Just as people have the freedom of worship, they should be free to decide how to end their own lives under certain conditions, says John Heidel, president of the Interfaith Alliance Hawaii and founder of Religious Leaders for Assisted Dying.
Heidel shared his perspective as a United Church of Christ minister in the continuing conflict about legalizing euthanasia Wednesday at the alliance’s monthly Interfaith Open Table at Harris United Methodist Church. Also speaking were Scott Foster, spokesman for the Hawaii Death with Dignity Society, and Juliet Begley of Compassion and Choices Hawaii, a national advocate for aid in dying, whose organizations have stirred debate recently.
Legislation to allow physician-assisted suicide failed last year in the state Legislature, but opponents have said they are ready to lobby against any new bills, yet to be introduced this session. Oregon, Washington and Montana are the only states that allow physician-assisted suicide.
Heidel said his Religious Leaders for Assisted Dying group consisted of about 30 local Christian, Buddhist and Jewish ministers who came together in 2004 to support passage of death-with-dignity bills in the Legislature. The group, which has been inactive recently, does not include Catholic or evangelical Christians. Its mission statement says in part:
"The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii and Religious Leaders for Assisted Dying state that we respect the right of competent adults to make their own decisions concerning end of life choices according to their own beliefs and values. … We do not support the indiscriminate taking of one’s own life, but rather acknowledge that in certain carefully defined circumstances, it would be humane to recognize that death is certain and suffering is great. … Just as we should be free to worship according to our individual understanding of faith, we should have the freedom in making our own end-of-life choices."
In an interview with the Star-Advertiser, Heidel said religious groups that oppose euthanasia mainly base their arguments defending the sanctity of life on one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall not kill."
"Our answer is death is the final stage of life, which is also sacred," Heidel said. "We should handle it with the same dignity and care that we did for the rest of life."
As a minister, Heidel has seen his share of people suffering as they face death, and they have told him they wished euthanasia was possible because the pain is more than they want to bear, he said.
"Personally, I see the ending of life as a deeply personal decision that needs to be honored. It’s something between me and my understanding of God. We don’t call it suicide because suicide is an act of desperation when other options are available in terms of getting better.
"If your only option (according to secular or religious law) is to live with your suffering, then that’s controlling someone else’s life."
Heidel acknowledged there would have to be safeguards to prevent involuntary deaths of disabled and elderly people.
In October Dr. Robert "Nate" Nathanson, a founder of Hospice Hawaii, announced he was willing to provide a lethal dose of barbiturates to help a terminally ill patient in Hawaii die. The Hawaii Death with Dignity Society and Compassion and Choices Hawaii argued that Nathanson should not be prosecuted, based a 1909 state law that made physician-assisted death legal. The state attorney general’s office later issued an opinion contradicting the groups’ interpretation which both organizations dispute, Foster said.
Foster said that as a 70-year-old gay man "I saw some of the most horrible, horrible deaths" of many friends who had AIDS. If there is a way for him to avoid the same demise, "I want that choice," he said.
"People are free to worship any deity they choose, but kindly stay out of my life — and my death," said Foster, describing himself as a former churchgoer who still has faith in a higher power.
The Hawaii Death with Dignity Society’s next step is public education about the 1909 law that is in keeping with "a constellation of laws" in existence that show it is actually state policy to give broad autonomy over end-of-life care, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and pain management, he said.
The group is not planning to propose new legislation this year since "we believe the best practices by the medical community relating to end-of-life care encompass aid in dying. But doctors don’t feel they can administer a prescription to bring a swift conclusion to one’s life if it’s asked for. The attorney general’s opinion is going to stop a lot from doing it. The final battleground will be in court," Foster said.
