Issues: Euthanasia

Christians and Euthanasia

Most Christians are opposed to euthanasia. All the main churches have made statements opposing euthanasia.

A Roman Catholic Pope, Pius VI said 'Euthanasia is a temptation, in effect, to take the life of a man under the false pretext of giving him a pleasant and quiet death, so as not to see him continue a hopeless life of atrocious agony. Without the consent of the person euthanasia is murder. His consent would make it suicide.'

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that you should never make death come more quickly. They also teach the doctrine of 'double effect'. This says that euthanasia is only allowed if it happens as some type of side-effect to the administration of painkillers or treatment aimed at helping a patient. The doctrine of double effect says that giving morphine to a dying patient to relieve pain might have the side effect of hastening the death. That is acceptable because the aim of the treatment is to help the patient not to kill.