Death with Dignity

A few days ago I read an article on the Internet about a young lady dying from a brain tumor. She lives in the state of Oregon that has a dying with dignity law.  This law allows a physician to prescribe drugs that will end someone’s life.  The young lady is planning to commit suicide under Oregon’s death with dignity law.  The lady desires this type of death so much that she and her husband moved from California to Oregon to be able to do this.


In the CNN article I read the lady writes about dying with dignity, not putting her family through the ordeal of seeing her physically deteriorate, and that she has a safety net if the end of life experience becomes unbearable. The lady wishes to die on her own terms.

Death is sad and tragic. It is an ordeal each of us will experience.  I can only relate to it by the experiences I had from watching my parents and sister die.  There can be dignity in death even if it lengthy and painful.  Dignity springs forth from hope.  The one subject I did not read about in the article was anything about a God or the hopes of an after-life except the words “as I pass into whatever's next.”

If you have no hope there is no reason to wait for death.  There is no reason to pray for a miracle. There is no hope that God will work through your sufferings to strengthen those who love you. Ending your life unnaturally takes away the graces your family may receive through the sacrifices they will make for you.

Dignity is the product of hope that comes from the belief that there is a God.  Through our belief in God life becomes important and how we live our life even more important.  When we live our life with the knowledge and belief in an eternal salvation then death becomes a doorway.  We do not need a safety net.  God will be there to walk us through the door.