In the Netherlands, a 15-year-old needs parental consent to enlist a doctor's help in killing herself. If she waits until she's 16, although she needs to "involve" her parents in her decision, she need not receive their approval. Nor need she be suffering any terminal medical condition; emotional pain is sufficient legal justification to assist in her suicide.
Legal euthanasia in the Netherlands is defined as the "active termination of life on request." It does not include what is known there as "terminal sedation" -- the administering of morphine in quantities that relieve pain but also hasten death.
But if a Dutch doctor chooses to "terminally sedate" patients in pain without the consent of the patient or family members, "it doesn't need to be reported," according to Rob Jonquiere, a physician who heads a pro-euthanasia group, "Right to Die - Netherlands."
"We don't know," he admits, "how many doctors do that."
However many there may be, though, they are at least subtly encouraged in performing such "mercy killings" by the fact that the law in their country permits assisted suicide. "Terminal sedation" may not have similar legal sanction at present, but its goal, to be sure, is the same as the goal of assisted suicide: freeing people from pain, forever.
"Mak[ing] people happy" was how Canadian-born Dutch nurse, Lucy de Berk, referred in her diary to an unspecified secret she wrote she would take with her to the grave. She was convicted last March of murdering three terminally ill children and an elderly woman at two hospitals in The Hague.
We don't yet know what Charles Cullen's motivation may have been in having ended, as he has claimed, the lives of up to 40 patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania hospitals over the course of his own career as a nurse. But it is certainly conceivable that he too felt he was doing a good deed in helping others in distress shuffle off this mortal coil.
Such sentiments, if not their promiscuous application, are easy to empathize with; most of us would readily act upon them ourselves for livestock or pets in terminus. At the same time, though, we maintain a deep commitment to something that Judaism has clearly and resolutely taught for thousands of years: human life is different.
Suicide is regarded by Jewish law as a sin, and "pulling the plug" of a patient on life-support machinery, even where natural death is imminent, is considered the taking of a life. All the Torah's laws, with the exception only of the three cardinal ones (idolatry, sexual immorality and murder), are put aside when life -- even for a limited period -- is in the balance.
Whence Judaism's exquisite valuation of even momentary human life? A likely reason lies in a recognition pondered by far too few, and far too infrequently.
It is not surprising that the terminally ill (or, as in Dutch law, even the gravely despondent) are seen in our times as prime beneficiaries of their own deaths. Ours is a culture, after all, where human worth is often measured by intellectual prowess or mercantile skills -- even by things like youth or physical beauty, or the capacity to convincingly impersonate a real or fictional character, or to strongly and accurately hit, kick or throw a ball.
The too-little-pondered recognition is that the true value of men and women lies elsewhere entirely, in men and women's potential to do good things -- to prepare, in fact, for an existence beyond the one we know. When that idea -- self-evident to some, challenging to others -- is internalized, a very different sensibility emerges.
And among the perceptions it affords is that there is immeasurable value in human life itself -- even in its minutes and seconds, and even when it is fettered by infirmity, immobility or depression.
Basketball or dancing may no longer be options in the confines of a hospital bed, and even tending to one's most basic physical needs may be impossible without help. But are acts there of sheer will -- like forgiveness, repentance, acceptance, commitment, love, or prayer -- any harder to accomplish, or any less meaningful? Are they compromised in any way by tangles of tubes and monitors?
Not even consciousness, at least as medically defined, need hinder what humanly matters most. We choose to take electronic brain activity as evidence of being meaningfully conscious, of the ability to think and choose, and then proceed to conclude that in the absence of such evidence, those abilities must no longer exist -- without a thought (at least a conscious one) of the immense tautology we have embraced.
We do not know, cannot know, when a human being is truly incapacitated -- when his or her soul has been released. Only when a heart has stopped beating can we be certain that life in its truest sense has ended. And so hastening or abetting the death of even a physically or emotionally compromised human being is no less an abortion of meaningful life than gunning down a healthy, happy one.
The attitude regarding human life codified in the Netherlands today is one toward which much of contemporary Western culture, unfortunately, is slouching. It is spoken of by sophisticates as "progressive," and indeed represents a progression of sorts, away from the Jewish religious tradition that is the bedrock of we call morality and ethics. The degree to which we manage to check that progression will be the degree to which we demonstrate that we truly understand what it means to be human.
AM ECHAD RESOURCES
[Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America]
(14) Anonymous, November 19, 2014 1:11 PM
Modern forensic evidence points undoubtedly to the fact that Lucia de Berk was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. She did not murder anyone and was convicted based on extremely spurious statistical evidence, and an out-of-context note in her diary. (Her "compulsion" described within was actually reading Tarot cards.) Please do not continue to slander her name by circulating this out-of-date information.
(13) Rina, October 30, 2012 7:51 AM
important article
Having suffered thru severe depression myself, i have to say that life is still worth living because it is from H. that is the reason. it is a life given by the divine, who understands everything, and there is a specific reason that we suffer. its much better to suffer here then in the next world. the suffering here is much less intense then in the next world. I do not believe in assisted suicide at all. it is going against the creators will. if a person is meant to suffer here, then we have to accept it as such, and know that their suffering will be less after this life. we dont know when we will find the right medicine, and if its terminal, then the person will die when its their time, should not be a minute before. i believe these people who assist suicides will be held responsible in the next world as-honestly-murderers.
(12) Faina, June 8, 2012 7:49 PM
Kevorkian did not kill people!
Why is it people keep repeating, Kevorkian is a murderer? He did not kill anybody, he did not offer to end their lives, he did not look for desperate people. They came to him, and he only helped them to end their lives in a more dignified way than jump off a bridge.
(11) neil, February 3, 2004 12:00 AM
disabled and able to pray
I am disabled and in constant pain. Hearing from able-bodied people that killing themselves if they became disabled must be an option for them makes me really tired. You're basically telling me that a life like mine isn't worth living. And I'm so certain that you think you are NOT prejudiced against those disabled people. I hope you get over yourselves and develop a genuine spiritual life. It must stink to be you, but it's really hard to be sympathetic to you people who think Dr. Kevorkian and other murderers of the disabled are heroes. I'll try to pray for you, at least for my own peace of mind.
(10) Annie Granger, January 28, 2004 12:00 AM
As a Christian, I have learned much from Rabbi Avi Shafran This article is very much in line with my own beliefs. My father died of lung cancer in his own bed, surrounded by his children, in my home, not in a hospital or nursing home. He had terminal cancer, and died a peaceful death, holding my hand, and knowing that we loved him enough to care for him in his old age and sickness, as he cared for us in our childhood. I have a daughter with a 20-year history of mental illness, who is coming to live with me. I would never consider allowing her to die because of emotional pain. I will stand by her as long as I live.
(9) Anonymous, January 28, 2004 12:00 AM
I have suffered through severe deppression.There were many times that I wished that I was dead. Thank G-d I had enough strength to resist that. I am now alive to see the beautiful side of life.
(8) Anonymous, January 27, 2004 12:00 AM
There is an enormous difference between philosophical or religious contemplation and the stark reality of facing extreme bodily suffering, though the former should certainly precede the latter. While I'm not sure how the Netherlands defines emotional suffering, I do believe that palliative care, administering drugs to ease pain that may simultaneously hasten the immanent death of a gravely ill patient, is hardly assisted suicide. There are worse things than death of the physical body. Ideally, one's personal wishes are made very clear in advance of facing such enormous decisions.
(7) Art Haykin, January 26, 2004 12:00 AM
Suicide
As a determined individualist and birthcanal Atheist, I, quite naturally, feel that an adult should have all options open to him, and if professional assistance is legal and available, so much the better. As for minors, I simply cannt say. I am NOT Solomon.
Jack Kervorkian (sp?), or "Dr. Death," was, or is, a hero to many, and I can relate. Suicide is NOT uncommon, and I can well appreciate it as a way out in many cases. As long as one doesn't leave a big physical and financial mess behind, why not?
I have recently finalized all arrangements for having my body donated to science, and have a will in place. I have requested that NO heroic medical measures be employed, and I have an agreement with Mssers Smith & Wesson if things get sticky. For me, it's the quality of life that matters, NOT the quantity. There's more, MUCH more, but I'll spare you for now.
Respectfully
ladydi, August 15, 2011 6:53 PM
Art - I agree with you 100% ~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(6) Anonymous, January 26, 2004 12:00 AM
Mental illness is unbearable.
As someone who has experienced mental illness, and has known many such sufferers, I maintain that euthanasia would be a great act of mercy. The perpetuation of this torment of life, under conditions where medication and/or therapy do little to alleviate symptoms, is inhumane.
(5) Anonymous, January 26, 2004 12:00 AM
response to art and others
Aish.com is a torah web-site.
If you do not believe in religion, afterlife, consequences of your actions, etc. then you have nothing to argue about with an article written from the perspective of religion!
(4) Jon White, January 26, 2004 12:00 AM
Dying naturally helped my father-in-law...
My father-in-law died recently after a long battle with cancer. He couldn't understand why God let him suffer - he thought it was without purpose. He wrestled with his fear of dying and his desire for release for months, and his family tried to give him comfort by counseling him to "let God decide when it's time for you to die." I was with him constantly the last 6 days of his earthly life, and was privileged to hear him say, just before he slipped away, "Thank you, God for forgiving me and loving me."
Had he or someone else forcibly terminated his life before that point, this most beautiful spiritual connection with his Lord would not have happened. To this observation, an atheist would reply, "It wouldn't matter. He's dead either way, and would have been without pain sooner had the termination been forced." What the atheist doesn't know, though, CAN cause hurt. The human person does live on eternally after death, and the state of its existence at the time of death DOES determine its mode of existence in eternity.
My father-in-law was able to complete his life on earth in a blessed manner. Any persons who consciously take human life, and thereby challenge God's sovereignty, will be called to a terrible reckoning for such activities upon their personal departure. At best, they will be extremely sad then, when they find that their supposedly merciful actions were just the opposite, and that the good they chose to do was nothing of the sort.
I pray God constantly to help us grow a heart that seeks the knowledge of what pleases Him, and that has the courage to please Him instead of ourselves.
(3) Donna Costa, January 25, 2004 12:00 AM
Netherland's culture of death
The decision of life or death belongs to God alone. For man to assume that role is evil, pure and simple.
(2) Anonymous, January 25, 2004 12:00 AM
not so easy to say
With all due to respect to Rabbi Shafran, the things like prayer, love and forgiveness... those things are, if not impossible, extremely difficult, when a person is nauseous, in pain physically dependent and all of the above. If a person has an illness, from which (according to medicine as we know it) recovery is unlikely or impossible who is Rabbi Shafran to say that such a person must continue all life extending treatments? I know that there are Rabbis, respectable ones, who do not take that halachic position.
I do believe that depression is not a reason to end life. Having experienced it, I do not believe a depressed person is even competent to make such a decision. Fortunately medicines exist for that condition. However, if I had a relative who had a debilitating and painful illness from which no recovery was likely, I would be afraid to encounter a Rabbi who would espouse Rabbi Shafran's position. Perhaps, without meaning to, the attitude in the article comes across as callous. May none of us ever experience such a condition at the end of life
(1) Anonymous, January 25, 2004 12:00 AM
Assisted death in Holland
Thank you for a very informative article. I'd just like to add my own personal experience here. This summer, as we were traveling by train from Rotterdam to the Hook of Holland, to catch a ferry to England, the train was stopped for quite a while. It seems someone had jumped in front of the train, committing suicide. A Dutch woman said this happens almost every day in Holland. We thought this was very sad.