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When
faced with serious illness, some people, in desperation, tragically
seek to end their lives through assisted suicide. But they typically
don’t want to die. Their pursuit of assisted suicide is usually rooted
in fears of helplessness, pain, or dependency. They may fear being
perceived as a “burden” by their family. The patient requesting assisted
suicide is often asking, “Does anyone want me to be alive, or care
enough to talk me out of this request and support me through this
difficult time?” Assisted suicide offers only false compassion and a
misguided sense of mercy. Rather than addressing the patients’ problems,
assisted suicide cruelly eliminates the life of a patient in need of
authentic care.
Instead,
people who are ill or dying should receive care that meets their needs
and upholds the gift of their lives. Palliative care (which is not
limited to the dying process) and hospice care embody a comprehensive
and integrated approach that seeks to provide physical, psychological,
social, familial, and spiritual support for those who are sick or dying.
We need to surround those going through serious illness or the dying
process with love, support, and companionship that are “anchored in
unconditional respect for their human dignity, beginning with respect
for the inherent value of their lives.”* Every life is worth living.
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