CATHOLIC TEACHING ON WITHHOLDING FOOD TO HASTEN DEATH PROFESSIONAL
) are valued members of palliative care teams, and professional organizations and funding sources require appropriate levels of mental health credentialing in exchange for accreditation and reimbursement of end-of-life services. With psycho-social expertise (primarily psychologists and social workers Instead, palliative care and hospice workers have an ethical obligation to acknowledge moral distressĪnd then provide effective alternatives to physician assisted suicide, reassuring patients and their families that a “good death” does not require – and in fact, discourages – the premature ending of a life.Ĭare movement has long recognized the significant psychological and emotional needs Within the Catholic moral tradition, palliative caregivers are not required to ignore such inquiries, cognizant as they are of the existential suffering that prompted them. (as opposed to actual pain) can be a determinative factor in patient inquiries about physician assisted suicideĪnd other forms of aid in dying.
, working in concert with doctors and other medical providers, can also address the fears of many patients about pain and the unnecessary prolongation of the dying process through aggressive but ultimately futile interventions. Of compassionate care at the end of life. (John Paul II 1995)Ĭatholic-sponsored palliative care proactively addresses physical, emotional, and spiritual pain, reflecting a wholistic vision In order to remain fully lucid and, if a believer, to share consciously in the Lord’s Passion, such “heroic” behavior cannot be considered the duty of everyone. While praise may be due to the person who voluntarily accepts suffering by forgoing treatment with pain-killers Among the questions which arise in this context is that of the licitness of using various types of painkillers and sedatives for relieving the patient’s pain when this involves the risk of shortening life. In modern medicine, increased attention is being given to what are called ‘methods of palliative care’, which seek to make suffering more bearable in the final stages of illness and to ensure that the patient is supported and accompanied in his or her ordeal. They may engender? What is the relationship between hopelessness and depression and the patient’s request to hasten death? How effectively does Catholic-inspired palliative care, in particular, support the dying person’s journey, even in the midst of those aspects that appear to contradict Catholic moral teaching? Finally, how can palliative care programs “act in communion with the Church” by assisting parishes and dioceses in ministering to their members who may have questions about end-of-life care How can we deal compassionately with the realities of
This chapter will focus on the psychological domain of palliative care and explore several issues critical to enhancing our understanding of palliative care as a wholistic approach to end-of-life care, particularly in response to the significant psychological challenges often faced by dying persons. Needs of men and women at the end of life, including those persons experiencing emotional distress so overwhelming that a hastened death appears to them to be their only option. Services, supported by Catholic social and moral teachings, can address the myriad medical, psychological, and spiritual , requires a deeper form of connection and an approach to health care that is compassionate, wholistic, and open-hearted. Caring for persons who are approaching the end of their lives, who may be depressed and overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness Recognized and to be treated with respect and reverence. A “sacred encounter” recognizes that the dying person, like all human beings, is made in the image and likeness of GodĪnd is therefore worthy to have this inherent dignity While these political debates are necessary and often impassioned, they may also distract from the deep human distress that often underlies patient requests to hasten death, distress that in many cases contributes to and is exacerbated by undiagnosed or undertreated psychological and psychiatric illnesses.įor those of us who serve in Catholic health care, the question “Will you help me hasten my death?” is an invitation to participate in a sacred encounter Each year, critics and proponents are waging new battles over aid-in-dying bills and citizen initiatives. Members are increasingly likely to hear as more states consider and approve legislation authorizing physician assisted suicide and “aid in dying.” Physician assisted suicide is now legal in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, and Montana. “Will you help me hasten my death?” It is a question caregivers
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