Euthanasia comes from the Greek EU, which means well, and Thanatos which means death. Therefore, its meaning is an easy death. For the Greeks, death meant the end of living activity; a special characteristic of the Greeks was making death a part of life by considering it an act of human achievement. Therefore, it was essential to die gloriously. There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive. Active euthanasia means to produce death. Passive euthanasia means allowing death. Within passive euthanasia, there are two subcategories, natural and unnatural. The former withholds unnatural forms of sustaining life, such as machines that force the body to breathe or the heart to beat. The latter withhold natural forms of sustainment such as food and water. This subcategory is equivalent to active euthanasia and is tantamount to negligent homicide. However, natural passive euthanasia does not cause death, as active or unnatural passive euthanasia, but withholds those artificial means to sustain existence.
Unnatural passive euthanasia comes into play where the patient is terminally ill and can only be supported artificially. It is also the case where a person is in a Persistent Vegetative State (PVS). In PVS, only the cord of the brain where the autonomic nervous system resides is still intact. There is no pattern of brain activity in the electroencephalogram (EEG). This situation is not cut and dry. If the PVS condition is total and irreversible, and if the loss of personhood can be considered death in a theological sense, there appears to be strong support for disconnecting artificial feeding. However, both those that agree and do not must be respected. It is a situation that must be approached with prayer and consideration.
The primary principle related to this issue is murder in the context of the sixth commandment, “you shall not murder” (Exod. 20:13 NASU). Jesus repeats this (Matt. 5:21). Murder consists of the taking of human life in a premeditated manner. The person murdered did not ‘deserve’ to die. They were not a criminal. If they were criminals, only those empowered by the government have the right to take life. An executioner is empowered, while others who would do the same thing would be a murderer (Matt. 22:7). Murder causes death, therefore to cause death, except in the case of the criminal and those so empowered, is murder. We deduce that active and unnatural passive euthanasia are both forms of murder. This conclusion is not the case with natural passive euthanasia, which withdraws the artificial means of prolonging existence. Suicide is taking one’s life, but this is not the case in natural passive euthanasia. If death is inevitable, removing the unnatural means of prolongation would seem justified. The Greeks believed in death with dignity, as do many today. Some consider passive euthanasia as acceptable if used to save the dignity of the dying and merely ceasing to interfere with an irreversible dying process.
The choice involved here is between taking life and allowing it to end. Both active and unnatural passive euthanasia do the former and must be refused. Suicide is a particularly abhorrent crime because it not only violates God’s sovereignty and life’s sanctity but reflects a refusal to take responsibility for the life that God has entrusted to us. There is certainly a time to die (Eccl. 3:2), and for the Christian, it is nothing to fear (2 Cor. 5:1 – 8). The question is whether by disconnecting artificial means of continuance, we are shortening life or just allowing it to progress to the next stage. We believe that natural passive euthanasia meets the criteria for the latter. In the case of PVS, the person is in an irreparable state. The body is alive, but the spirit of the person is departed. Like the bodies made from the bones in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek. 37:5), they are alive, but there is no breath within them. All that is there is the autonomic system. However, does this mean that this is the only right choice? The answer rests with God. Each situation is different. Even believers see things in different ways. The Word says, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17 NASU). Each person in each situation must rest on their knowledge of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14). This answer is the only correct one, in my opinion.