The Sanctity of Human Life
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Abortion
Euthanasia
Suicide
Capital
Punishment
• Serving in
Military, Police
• Human
Engineering
The Sanctity of Human Life
Is euthanasia a merciful way of
preventing suffering?
Is suicide an acceptable way to
terminate one’s life?
Is it morally wrong to execute a
criminal?
May a soldier or police officer to
kill in the line of duty?
What moral implications are
related to human engineering?
Foundation Principles
Man: product of creation, not
evolution
• Gen. 2:7
• Acts 17:25
• 1 Tim. 6:13
Foundation Principles
Only Creator has right to
terminate the life of a human
being
Except when God
• Gen. 9:6
delegates that
• Ex. 20:13
right (e.g. capital
• Ex. 21:12
punishment, war,
• Lev. 24:21
etc. (Rm. 13:1-4)
“When life is not good it
deserves neither protection
nor preservation”
Euthanasia
What is meant
by a “good life”?
“To be human is to be self-aware,
consciously related to others,
capable of rationality in a measure
at least significant to support some
initiative. When these things are
absent, or cannot ever come to be,
there is neither a potential nor an
actual person.”Joseph Fletcher
The Atlantic Monthly
Vol. 22, No. 4, April 1968
Euthanasia’s Meaning
From two Greek words:
eu = well or good
thanos = death
It thus means to die well, easy, or
without pain. In modern society it
has come to refer to terminating
human life [i.e. “mercy killing”]
History of Euthanasia
 Greeks: respected aged, practiced
infanticide
 Spartans: euthanized weak youth
 Plato, Aristotle – discouraged
rearing deformed children
 South Sea Islands: abortion,
infanticide
 Sardinia: old men killed with clubs
 1938 – Euthanasia Society
Euthanasia Has Many Supporters
 Many duped by emotional
“merciful death” arguments
 Most vocal advocates are
ruthless:
 Dr. William Duke
 George Paulson
 Joseph Fletcher
 Dr. Glanville Willams
4 KINDS OF
EUTHANASIA
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Active
Passive
Voluntary
Mandatory
GENERAL ACCEPTANCE OF
EUTHANASIA
The general acceptance of
euthanasia in modern America
is evident in:
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“Dr. Death”
• Dr. Robert
“Infant Doe”
Cooke
Internists’ Survey • Abortion’s
Newsweek report
Acceptance
Why Is
Euthanasia
Accepted?
Value of life is less!
Historical shock has dulled!
God has been dismissed!
Biblical Answers
Active Euthanasia – murder, sinful
(Ex. 20:13; Gen. 9:6)
Biblical Answers
Volunteer Euthanasia
 Biblical incidents, acts of ungodly
men (1 Sam. 31:4-5; 2 Sam. 17:23;
1 Kings 16:18; Matt. 27:5)
 Wayne Jackson lists three biblical
premises violated in suicide
Sinfulness of Suicide
1.Asserts man is autonomous
(Psalm 100:3; cf. Ezek 18:4)
a.Only God has right to determine
when life should end
2.Self-murder (Rev. 21:8; 22:15)
3.Robs God of service (Eccl. 12:13;
cf. Phil. 1:20)
4.Act of supreme selfishness
Biblical Answers
Passive and Mandatory Euthanasia
 We have biblical guidance over
life, death, and preservation of life
 Instances of euthanasia in Bible
 No specific teaching on intricacies
of the natural and artificial means
of preserving life
Mindset of Society
Concerning Euthanasia
 We live in a time where the
average life span in American
continues to increase each year.
 1930 - average life expectancy for
all gender and races in the U.S.
was 59.7 years.
 In 2004 that number steadily
climbed to 77.9 years.
 Many modern advances in the
science and medical fields that
correlate to our longer life spans.
 In 1947 the first person was
saved by means of defibrillation.
 Since then millions of lives have
been saved by this one devise.
 This allowed people to live years
beyond what was previously
expected
 Various vaccinations used to
stem the onset of various plagues
• Smallpox eradicated in 1980
• Fewer than 500 with polio in world
• Longer for many by additional
medicinal breakthroughs
• Advanced surgical procedures
and medicines allow longer life
[radiation, chemo therapy,
dialysis, laser surgeries, etc]
 These factors produce a mindset
concerning the quality of life
 The thought of a nice and peaceful death
permeates into our societal belief system.
 Conversely, the thought of pain and
suffering in dying is not at all desirable [it is
natural to want to live our final years in
peace]
 Thus, a more tolerant view of “mercy
killing”/euthanasia (i.e. hastening death) of
a person who is seriously or terminally ill or
injured to bring relief to the individual.
Two Types of Euthanasia Being
Considered at This Time:
 Passive – a refusal to use life
sustaining medical equipment to
prolong life where there is no
[medically] prospect of recovery
 Active – taking purposefully action
to end a life, for some it is an aided
suicide
Pertinent Terms to Understand
 Medical Treatment
 Comatose
 Minimally Conscious State
(MCS)
 Vegetative State (PS)
 Persistent Vegetative State
(PVS)
Purpose of Understanding
These Terms
 A person might receive a feeding
tube for an individual whose mouth,
trachea or another area of the body
which does not allow him to chew
and/or swallow food
 Another might receive a feeding
tube due to his being in a vegetative
state
Purpose of Understanding (cont.)
These Terms
This circumstance
 The intent for the first makes decisions
difficult
patient is to provide
“life support” while he
nurses back to health
 The intent for the second person is to provide
life support with the sum hope that he regains
consciousness
Purpose of Understanding (cont.)
These Terms
• In both cases the intent is to save
life
• Reason for removing life support
(respirator or feeding tube) is not to
destroy life, but to realize there is no
hope for life and thus discontinue
artificial means of sustaining life
Dilemmas Surrounding
“Mercy Killing”
Desire the ever improving means
by which life can be prolonged or
saved
But, reached a point we can keep
someone alive for years
The means by which we keep a
person alive creates our dilemma
regarding euthanasia
Dilemmas Surrounding
“Mercy Killing”
Ethical Dilemmas
Extended comatose state with no
perceived possibility of
consciousness
Vegetative state (or PVS) with no
perceived possibility of recovery
Someone terminal, but conscious
and in severe pain
Dilemmas Surrounding
“Mercy Killing”
Ethical Questions
Is it wrong to “actively” end another
person’s life?
Who has authority to judge what is
a “good cause” to end life?
Are we to respect the desire of a
patient desiring to be taken off life
support when they are alive (alert)?
Biblical Conclusions
1.Active Euthanasia is sin
a.Even if patient is in pain or
struggle
b.Even if patient wished his life
be ended
2.Passive Euthanasia is not sin
a.Artificial means continues
while there is hope – ends
when hope is lost
WHAT ARE CHRISTIANS TO DO?
 Do not be fooled (Eph. 4:14; Col.
2:8; Ps. 1:1)
 Respect All life! (Job 1:21; Gen.
1:26-27; Pr. 6:16-17; Acts 17:25, 28)
 Do good to all (Gal. 6:10; Ex. 23:7)
 Do not allow handicaps to devalue
human life (Ex. 4:11)
 Become brother’s keeper (Pr. 24:11)
THE TRAGIC FAILINGS!
 No knowledge of the inner man
 Confusion as to who would become
a candidate
 Indecision as to the final judge
• Patient – incompetent, drugged
• Physician – trust ruined
• Family – estate mongers rejoice
• State – Nazi Germany reborn
Job 1:21
Nations that fail to resist
euthanasia are described
in Deut. 28:49-50