Assisted suicide threatens to remove these spiritual gifts and pressure the vulnerable into death
The B.C. Catholic
Champions of assisted suicide claim it is simply a private matter, but Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, said it could end basic human rights in Western civilization.
“Some people think this is a victimless problem,” Father Spitzer said during his presentation, “What’s Wrong with Assisted Suicide,” Sept. 2 at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre.
“Some people think, ‘Why would the Catholic Church be interested in regulating this issue? It’s not affecting anyone else, it’s just affecting those who want to commit suicide!'”
“Unfortunately, that isn’t true. It’s affecting huge populations of people who are worth protecting under justice. It’s not just Catholics who should be protecting these victims of the legislation, but also any interested party who thinks that people should not be given an onerous burden to die!”
The Jesuit priest, the President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith, spoke to more than 150 people during his presentation. He had already given a retreat to 1,300 Catholic teachers.
“He’s absolutely indefatigable in his zeal and energy,” exclaimed Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB. He thanked Father Spitzer for addressing “the dangers of physician-assisted suicide, which is certainly a topic of great interest with us as Canadians with the new law, and of course, of particular concern to us as Catholics.”
Father Spitzer noted physician-assisted suicide directly goes against the teachings of Montesquieu, John Locke, and St. Thomas Aquinas by causing a burden on the right to life of vulnerable people. By legalizing assisted suicide with Bill C-14, the government created pressure to die for the vulnerable, while not solving the problems of suffering it sought to correct.
“There is an assumption that assisted suicide will help people who are terminally ill with their pain,” Father Spitzer said. “It is true that there are some people whose pain cannot be adequately controlled, but if the Washington State Medical Association is correct, then about 98 per cent of pain involved in terminal illness can be controlled to patient comfort.”
He stated the vast majority of people seeking suicide, if both their physical and psychological pain were treated, would reverse the request for suicide. “Assisted suicide could be the vehicle to provide somebody with a solution to a problem they don’t have (permanently). It could give them a permanently wrong solution to this problem.”
The ability to kill oneself under the guise of ending suffering also imposes a set of new social pressures upon society’s most vulnerable, Father Spitzer said. Some insurance companies in the United States have offered patients with a cheaper insurance plan coverage for assisted suicide, while refusing to pay for medical treatment.
“We are creating two classes: those who can afford not to commit suicide, and those who are basically told to commit suicide because they cannot afford a better insurance plan.”
Perceived family pressures could also lead to premature death, especially in the elderly. Some individuals may feel depressed about their condition, face concern about the cost of treatment, or even believe it is their “stoic responsibility” to die so they do not become an inconvenience.
Assisted suicide “does not justify the extreme measures that will put pressure on a large community of victims,” Father Spitzer warned. “Every person with a disability of any kind, every single person who needs help in their life for whatever reason, will now have to feel inferior.”
The acceptance of assisted suicide as a solution also prevents certain spiritual gifts from being given to us, he said. The vulnerability that occurs at the end of life “is such a blessed gift. It allows us to forgive and to be forgiven; it allows for us to transmit wisdom and receive wisdom in return. When we see our lives coming to an end, we become so open to grace, it is unbelievable.”
Michele Smillie, of the Archdiocesan Life, Marriage, and Family Office, agreed with Father Spitzer’s points. “Father Spitzer gave a different viewpoint on assisted suicide, in a way that is good for speaking to non-Catholics. Catholics tend to have a hard time secularizing some of these issues, so by making it a human rights issue, he makes people stop and go, ‘Oh, just a minute!'”
She said modern society requires more options for helping seniors, especially within the Church. “This (euthanasia issue) is not going to go away, and our senior population is growing,” Smillie said. “We need to have some sort of program in place where we track what happens to them, especially the seniors with no family.”
“The whole situation where someone asks to be killed to avoid being a burden, or because they have nothing (to live for), should never happen in our society. We can’t change the law at this point, but we really need to understand and deal with the issue of senior care, and how we treat the most vulnerable in our society.”
