Church anger of Japan euthanasia guidelines: CEN 11.09.07 p 8. November 12, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Abortion/Euthanasia, Church of England Newspaper, Nippon Sei Ko Kai.trackback
Church leaders have denounced guidelines adopted by the Japanese Association of Acute Medicine (JAAM) that allows doctors to euthanize terminally ill patients.The Oct 15 policy paper allows doctors to stop life prolonging treatments of the terminally ill, if the patient has stated in writing they do not wish to receive such treatment and their family endorses the decision.
If the family cannot decide or if the cannot be found, the decision should be left up to a team of medical professionals, JAAM said.
Critics charge the new guidelines are being driven by fears of government prosecution, rather than medical ethics. Japanese law is silent on euthanasia, with the state tending not to prosecute cases of “mercy killing” when done with the family’s permission. However, in 2005 a Yokohama doctor was jailed for three years for giving a comatose man a lethal injection.
On Oct 27 the Japanese newspaper the Ashai Shimbun reported that JAAM began compiling the guidelines after police questioned a doctor at Imizu City Hospital in Toyama Prefecture who had removed artificial respirators from seven terminal-cancer patients between 2000 and 2005.
The Rev. Masakatsu Seki, professor emeritus of Christian life ethics at St. Paul’s University in Tokyo, told Ecumenical News International the guidelines violated medical ethics.
“The logic is that if they follow the process towards halting measures for prolonging lives according to this [report], they will be justified and won’t be sued for illegal acts and that they have supported death with dignity as a mercy killing,”, the Anglican priest said.
If I am suffering from an incurable illness and am already in the process of dying, what right does the church have to keep me alive against my wishes? For all its dogma about “playing God,” isn’t religion ignoring the fact that when doctors try to keep a dying patient alive by forced feeding, antibiotics or ventilators, they are interfering with the natural process of death? The decision to discontinue life support should be between the patient (via and advanced statement as to wishes or through an appointed third party) and whatever Deity the patient believes in. When religion claims to be the intermediary between God and “man”, then isn’t it doing exactly what it claims to oppose; playing God?
[...] Nicki wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIf I am suffering from an incurable illness and am already in the process of dying, what right does the church have to keep me alive against my wishes? For all its dogma about “playing God,” isn’t religion ignoring the fact that when … [...]
[...] CHURCH LEADERS have denounced guidelines adopted by the Japanese Association of Acute Medicine (JAAM) that allows doctors to euthanize terminally ill patients …. (geoconger) [...]