible, and we need to recognize that not all agree with the Bible, and some people are suffering extreme, prolonged pain and discomfort for long periods of time due to their diseases.
I honestly don’t think God, being a god of mercy, would judge a person for deciding to end their life a bit sooner and more comfortably than natural death would given them.
Doctors have been intervening in people’s health for many decades now and we are in a position where we have prolonged people’s lives, but not necessarily for the better. My mother is in a complex care unit and has suffered daily (for years) with severe pain. She had a heart attack five years ago and without medicine she would likely be dead by now. There are days when she wishes she was dead. She has had a long full life and is now 89 years old. She is a courageous Christian woman, but she wants no resuscitation or intubation should that be necessary to keep her alive. She has that down in writing: DNR, DNI.I share this here confident that my mother would not mind me sharing her story.
I believe Brendon Johnson’s motive for writing his letter was not to preach at people, but to share another option for viewing life, so I do not criticize him, but applaud him.
Marilyn Crosbie
Comox Valley
