Euthanasia

Euthanasia is a big word that sounds like “youth in Asia” to me. This word is about ending life when people are old, sick and in pain. Some people believe this is killing, and very wrong. Other people believe that this is what love is about - stopping pain and letting people die with dignity and honor.

Now that medical technology is very advanced, many people are leaving instructions to their doctor and family about how they want to be treated when they are old and very sick. Some people don’t want to be kept alive if they can’t feed themselves or if their heart or lungs won’t function without mechanical help.

What are the attitudes towards euthanasia in your native culture? Is there one general thought on the subject, or are there many views? Does your culture make laws concerning euthanasia?

The word “suicide” has many different ideas and stories attached to it. Usually in America, the word suicide is a very tragic and sad word because the idea of someone killing themself is horrible. However, some cultures have traditions of “honorable suicide.” (One Japanese friend describe hara-kiri in detail for me recently!) What does suicide mean in your native culture? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, sometimes good, sometimes bad?

Who owns our bodies? Do we own our bodies? Do our families own our bodies? Who has the right to make decisions for our bodies?

For example, you can choose to smoke, drink alcohol, do drugs, or eat a high fat diet. Is it different to kill yourself by eating poorly or smoking than to kill yourself with an intentional drug overdose?

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food; but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body . . .”

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:12-13 and 19-20

What do these words from the Bible have to say about the uses of our bodies?