Chaim Cohen
There are inherent flaws in this approach to assisting a human being to prematurely curtail his or her life. We are applying physical and earthly reasons and rationales to justify our complicity in this homicide.
There are spiritual realms to this decision which are not accounted for in these actions. There is a superior and omnipotent being who has sole propriety in respect to life and death.
There is a predestined point of entry and birth into our world and there is a predestined point of exit and death from our world. We are mere mortals who are not empowered to interfere in this preordained lifespan and destiny
If we dare to assume this responsibility to shorten a life, we are unwittingly incurring reactions to the life which has presently not completed its role in this world and simultaneously we are incurring reactions in our own future incarnations.
There are spiritual repercussions to this unwarranted meddling and the soul may have to return to this earth to complete its mission in life and possibly under even more arduous conditions.
Please consider the unintended consequences when facing the dilemma of assisted dying which is in reality legalised homicide. Do not make hasty decisions and then regret and rue these actions later in life.
The consequences of the opening of a Pandora’s box on this issue is not that the legal systems and religion will correctly reject these proposals, but the reaction of a multitude of groups that will claim imaginary rights to assisted dying for various debilitating diseases.
There are too many so-called rights in this world which are not earned and not enough accompanying responsibilities.
The Constitutional Court is not the highest court in the land in this instance; the Heavenly Court is the ultimate authority to rule in these matters.
As the Chinese say: Beware for what you wish.
Will these presumptive deities decide and ordain who shall live and who shall die? This sounds like echoes from our recent history.
David B
November 7, 2016 at 11:32 pm
‘Your idealism is to be commended , however when factual realism takes over and uncontrolled suffering prevails, we need to create a real way of dealing with it.
As with everything else which encompasses emotion , secular law and religious law, there is no easy resolution, however having had my close family end their lives with untold suffering due to diseases that, years later, medicine is still fighting to contain, but unsuccessfully attempting to cure, my belief is to allow assisted dying.
This is simply to stop unnecessary suffering in incurable circumstances.
Obviously there are other opinions which have prevailed to date. I really believe the time has come to re-assess this, as per Tutu’s opinion, which of course stem from a deeply religious base ‘