GS26 calls for churchwide conversation, study on physician-assisted death Written by Micki Carter June 26, 2007
The United Church of Christ, at every setting, was urged Tuesday afternoon to initiate study and conversation about the possibility of supporting the legal right of a terminally ill and mentally competent adult to receive medication to hasten death.
The original resolution, brought to GS26 from the Northern California Nevada Conference and the Congregational Church of Belmont, Calif., called for the UCC to affirm physician aid in dying. However, a difficult and sometimes contentious committee process ? and the firm objection of the UCC Disabilities Ministries ? led to the decision to call for a study of the issue instead.
In presenting the resolution to the delegates, the Rev. Shawnthea Monroe-Mueller of the Minnesota Conference called it "an urgent invitation to a conversation, a thoughtful and prayerful conversation" on an issue that "we lack the moral and theological resources to discuss" at this time.
The Rev. John Brooke of the Northern California Nevada Conference, who has worked with the national Death with Dignity campaign for more than 15 years, expressed pleasure that the committee had found a satisfactory way to encourage a discussion of the issue.
"The church really hasn't looked at the issue of end-of-the-life choices. I'm very pleased that the United Church of Christ, at every level, will be encouraged to expand the discussion of end-of-life issues and consider physician aid in dying in the very limited circumstances we have described. This gives us a way of moving ahead with a religious and moral dialogue."
The original proposal described physician aid in dying in much the same terms that the state of Oregon used in creating its Death with Dignity law in 1997. Safeguards would include:
* A diagnosis by two physicians that the patient has less than six months to live
* Determination that the patient is mentally capable of freely making this request
* Written and oral requests from the patient with waiting periods between the requests.
* Explicit provisions that chronic illness, age or disability do not by themselves qualify a patient.
* All other palliative care options must be presented in writing to the patient
* Patient may rescind the request at any time
Brooke noted that in Oregon, over the past nine years, 300 people have taken a lethal prescription and not a single abuse of the law has been alleged.
During the committee deliberations, Denise Karuth of the Massachusetts Conference, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a motorized wheelchair, spoke against the resolution as a representative of the UCC Disabilities Ministry which voted to oppose the resolution.
"We're afraid that the 'right to die' will become the 'duty to die,'" Karuth said. "We're also afraid that people who choose not to take the pills will be blamed for their own suffering."
Steve Ito of the Hawaii Conference added, "We may have the compassion for this kind of law but not the wisdom."
After the Sunday night session, it was clear that the committee delegates were seriously divided on the issue. On Monday morning, Brooke suggested the compromise that called only for study rather than affirmation, and the committee accepted.
On the floor Tuesday, two spoke in opposition.
"I oppose the focus on 'physician' in this resolution," said Steve Ohnsman of Penn Southeast Conference. "It is not our duty to end life. If it was 'pastor' aid in dying, we would shrink back in horror."
David Runnion-Bareford of the New Hampshire Conference added, "Scripture is clear that our lives are not our own. The emphasis should be to live in Christ and face death in Christ. It is not something we should assist."
However, Deborah Streeter of the Northern California Nevada Conference welcomed the opportunity for the newly reinstated Science and Technology Ministry of the UCC to help in resource development for the study.
The resolution calls for a report on the physician aid in dying issue to be presented to General Synod 27 in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 2009.