Question 12 - Euthanasia
Father, what is it that is wrong with euthanasia?
Euthanasia is the fact to precipitate the death of someone who is sick in order to shorten his sufferings. Euthanasia is a grave sin against the fifth Commandment of God: Thou shalt not kill.
Human life does not belong primarily to men, but to God. He is the one who decided to give us life. He should be the one who decides the moment of our death. Also, the sufferings we endure before our death are a blessing from God, because they allow us to pay the debt of our sins. Suffering people should be helped and encouraged, not killed.
To ask for euthanasia or to consent to the fact that a family member be euthanized is a very serious sin against God.
Euthanasia today can take many different forms. It goes without saying that it is already practiced to a large scale in the Canadian hospitals. Very often it is realized by administering a dose of medication that is too high.
The one who is killed against his will is not culpable of anything but rather the victim of murder. We should be careful when a family member is in the hospital that his death be not willfully precipitated.
