Moyers program on death raises questions for Catholics

Boston, MA - In September, PBS presented a four-part series on death and dying, On Our Own Terms, hosted by Bill Moyers, addressed a wide range of issues concerning end-of-life. While much of the series focused on the need for greater care of dying patients, one program covered the debate over assisted suicide as an alternative to palliative care. The television series follows the recent world-wide conference of the Hemlock Society, promoting the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In light of these events, The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) believes it is timely to call attention to Catholic teaching on end-of-life decisions.

At the heart of the Catholic tradition is God’s role: "It is I who bring both life and death" (Deuteronomy 32:39). Evangelium Vitae emphasizes the redemptive nature of suffering: "The certainty of future immortality and hope in the promised resurrection cast new light on the mystery of suffering and death, and fill the believer with an extraordinary capacity to trust fully in the plan of God." The church also distinguishes clearly between what are morally obligatory ("ordinary") and optional ("extraordinary") means of conserving one’s life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides guidance on the use of painkillers to alleviate the suffering of the dying, even at the risk of shortening the patient’s life: "This is morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable" (i.e. the principle of double-effect). The Church is clear in its opposition to assisted suicide or euthanasia.

The NCBC encourages every organization that seeks the genuine well-being of the terminal patient to focus its efforts on comfort and the relief of pain and suffering. The Pain Relief Promotion Act, opposed by the Hemlock Society, would enable physicians to administer strong pain medications to patients experiencing severe distress and could deter further misguided initiatives like the present Oregon law permitting physician-assisted suicide.

A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions, a publication of the NCBC, provides a summary of end-of-life issues, along with copies of an Advance Medical Directive and a Durable Power of Attorney (Health Care Proxy) which conform to Catholic moral teaching.

Copies are available in both English and Spanish and can be ordered from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, 159 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02135; phone: (617) 787-1900; fax: (617) 787-4900.