The Most Troubling Issues to Be Addressed when Considering Death and Dying

Euthanasia, or "physician assisted suicide," is a particularly troubling issue to this writer. Recently, advocates and lobbyists have changed their argument for legalizing euthanasia from suicide as a relief from pain, to suicide as an issue of personal choice. At first this seems benign, especially in a culture where personal choice is already connected to the beginning of life. However, countries that legalize euthanasia tend to adapt their policies quickly, including the Netherlands, where in the short span of seven years, the Euthanasia Act has come to include protocol for euthanizing infants (Finlay, 2009). This may not be as unusual as it sounds, since even in the text used for this class, the author cited research questioning the validity of spending large amounts of money to keep premature infants alive (Feldman, 2008).

Help For Those Addressing These Issues Personally or in Caring for a Family Member

Just like in other areas of life, the Bible can be a central focus for dealing with the issues of death and dying. A person's relationship with God makes all the difference both in their eternal destination and in the approach a counselor should use when addressing these situations. While the Bible says that followers of Christ have nothing to fear in death (1 Corinthians 4:16-18; 5:8, New American Standard Version), it does indicate that open expressions of grief both before and after the event are appropriate (Psalm 119:28; Romans 12:15, Genesis 50, etc.). Preparation for death can also be helpful. In Scripture, parents often blessed their children as their death neared (Genesis 49), and parents today can alleviate some strain on their children by making their wishes known ahead of time (Khodyakov & Carr, 2009).

References

Feldman, R. (2008). Development across the lifespan, (5^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Finlay, I. (2009, May 30-June 5). The art of medicine: Dying and choosing. The Lancet, 373, 1840-1841.

Khodyakov, D., & Carr, D. (2009). The impact of late-life parental death on adult sibling relationships: Do parents' advance directives help or hurt? Research on Aging,31(5), 495-519.