Death with Dignity - Is It Really Our Decision?

By Kristie Cody

January 2025

I recently had a conversation with a gentleman in my community that turned out to be a real eye-opener for me. We were discussing Death with Dignity, which has become a fast growing trend in our nation. After the conversation ended and we had gone our separate ways, I was struck by what should have been blatantly obvious to me all along. Before I go into that, just to be clear, Death with Dignity (also known as physician-assisted dying or aid-in-dying) is, in a nutshell, a legal option allowing terminally ill, adult patients who meet certain criteria to request and receive medication prescribed by their physician that will end their life, while shielding the prescribing physician from any criminal charges. Death with Dignity legislation has been enacted in California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Physician-assisted dying has been legal in Montana since 2009 as a result of the Baxter v. Montana lawsuit, although no specific law has been passed to instate it. (1)

Up until this point, I held a general belief that assisted suicide is wrong because, essentially, it is murder and murder is wrong. The Bible says in Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill." In all honesty, however, I had never really examined the idea of assisted suicide through the lens of scripture. During this conversation, I found myself wanting to think that maybe it's not such a bad thing for someone in a terminally-ill situation to decide when they have had enough and want it to end. Afterall, I could be in that situation some day and I think I would probably rather my time in this world end sooner than later, so as to spare myself and those around me all the suffering, intrusions, and expense of the natural progression of a terminal illness. Maybe the Death with Dignity option isn't such a bad thing. After all, who would want to be bedridden, unable to care for themselves? Who wants to be completely dependent upon others for even their most basic and personal needs? If you know you are nearing death and have the option to spare yourself and others such an ordeal, is that really such a bad thing?

Later, as I replayed that conversation in my head, it hit me like a ton of bricks... Jesus, our Savior, died a most undignified, horrifying death. He knew that was the fate that awaited Him and He willingly accepted it in order to fulfill His purpose for coming to this earth. Look at Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was to be crucified.

Matthew 26:39
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

That prayer from the very heart and lips of Jesus Himself sums up the Biblical view of physician-assisted dying. "[N]evertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." If anyone ever deserved to die with dignity, it was Jesus Christ. However, for reasons we will not fully comprehend on this side of eternity, the Father determined that it had to be done the way it was done and not the way Jesus likely would have preferred. Jesus, the Son of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, surrendered Himself to the will of the Father with regard to how He lived His life and how His life on earth would end. He knew exactly what He faced and still surrendered to the will of the Father in heaven. Think about that for a moment. Consider that Jesus knew He would be beaten, tortured and nailed to a cross, where He would die in an excruciatingly horrific manor. He knew this was going to happen and He still chose to surrender Himself to the will of the Father in heaven rather than take matters into His own hands. What would be the eternal fate of all of mankind if Jesus had chosen not to surrender to the will of His Father, but rather to live and die on His own terms? What if Jesus had chosen death with dignity over the will of the Father?

Why are we so quick to think that our own will should overrule the will of our Father in heaven with regard to the life that He gave us? I surmise that the answer is rooted in our human propensity for pride. Our justification for considering physician-assisted dying goes along the lines of... I want to leave this world before I reach the point I am unable to take care of myself... I don't want to be seen or remembered in such a pitifully vulnerable condition... I don't want to be a burden on my loved ones. No matter how you slice it, it all boils down to "I want" or "I don't want"... it all comes back to my will vs. my heavenly Father's will.

Everything that happens in this world has eternal ramifications. We should not take lightly tampering with eternal consequences based only on our temporal perceptions. God gives life and God decides when it should end. We overstep our bounds when we interfere with His plans in such a profound manner - such as choosing to end our own life on our own terms. We may call it death with dignity, while in all actuality, it is a final act of rebellion against God, our Creator. What is the eternal value of a life when the perceived temporal quality of it has diminished to a level below that which we deem acceptable? If we are unable to accurately answer this question (and we can't) then we are wading into extremely dangerous territory with the idea that it is acceptable for us to actively terminate that life. Are the potential eternal consequences really worth the temporary perceived dignity one may garner by commiting such an act?

We say we believe the Bible from cover to cover, but when certain situations hit home, it is easy to find ourselves willing to make compromises without having the ability to understand the eternal consequences. God knows His plans for each and every life, from conception to physical death. What if a person who is in the final stages of a terminal illness is being worked on and dealt with by God in a way that we cannot comprehend from the outside looking in? What if the outcome of the work He is doing in their heart at that time impacts that person's eternal state? What if He is planning to use that person's condition to reach another person who may have some measure of contact with that situation? If we interfere, that person's eternal state could be altered. We have no understanding of the far-reaching consequences of our actions in such a scenario.

I do not by any means pretend to have all the answers because, as fallen and human as I am, I know that I don't. I am simply viewing this subject through the lens of Scripture and asking the questions that come into my heart. Because mankind has devised ways to keep the body "alive" with machinery and technology, and by the same token, has devised ways to kill the body with medication, does not mean that he is right in doing so. It appears to me that mankind is using his God-given freewill to overstep his boundaries with no regard for God's authority in matters of life and death. In short, just because you can do something, does not mean that you should do it.

The live life on your own terms philosophy of mainstream society has inevitably fostered the die on your own terms philosophy that has become so appealing to so many that it is being codified. The potential eternal consequences of such interference cannot be justified by our temporary human perception of "dignity". What we call death with dignity, is disobedience to God, no matter how loving and caring we try to make it sound.

We either surrender all to God or we have surrendered nothing to Him.

Psalm 139:13-16 (NKJV)
13) For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14) I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15) My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16) Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

Footnotes:
(1) www.deathwithdignity.org