Assisted dying in spotlight
Opinions are deeply divided over the controversial issue of assisted dying and its current legal and moral implications.
Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) acting secretary-general Ludwig Beukes has called on local churches to debate assisted dying.
This follows South African media reports that the Congress of the People (COPE) opposition party in that country is planning to introduce a parliamentary bill that would allow for living wills to be recognised and for terminally ill patients to refuse medical treatment that could prolong their lives.
Living wills, healthcare directives and advance directives all refer to legal documents that allow people to state their wishes for end-of-life medical care.
Beukes said while this remains an ethical challenge for the church, it is also the church's responsibility to open up conversations in order to guide congregants when there is terminal illnesses in families.
“Looking from a human perspective, sometimes people are kept alive by a machine but they are suffering and families cannot bear this and then tell the doctors to switch off the machines,” Beukes said.
“On the other hand, people are suffering from terminal illnesses and are kept alive by medicines, but they are depressed and have no hope that they will ever improve. In such cases they may opt for assisted dying.”
Beukes emphasised, however, that the Church believes killing is a sin in the eyes of God.
“So it is very difficult to draw a line. And the Church must lead this conversation because people turn to the Church when they are faced with serious, deadly illnesses. The Church must provide moral guidance.”
The Popular Democratic Movement's (PDM) National Assembly chief whip, Jennifer van der Heever, believes assisted dying should not be an option.
Van der Heever, an ordained pastor, believes that death is not in the hands of people, but in the hands of God.
She said her mother lived with cancer for nine years and it was a painful experience.
“It is very important that we discuss and debate these issues; we cannot turn a blind eye to this conversation. We need to gather perspectives of what people think. But it is very much a personal choice and I personally would not push for it as a policy,” she said.
Rolf Hansen of the Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN) said it is an important debate, but it cannot be tackled before the nation addresses the issue of quality of life or palliative care for terminally ill patients.
Hansen also cautioned that assisted dying should not be seen as suicide, but as giving people the right to end their lives when all they see is suffering and pain in their future.
“It is a debate that many terminally ill patients face when it comes to their pain and suffering, but we must also keep in mind that we have social, ethical, religious and moral values to consider,” he said.
The South African debate on assisted dying was fanned by the experience of terminally ill parliamentarian Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, who shot himself in August 2014 while in the final stages of lung cancer.
Much-loved anti-apartheid cleric Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has declared himself to be in favour of assisted dying, should he ever find himself terminally ill or in a situation of intractable, unbearable suffering.
Namibian attorney-general Albert Kawana says euthanasia would be regarded as murder in the current legislative context of the country.
He said the debate on assisted dying must be steered by the country's health professionals, who understand terminal illnesses.
“Now at this time it may be premature to talk about it, but on the other hand our constitution guarantees the right to life. So the question is, can a doctor come in and end someone's life without violating this provision?” he asked.
Health minister Bernard Haufiku says Namibia does not have to start a debate on the issue just because South Africa has done so.
Assisted suicide is suicide committed with the aid of another person, sometimes a doctor.
Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Colombia, and Switzerland allow physicians to assist in the death of patients.
Assisted dying is also referred to as a practice in which a person who has been diagnosed as terminally ill, with six months or less to live, can request a lethal dose of barbiturates to self-administer.
JEMIMA BEUKES
This follows South African media reports that the Congress of the People (COPE) opposition party in that country is planning to introduce a parliamentary bill that would allow for living wills to be recognised and for terminally ill patients to refuse medical treatment that could prolong their lives.
Living wills, healthcare directives and advance directives all refer to legal documents that allow people to state their wishes for end-of-life medical care.
Beukes said while this remains an ethical challenge for the church, it is also the church's responsibility to open up conversations in order to guide congregants when there is terminal illnesses in families.
“Looking from a human perspective, sometimes people are kept alive by a machine but they are suffering and families cannot bear this and then tell the doctors to switch off the machines,” Beukes said.
“On the other hand, people are suffering from terminal illnesses and are kept alive by medicines, but they are depressed and have no hope that they will ever improve. In such cases they may opt for assisted dying.”
Beukes emphasised, however, that the Church believes killing is a sin in the eyes of God.
“So it is very difficult to draw a line. And the Church must lead this conversation because people turn to the Church when they are faced with serious, deadly illnesses. The Church must provide moral guidance.”
The Popular Democratic Movement's (PDM) National Assembly chief whip, Jennifer van der Heever, believes assisted dying should not be an option.
Van der Heever, an ordained pastor, believes that death is not in the hands of people, but in the hands of God.
She said her mother lived with cancer for nine years and it was a painful experience.
“It is very important that we discuss and debate these issues; we cannot turn a blind eye to this conversation. We need to gather perspectives of what people think. But it is very much a personal choice and I personally would not push for it as a policy,” she said.
Rolf Hansen of the Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN) said it is an important debate, but it cannot be tackled before the nation addresses the issue of quality of life or palliative care for terminally ill patients.
Hansen also cautioned that assisted dying should not be seen as suicide, but as giving people the right to end their lives when all they see is suffering and pain in their future.
“It is a debate that many terminally ill patients face when it comes to their pain and suffering, but we must also keep in mind that we have social, ethical, religious and moral values to consider,” he said.
The South African debate on assisted dying was fanned by the experience of terminally ill parliamentarian Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, who shot himself in August 2014 while in the final stages of lung cancer.
Much-loved anti-apartheid cleric Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has declared himself to be in favour of assisted dying, should he ever find himself terminally ill or in a situation of intractable, unbearable suffering.
Namibian attorney-general Albert Kawana says euthanasia would be regarded as murder in the current legislative context of the country.
He said the debate on assisted dying must be steered by the country's health professionals, who understand terminal illnesses.
“Now at this time it may be premature to talk about it, but on the other hand our constitution guarantees the right to life. So the question is, can a doctor come in and end someone's life without violating this provision?” he asked.
Health minister Bernard Haufiku says Namibia does not have to start a debate on the issue just because South Africa has done so.
Assisted suicide is suicide committed with the aid of another person, sometimes a doctor.
Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Colombia, and Switzerland allow physicians to assist in the death of patients.
Assisted dying is also referred to as a practice in which a person who has been diagnosed as terminally ill, with six months or less to live, can request a lethal dose of barbiturates to self-administer.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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