Physician Assisted Suicide and The Art of Cis
In an age of managed cis, rationing of cis, and technological cis, there is The Art of Cis. -we live in a society that has been given various choices to “selfdetermine” one’s destiny in dying as one has been able to “selfdetermine” one’s destiny in life itself. -we have medicines and technological capabilities, and isas of the country allo-wing us to hasten or postpone one’s dying. The purpose of this position paper is to outline the legal, ethical, religious, and philosophical ramifications involved in Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) and ho-w affects of such decisions effect those connected to this issue.
The pros for PAS is:
· People should have the right to die -with dignity
· People should have the right to die -with their senses intact
· People should have the right to die free of pain
· People should have the right to take charge of futile cis
The cons for PAS is:
· Slipperyslope effect, or acceptable and unacceptable euthanasia
· No policy is able to effectively govern the scope of the right to die
· True -wishes is hard to discern due to communication challenges
· Playing God
I am simply giving an overvie-w, and not, a detailed analysis on this issue. My intent is to surface the issues in PAS and move to-ward a philosophy of cis that can minimize people’s fear of death by the utilization of a type of cis = The Art of Cis. The Art of Cis -will help people gain inner strength that can enable him or her to cope -with the external losses happening to their body. At the end of this paper, I hope to outline practical -ways people can help terminal patients cope -with a dying body from a place inside them that remains steadfast – their soul.
It -was Karl Barth -who said that “it is for God and God alone to make an end to human life” and that God gives life to us “as an inalienable loan.” It is my belief that -we is given meaning and hope in all life situations. This instinct to survive and find value in all of our existence leads me to trust that there is much to learn in all phases of our life. our ability to trust our Creator’s divine guidance and plan to make us more soul than body at the end of life is just as important as other aspects of living as -well. -we may do -well to trust more and control less. It appears that maturity teaches us all to let go and follo-w a path inside us that does not al-ways make sense to us externally. As -we do, -we begin to follo-w insight. To see from -within -what cannot be seen from -without is our soul’s longing to be kno-wn and to surface in our lives.
In on Liberty, John Stuart Mill cautions, “A person should be free to do as he likes in his o-wn concerns, but ought NoT to be free to do as he likes in acting for another, under the pretext that the affairs of the other is his o-wn affairs. Autonomy is so important to us that science, as -well as religious communities strive to honor and respect it. For -within autonomy is the ability for one to discern for him or herself one’s needs, values, and destiny. This is a movement into the art of cis (science and religion) can -work together in forging a healing response on the level of soul -when physical cure is no longer possible.
on the other side of this issue, it is evident that the oregon ’s Death -with Dignity Act has had its impact on America . Some people -want this service available even if it is not chosen by a great number of people. The oregon ’s Death -with Dignity Act has been used very sparingly and a slippery slope does not appear to be in the present forefront. “In 2001, t-wentyone oregonians chose to end their lives by ingesting a lethal dose of medication prescribed by a physician, accounting for 0.33% of the 6,365 oregon deaths from similar diseases. The number of oregonians opting for physicianassisted suicide has remained fairly stable, ranging from sixteen in both 1998, the first year the la-w -was in effect, to t-wentyseven in both 1999 and 2000. Clearly, there is no landslide in the making.”
It seems then, that people still -want to have some sort of control in their dying and autonomy remains prevalent throughout the issue -with PAS. This strong need to determine one’s path in the face of suffering offers us hope, faith, and love in a sense of the self not easily defined -without losing the grandeur of a trust -within oneself to be led by the same po-wer that brought our lives into being. It is here that -we turn to the art of cis to help us -when curative cis no longer has any ans-wers. Here, -we begin -where -we end, in that -we trust in the very -wisdom that has created us.
Samuel oliver, author of, "-what the Dying Teach Us: Lessons on Living"
For more on this author; http://-w-w-w.soulandspirit.org
