3 Perspectives on Voluntary Decision to End Life
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This paper is a comparative discussion of three very different perspectives on the voluntary decision to end one's life: Judaism; Viennese psychotherapist Viktor E. Frankl, whose position is similar to that of Judaism; and Jack Kevorkian, the pathologist whose very public assistance in the suicides of terminally ill patients has stimulated much open discussion about the right to die and what constitutes quality of life. At the extremes between good physical health and a body ravaged by terminal illness or unbearable, unending pain, Frankl (the "Doctor of the Soul") and Kevorkian ("Dr. Death") represent clear opposites in what appears to be a simple debate. When the discussion moves closer, however, when Frankl and Judaism are faced with devastating disease and Kevorkian deals with less imminent or obvious death, these two opposing arguments become complicated. Neither viewpoint offers the absolute answer to what is an extraordinarily complex question. Robert E. Nelson Jr. defines suicide as "the taking of one's own life because of an involuntary impulse to do so," but he differentiates this from "self-sacrificing acts of heroism, the defiance of fugitives, or the desires of those who wish to die with dignity." Stephen Jamison also makes a clear distinction between suicide and assisted death, observing that the latter "ends of the life of the patient . . . whose hope for continued living and cure is gone, and who is faced with the alternative of suffering until inevitab
. . .
ing Wills" along with mercy killing as contrary to the commandments of God.
Maurice Lamm explains the Jewish opposition to self destruction: "The suicide, in effect, denies the lordship, the supreme mastery of God, when he decides that he is the lord of his own soul. He is then committing not only an act of violence; he is guilty of sacrilege." Because suicide is so unacceptable to Jews, rabbis allow the widest possible interpretation of each suspicious death, many times clashing with secular rulings. Lamm outlines the kinds of circumstances that may cast doubt on whether a death was actually a planned suicide, including evidence of a change of mind after the act was performed. Consideration of circumstances allows Jews to find sacrificial suicides, such as Saul's impalement on his own sword rather than falling into the hands of his enemies, acceptable as examples of temporary states of extreme distress. Such states absolve the individual from sacrilegious intent. Wherever possible, Judaic tradition gives the dead the benefit of the doubt.
Judaic tradition also supports the injunction against suicide from another perspective. Judaism emphasizes the responsibility of each individual for the family and the community as
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Judy Brown's, Timothy Quill, Jack Kevorkian, University Atlanta, Stephen Jamison, Maurice Lamm, Wherever Judaic, Frankl Frankl, Dr Death, Hippocratic Oath, quality life, one's life, dr death, medical community, doctor soul, medical profession, brown's father, living wills, viktor frankl, dr death represent, april 1996, 15 april 1996, man's search meaning, diminished quality life, decision one's life,
Approximate Word count = 2652
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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