There is currently much debate about the story of Dr Howard Martin, a retired Medical General Practitioner who recently told a newspaper that he had deliberately hastened the death of two patients by prescribing high dosage of painkillers.
The doctor’s rational is that the patients were terminally ill and in great pain. He acted in the way he did out of Christian compassion in order to end their suffering.
The General Medical Council have taken a rather dim view of the doctor’s actions and have decided to strike him off the register. In their judgement of the case they stated that he had “violated the rights of the terminally ill” and that his actions amounted to “completely unacceptable” treatment of some patients.
So why has Dr Howard Martin decided to speak out now that he is well past retirement. The reason he gives is that he wants to open up a debate about the issue.
His stance is summed up in the comment, “A vet would put a dog down, but under the current system a doctor is not allowed to take positive action to help a patient in a humane way.”
Whilst there are many who agree with the medical council that what Dr Martin did is completely unacceptable, there are also many who support his stance that people should be “allowed to die with dignity”.
The dying with dignity argument has some justification if a human being is little more than a dog – in other words just another kind of animal. This is what many in society have come to believe because of the teaching of evolutionary theory, which says humans are descended from animals.
However, if as a Christian you believe you are a special creation by God and made in God’s image (see Genesis ch1 v26), then the argument of likening the death of a human being to that of a dog no longer holds water.
If man is made in the image of God, then human life is sacred, which should immediately cause us to hesitate before doing anything to terminate that life. Furthermore, if we are a special creation by God, then our actions ought to be weighed against what God has to say about terminating life.
We have all heard of the Ten Commandments even if few of us are able to recite them, but one is very clear indeed, namely, “Thou shalt not kill.” (see Exodus ch20 v13). There are no ifs or maybes associated with this commandment and there is not even a hint in the bible that it is right or compassionate to terminate the life of anyone because they are in pain.
We also need to take account of what happens to the human soul after death. If we are no more than a machine and physical death is the end of everything, then life seems to have little point in the first place. However if, as the bible teaches, we are destined to face our creator and give an account of all that we have done in this life, then again we need to be extremely wary of ending anyone’s life (see Hebrews ch9 v27).
There are few of us who look forward to physical death and we would want to postpone it as long as possible. However, since it is inevitable then surely we need to prepare for it as best we can.
If this concerns you then perhaps you need to know something of what God has done for you so that you can be prepared to meet him.
Take a look at what the bible has to say about Salvation. You can read a very succinct version at How can I be Saved
If you live local to Bryn Independent Methodist Church and want to know more, then come and visit us or get in touch with us via our website http://www.bryn-im.org/enquiry.htm
If you are not local, then there is almost certainly a Christian church that you can contact close to where you live and talk these things over.
We would urge you to do so as a matter of urgency because human life can be a fragile thing and you need to be prepared.
