He begins with a story of a daughter who lives with her 97-year-old mother at home. The mother suffers from dementia; communication is difficult since she doesn't even recognize the daughter. The daughter has to take care of everything from meals to bowel movements. When asked why she didn't take her to a nursing home, she thought the mother would die soon if she went to such a facility, so took care of her at home. Of course, there is a medical care provider who comes, and other brothers and sisters come to take care of her when necessary. The daughter is in her late 70s, and not in the best of health. It's like seeing a saint practicing the spirituality of giving and caring.
However, it is regrettable that the reality of our society is gradually moving away from the idea that we should respect and care for life. This is because life is divided into 'useful' and 'useless' based on economic measures of efficiency and productivity. Therefore, there is no question that the anti-life value, judged only by material abundance, health, and pleasure, is prevalent in the culture of death.
As if to reflect this, a poll last year showed that 76.3% of the people were in favor of legalizing euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. The fact that the approval rate has increased by 1.5 times compared to the survey five years ago indicates that the perception of euthanasia has changed considerably. The atmosphere calling for the introduction of euthanasia is asking: "Will you just watch over a family who suffers from an irreversible disease and then watch the family break down and eventually lead to caring homicide?"
Not only well-being but also claims for well-dying can be seen at the same time. Taking advantage of this atmosphere, a bill to introduce suicide by assisting doctors was also proposed by the National Assembly for the first time, and its pros and cons are mixed. Unlike the current law, the patients can decide their own death with dignity even in a "non-terminal process" and lead to death through drug administration. Is "dignified death" with the help of a doctor really dying like a human being?
The Bishops' Council's bioethics committee issued a statement strongly against the recent National Assembly bill, which calls for restoring a culture of interest and care, which is actually suicide and involvement with it. It is against right reason when medicine is used to kill people rather than save them.
A typical example of medicine being abused to kill people can be found in the movie: You Don't Know Jack (2010). Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the real protagonist of the film, is a doctor who advocates euthanasia and was a hot topic in the United States some years ago. He helped 130 people commit suicide, and for that reason was eventually jailed for second-degree murder and released on parole.
Patients with incurable diseases, such as Lou Gehrig's disease, terminal cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and paralyzed persons with no possibility of recovery, do not want to be a burden on their families anymore and want death.
However, human life is dignified, and as God says, "I am the one who kills, I am the one who gives life" (Deuteronomy 32:39), euthanasia as a human choice cannot but be ungodly and unethical because God is the ruler of life. Euthanasia is the act aimed at eliminating pain, pain is meaningless and should be eliminated. However, if you realize that there is a dimension of mystery and grace that pain brings, the consideration of caring for the end of life will follow, like the daughter who takes care of her elderly mother at home.
