1 of 5 in series by Sarah Moon.

“Death with dignity,” “healthy dying,” “dying well,” and “compassion and choices.” What do all of these words have in common? All of these phrases have been used to describe active voluntary euthanasia in America. The true definition is not actually that far off though. Euthanasia has its roots in Greek. Eu meaning good or well and Thanatos meaning death. So quite literally, euthanasia is a ‘good death.’ This etymology lesson is important to me as someone who studied both public health and biology because I tend to disagree with many of those colleagues by rejecting the notion that active voluntary euthanasia, or physician assisted suicide (referred to as euthanasia here on out), constitutes a good death.

I was introduced to the reality of death at the age of ten, when I lived with my dying grandmother. My mother was tending to both of her aging parents, and I lived at their home on and off as well to help after school. I don’t remember many specifics from that time, but I do have a fond memory of my mom modeling unconditional love and profound respect to them as she chauffeured them to every doctor’s appointment, cooked every meal, and helped them get ready for bed each night. Once my grandmother died, I witnessed the incredible loss and grief of my mother. However, what I was left with was a beautiful model of love, sacrifice, and suffering by both my mother and grandmother during my grandmother’s last days on Earth.

This was quite different from various experiences in graduate school while I was pursuing a Master’s in Public Health Policy. Many academics, doctors, researchers, and policymakers have devoted their lives to revamping and improving the palliative and hospice care systems. Palliative care, which is a specialty in medicine focused on symptom relief and comfort regardless of whether the patient is dying or not. Hospice is also a program to relieve symptoms but has a focus on the actively dying. A patient may start in palliative care and transition into hospice. Aging still is a hot topic for public health professionals, but it seemed that euthanasia was always attached to those discussions in a both/and fashion. We must improve palliative and hospice care and support euthanasia. However, I found myself preaching to the choir about more funding for palliative care but preaching to an empty church when it came to euthanasia. The difficult thing about approaching euthanasia is the fact that people that I have encountered on both sides of the debate have the same end, a good death albeit through different means. Both sides want to show respect to the dying by acknowledging their dignity and freedoms, but Americans can’t seem to get on the same page with what human dignity and freedom is and its origins. Both sides want to alleviate suffering, but my experience has been that our fundamental understanding of suffering is so different that people end up arguing on parallel streets never to intersect.

Over the next few weeks, I wish to take a deeper dive into this pressing issue and highly debated policy topic. For myself, I have found it helpful to bring to light the common ground each side shares for more fruitful discussions to emerge. To start off, I think it is prudent to familiarize ourselves with the language of the movement in order to properly judge its fruit.

I will give credit where credit is due. The marketing of this movement/belief/practice is phenomenal. I have read numerous policy briefs calling euthanasia, “Death with Dignity.” More specifically in Minnesota, there is a House bill that seems to reappear annually referred to as “Compassion and Choices.” These word choices are beautifully selected albeit incredibly misleading. Today, I want to focus on the word, dignity.

Human dignity, “What is it? Who confers it upon us? Why is it worth fighting for?”

Human dignity is fundamental in the Catholic tradition. It is defined at length in the Catechism with 176 pages devoted to the topic. Human dignity is the inherent value of each person because he or she was made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Expanding on Genesis, the Catechism teaches that, “The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves (CCC 1702).” By these definitions we can rightly judge that God has conferred dignity on us before we were even born. If it is inherent, it can’t be taken away by any human act. I like to think about human dignity as something that can be clouded rather than taken away. An act of violence or injustice can cloud my view of my human dignity, but it cannot dispose of it. The Catholic Church works to uncloud this dignity for every person by stressing its importance in papal encyclicals and addresses, homilies, catechesis classes, and the seven teachings of Catholic Social Teaching. If it is a gift given by God, then we mustn’t take it lightly, and we must protect it.

Proponents of euthanasia also stress the importance of human dignity. On the home page of the Death with Dignity National Center website, there is a statement that begins with, “At Death with Dignity National Center, we value the inherent dignity and worth of all human beings.” I failed to find a more thorough description, but there is common language to use as a starting point. Additionally, Oregon passed a “Death with Dignity” law back in 1993 allowing euthanasia for its citizens. Again, we have common language but no real definition or reflection on dignity. Lastly, the American Public Health Association (APHA) supports euthanasia as a public health measure, but I could not find any writing diving into how euthanasia brings dignity to a person or how we, as humans, have inherent dignity.

My point is that most supporters of euthanasia believe that people have worth and dignity, so the mission in these initial conversations is to really understand each other when we say those words. “What is it? Who confers it upon us? Why is it worth fighting for?” These are questions that I don’t have the all the answers to but seek to lay a solid foundation when speaking about this issue.

Words hold meaning and are powerful tools. Words can inspire people to act. My plea to the reader is that you engage in difficult and uncomfortable conversations about euthanasia with your friends, family, and colleagues but in a respectful and effective way. I believe that taking the time to discuss each person’s view of human dignity, where it comes from, and why it’s worth fighting for are essential components before any debate about euthanasia.

 

Sarah Moon, MPH studied public health administration and policy at the University of Minnesota and currently is studying Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas. She works as a middle school science and math teacher at a classical Catholic school in the Twin Cities area.