DEATH WITH DIGNITY

The case of Brittany Maynard, a 29 year old newly-wed who was diagnosed with brain tumor— glioblastoma multiforme—is an inspiring and controversial story. She moved from California to Oregon where death with dignity laws exist18 to die with dignity rather than prolong her agony while experiencing the ravages of her disease. In a video message to her friends, she said: “When my suffering becomes too great, I can say to all those I love, I love you; come be by my side, and come say goodbye as I pass into whatever's next. I will die upstairs in my bedroom with my husband, mother, stepfather and best friend by my side and pass peacefully. I can't imagine trying to rob anyone else of that choice.”19 Pope Francis denounced the right to die movement, saying that euthanasia is a sin against God the creator of life. He said it was a “false sense of compassion” to consider euthanasia as an act of dignity. A Vatican’s top bioethics official condemned Brittany Maynard’s euthanasia as “reprehensible.”20 I think that was a cruel assessment and a heartless comment from a man who lives in an ivory tower miles away from the agonizing situation of this young woman and her family. Brittany’s mother, Debbie Ziegler was so upset about that remark that she wrote an open letter to all those who condemn her daughter’s agonizing decision: I am Brittany Maynard’s mother. I am writing in response to a variety of comments made in the press and online by individuals and institutions that have tried to impose their personal belief system on what Brittany and our family feel is a human rights issue. The imposition of “belief” on a human rights issue is wrong. To censure a personal choice as reprehensible because it does not comply with someone else’s belief is immoral. My twenty-nine-year-old daughter’s choice to die gently rather than suffer physical and mental degradation and intense pain does not deserve to be labeled as reprehensible by strangers a continent away who do not know her or the particulars of her situation. Reprehensible is a harsh word. It means: “very bad; deserving very strong criticism.” Reprehensible is a word I’ve used as a teacher to describe the actions of Hitler, other political tyrants and the exploitation of children by pedophiles. As Brittany Maynard’s mother, I find it difficult to believe that anyone who knew her would ever select this word to describe her actions. Brittany was a giver. She was a volunteer. She was a teacher. She was an advocate. She worked at making the world a better place to live. This word was used publicly at a time when my family was tender and freshly wounded: Grieving. Such strong public criticism from people we do not know, have never met--is more than a slap in the face. It is like kicking us as we struggle to draw a breath. People and institutions that feel they have the right to judge Brittany’s choices may wound me and cause me unspeakable pain but they do not deter me from supporting my daughter’s choice. There is currently a great deal of confusion and arrogance standing in the way of Americans going gently into the good night. I urge Americans to think for themselves. Make your wishes clear while you are competent. Make sure that you have all the options spelled out for you if you are diagnosed with an incurable, debilitating, painful disease. Do your own research. Ask your family to research and face the harsh reality with you. Ask your doctor to be brutally honest with you. Then make your personal choice about how you will proceed. It is YOUR choice. The “culture of cure” has led to a fairy tale belief that doctors can always fix our problems. We have lost sight of reality. All life ends. Death is not necessarily the enemy in all cases. Sometimes a gentle passing is a gift. Misguided doctors caught up in an aspirational belief that they must extend life, whatever the cost, cause individuals and families unnecessary suffering. Brittany stood up to bullies. She never thought anyone else had the right to tell her how long she should suffer. The right to die for the terminally ill is a human rights issue. Plain and simple.21 The Vatican bioethics official added that “suicide is a bad thing because it is saying no to life and to everything it means with respect to our mission in the world and towards those around us,” describing assisted suicide as “an absurdity.” Let us clarify a few things: First of all, Brittany didn’t commit suicide. Suicide is a desperate act, committed usually by mentally ill people who see life as hopeless and pointless. Brittany Maynard was anything but. “There is not a single cell in my body that is suicidal” she said. This woman wanted to live so badly. She was just 29 and newly married. She wanted children with her husband. Death was far from her mind. But when confronted with the inevitable and savage suffering that would surely ravage her body and mind, she chose to die with dignity, which I believe is a courageous act. The pope and the Vatican official speak from the false notion that suffering is good in itself and they point to the suffering of Jesus on the cross as a point of reference for all sufferings. Jesus did not suffer on the cross for the sake of suffering. Suffering was inflicted upon him by the religious authorities of his day. Jesus turned that suffering into a redemptive act. So, suffering undertaken for a higher cause and as a result of a higher calling is both redemptive and sublime. But to suffer, just for the sake of it, is merely masochistic. Another argument against euthanasia is that God is the creator of life. That is only true partially; the truth is that we and God are co-creators of life. Without human intention and participation no new life will be born, regardless of how hard God tries. This is not an arrogant stance of an unbelieving atheist but the humble opinion of a committed disciple who takes his identity as image of God seriously, and his calling as God’s ambassador responsibly.

CALL FORTH YOUR LIFE... Bishop Carlton Pearson describes life as a sexually transmitted disease. By calling life a disease, he is making it sound like a sickness, although his intention is to highlight the difficulties or lack of ease in our daily lives. I would reframe life as a sexually transforming miracle—the joining of a sperm and egg—to create a zygote, embryo, fetus, and ultimately a beautiful baby and eventually a full-fledged human being ready to transform the world. Why would the Universe, the Force, the Energy, the Consciousness (God) that initiated the miraculous process of creating the single-cell-zygote and transforming it into a 75-trillion-cell human person, forget about or discard Its (His) pet project when we grow up? So, our original calling card is trending towards a marvelous and miraculous life, not a miserable and mediocre existence. Our calling therefore is to consciously call it forth.