3 of 5 in series by Sarah Moon

And I a worn out bone-bag hung with flesh.

Death would be blessing if it spared the glad

But heeded invocations from the wretch.

But now Death’s ears are deaf to hopeless cries,

His hands refuse to close poor weeping eyes.[1]

In the opening passage of Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius is lamenting in his jail cell after being wrongly convicted for treason. He has been stripped of his power and influence and knows he will die in jail. These few stanzas speak to a grief to which few of us can fully relate. However, I believe these lamentations could be echoed by many people who are contemplating euthanasia. People nearing death may experience physical pain, emotional distress, grief, and fear while dying, but might they also experience love from others and God and hope for eternal life with God? Indeed, euthanasia cannot be discussed without including the role of suffering in one’s life. This is the third primary conversation, along with human dignity and freedom, that must be parsed out in each one of our hearts and then between individuals.

In my experience in the public health field, I have found that many of my colleagues talked about an idea of needless suffering. “Needless” meaning “avoidable” in this case. I tried to get on board with the mass extinction of suffering in the world through public health measures, but I was exhausted. Burnt out from trying to care about every injustice and cause of suffering in the world, I became apathetic to it all. I lost my hope for a utopia on earth where everyone lived in peace and harmony. It wasn’t until the midway through my graduate studies where my clouded idea of our Earthly life was made clear through God’s grace and mercy. He broke through my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh which brought me back to my Catholic faith. At that time in my life, I had been working to create the Garden of Eden again. In this, I rejected the reality of the Fall, sin entering the world, and Jesus’s redemptive suffering on the cross for all of humanity.

Adam and Eve were never supposed to die, but death is a consequence of their fall from grace.[2] Even Jesus, who is fully God and man, wasn’t free from suffering. But his suffering was redemptive. He redeemed our death to be more united with us in heaven.10 As our country continues to lose its Christian identity, we continue to lose meaning to our existence and suffering. Without God, there isn’t a good reason for suffering. If He is not the end goal, if Heaven is not the end goal, then disposal of our biological bodies becomes open for debate.

This blog isn’t all doom and gloom. I believe that our society is capable of talking about suffering. Albeit a difficult and vulnerable conversation, it is one that can bear bountiful fruit between people who externally couldn’t seem more different. Why? Because suffering is a human experience. It doesn’t discriminate based on gender, age, socio-economic status, or geographic location. Suffering may look different, and there are plenty of instances of people downplaying others’ pain because it “could be worse.” Once people can strip away initial judgments of suffering, a beautiful conversation on the role of it can be had by all. It is a conversation that must be had before any talks of end-of-life care can take place.

[1] Boethius, and V. E. Watts. The Consolation of Philosophy; Translated with an Introduction by V.E. Watts. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969. 3.1.1

[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2019. N. 1008-1009

 

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.