 
Assembly delays policy on ‘self-determined death’ By John H. Adams The Presbyterian Layman |
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CHARLOTTE – The 210th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) approved a minority report that put the brakes on a study affirming a policy of “self-determination in death.” There was considerable debate about what “self-determination” meant, although proponents of the study insisted that it did not mean suicide or assisted suicide, such as provided by Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The minority report, approved 315-116, referred to the 213th General Assembly (year 2001) the ultimate decision on the denomination’s “readiness to begin the policy development process” addressing death-decision issues. Committee approved report The General Assembly’s Health and Education Committee had approved a report titled Euthanasia Study Materials produced by the denomination’s Office of Theology and Worship. The committee-approved overture would have affirmed the right of self-determination for the terminally ill, authorized distribution of Euthanasia Study Materials and requested the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and the Office of Theology and Worship to begin preparing recommendations for public policy. Todd Gilmore of the Presbytery of Donegal, a member of the Health and Education Committee, introduced the minority report to the General Assembly. Gilmore said the study guide was “flawed and inadequate to guide the church.” Calling for a dialogue on death issues that is “rooted in our biblical-reformed heritage,” Gilmore said the majority report “pushes us too fast” toward “expressing unorthodox views of Scripture.” Definition of euthanasia Carter Shelley, a clergy commissioner from the Presbytery of Salem, supported the Euthanasia Study Materials. “Euthanasia refers to death with dignity. It is not a synonym for suicide or murder,” she said. During committee hearings, proponents of the study guide argued that it did not endorse suicide. Material: No right answers However, while Euthanasia Study Materials takes no editorial position on euthanasia, much of its content evokes answers supporting suicide or assisted suicide, which are traditionally antithetical to Reformed theology. The format of the study guide seems to suggest there are no wrong answers. • On page 21, study group members are asked, “Did Jesus choose to end his life? If you believe that he did, do you see parallels to people considering euthanasia or assisted suicide? Why or why not?” • On page 8, they are asked, “Is there a difference between putting down a pet and human euthanasia?” • On page 25, “How might the church be a community of caring and compassion … for those who face end-of-life issues, including decisions relating to euthanasia and assisted suicide.” 1993 sermon-endorsed suicides The publication includes a 1993 sermon by Dr. Eugene C. Bay of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania, titled “In life and death, I belong to God,” a paraphrase of the first response in the Heidelberg Catechism. Bay’s sermon referred to the double suicide of Dr. Henry Pitt VanDusen, former president of Union Theological Seminary in New York, and his wife. Interpreting Genesis 1 as a divine mandate to exercise dominion over our lives, Bay said the VanDusens, in their suicides, were “assuming our God-given power and responsibility.” The publication also includes a response to Bay’s sermon, written by Rich Allman, a Christian physician. Allman described euthanasia as “bad medicine, misapplied compassion and socially destructive.” A similar expression was made by Commissioner Walter Hackney of South Louisiana during committee debate on the overture. “I am concerned,” said Hackney. “I worry that we could become like Holland, where the elderly don’t want to go to the doctor.” Euthanasia for children Euthanasia is legal in Holland, where an estimated 49,000 elderly adults are put to death annually by injections administered by physicians. Recently, euthanasia has also been used in the deaths of handicapped Dutch children. Dr. Charles Wiley of the Office of Theology and Worship told the committee that 2,500 copies of the Euthanasia Study Materials have been distributed. He said only nine congregations had responded to the material—not enough, Wiley added, to justify an assessment of what the congregations thought about the material. Committee member Paul Johnson, referring to the recent case of a 23-year-old paralytic whose suicide was assisted by Kevorkian, urged the committee not to approve the overture, to avoid rushing into a new church policy that might go far beyond “self-determination.” |
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The Presbyterian Layman, July/August 1998 contents |
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