OPINION: Death With Dignity Is An Opportunity to Catechize, Not Criminalize

(CHRISM NEWS/ CHRIS POTRATZ) On November 1, 2014, Brittany Maynard, 29, will take her own life. A painless end to what she describes as a painful existence suffering with brain cancer. Maynard, a California native, moved with her husband to Oregon to take advantage of the Death with Dignity Act, an Oregon law enacted on October 27, 1997 which allows for “terminally-ill Oregonians to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose” (Oregon.gov).

In a widely publicized CNN op-ed, Maynard explained her decision to voluntarily die, saying, “Having this choice at the end of my life has become incredibly important. It has given me a sense of peace during a tumultuous time that otherwise would be dominated by fear, uncertainty and pain.” Her words cut deep at the heart of anyone who has lost a loved one, or has at least deeply explored their own mortality and deliberated on the inevitable outcome we are all marching towards.

Maynard’s choice puts forth a dilemma that the state of Oregon has chosen to tackle by allowing individuals the choice to die at the hands of a physician. The state of Oregon, however, is a secular entity – a rather liberal one at that – without the constraints of a Judeo-Christian ethos acting as their foundation for all moral decision making.

As Catholics, however, we cannot simply allow the pressures of secularization and the culture of death to be our guiding force. The simple and straight-forward position of the Catholic Church on legislation such as the Death with Dignity Act is clear: suicide is a sin, end of story.

This is not to say that the Catholic Church has not, to varying degrees, altered its position on suicide. Common misconceptions abound that Catholics believe suicide equals eternal torment. This is not true, as modern advances in psychology have forced a fresh perspective.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.” Thus, an individual is less accountable for their actions if thier motivation for suicide is not explicitly to cause harm to those around them and the community.

Does Maynard meet this criteria? According to her own words, her cancer is totally inoperable and only treatable (temporarily) through extensive radiation directly to her head. This will result in terrible side effects, all for the purpose of extending her life for only a short period of time. This is no doubt a dilemma, and it would seem that Maynard is indeed suffering from anguish and grave fear of hardship. This does not negate the fact that her action on November 1 will be a sin – but perhaps we can rest assured that she is less culpable.

Issues such as this are always interesting for me, as I – and many like me – straddle the fine line between libertarianism and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. As a libertarian, I am inclined to think: sure, let her do as she wishes, who am I to judge? (Wow, I sound like Pope Francis!)

Ultimately, however, I am bound to uphold and believe all that the Catholic Church teaches and believes. As my uber-wise RCIA director Monsignor Joe Hanefeldt once told me, “Chris, you can’t be holier that the Church.” His point is profound. What do I, in my measly existence, have on the longest running institution on the planet which brought us our faith, our bible, and pretty much all of Western civilization?

So, yes, I will no doubt side with the Church on this matter and I will not mince my words – suicide is a sin, and contrary to the dignity of the human person. But does this necessarily have to translate into legislative action and enforcement? The libertarian ideal is that a populous will be self-governing according to right moral action. Legislation, as we see time and time again, leads to black markets and the imprisonment of non-violent offenders flooding our prison systems (yea, we have to pay for that too).

My proposal then, is that we take the news of Brittany Maynard's planned suicide as an opportunity to look within our own walls and catechize our own faithful regarding the Church's position. The secular train is going full steam ahead and I believe that holding back the tide of immorality will only occur once we have our own house in order. Catholics can make a much larger impact on culture once we are ready to evangelize with confidence and clarity. Ideally, then, once we can be a much brighter city on a hill for the world to see, the cultuer might just begin to emulate the Church's teachings willingly instead of caving to punitive actions enforced by the state.

#opinion