To the Editor:
I did not celebrate the decision of the Supreme Court re: physician assisted suicide and I trust there are many others who share my morose in applauding decision about death. I can’t help but think the ruling is one-sided, made with the spotlight firmly fixed on personal autonomy, individual choice and human rights. We are missing the bigger picture, and I have great concern with the lack of attention and reflection offered at a societal level. Have we considered the position of our health care professionals (who will directly or indirectly participate in fulfilling another’s choice), or families and loved ones that will be drawn into the tenuous grey areas of navigating that fatal choice? I believe this ruling will create a sea of subjectivity around the definition of tolerable suffering and competency, and push our ethical discernment to the very edge.
Very soon, the hypothetical musings will become real people with painfully real stories in our communities. As this plays out in our health care facilities there will be moral distress felt by all - religious and irreligious alike. I have to believe that engaging our morals is not an exclusive activity only for people of faith.
Offering and championing faith-based health care in this sea of subjectivity will be a needed voice as we move forward. The health care system that we enjoy today was founded, in large part, by the efforts of many Sisters who because of their faith, sacrificed much to tend to the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs of their patients. Serving from a place of faith in a secular society - and engaging in moral and ethical reflection - is not an antiquated notion. In fact, I dare say it will become a necessity.
Catholic health care values life - from conception to natural death. We make no apology for our convictions, and we don’t claim to fulfill them perfectly either. As people of faith, and practitioners in our communities, we will continue to strive towards quality holistic care, tending to our neighbors in their greatest time of need and suffering. May God help us so that the choice for assisted suicide becomes a moot point, an unnecessary option.
Sandra Kary, Executive Director
Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan
