When Churches offer prayers for euthanasia

The Uniting Church of Australia

The Anglican Church of Canada is making news for all the wrong reasons again - they have adopted liturgy for people who are choosing voluntary assisted dying (VAD, I prefer to use the more accurate and less deceptive term, euthanasia*).

George Sinclair, whom I suspect wrote with tears,

“Picture this scene: A person is sitting in a room. A member of the clergy is with them, offering them communion, with the classic formulation: “The body of Christ (given for you). The blood of Christ (shed for you).” Some other prayers are said. A few moments later, a nurse or doctor administers a lethal injection, killing the person.

Is this a scene from some disturbing dystopian movie? Sadly, no—it is the disturbing reality of the state of the Anglican Church of Canada...”

“What if a national church body, after following its rules and procedures, and much public deliberation and prayer, formally authorizes a rite in which the church’s blessing is pronounced over a person minutes before a doctor kills them, while insisting it is blessing neither the killing nor the decision?”

This is profoundly sad. A society that not only justifies but lauds the taking of life whether in its infancy or in its final stages, has truly lost the plot. Euthanasia has been legalised in many Western countries in recent years, with others wrestling whether to join or not. Euthanasia was legalised in my State of of Victoria in 2019, with other Australian States following closely behind. Over the past 12 months there have been calls to loosen and widen euthanasia laws so that more Australians can access the option to take their own life. Guarantees about having the tightest laws in the world rarely survive the pub test once we’ve decided that taking your own life is morally courageous. The latest call came on the weekend with Peter FitzSimons using his megaphone in the Sydney Morning Herald to give VAD greater accessibility to regional areas of the country.

The appeal to autonomy and making choices for your own body is insatiable and winning most arguments of the day. And yet, the appeal grates and doesn’t add up. For example, a year ago the Aussie football world was rocked by a series of suicides by former players. Each one is tragic and we mourn with each family. At the time, the reactions by the media and the public was palpable. The response to the players who took their own lives as a result of mental illness was genuine sadness and appeals were made o seek help should you find yourself in such a dark place. Another former player (one whom I grew up watching play and coach my team) chose the path of euthanasia. His death was similarly grieved but the language differed greatly. He was praised for his courage. He was lauded for choosing assisted dying rather than palliative care.

The messaging is confusing, conflicting and morally contradictory. Taking your own life is wrong…except when it’s not. Just wait for the right conditions and the law will be on side.

It is one thing for society to leap into some dystopian pothole, but it is damnable when a church does so.

Australian Christians may be shocked to read of what the Anglican Church of Canada has approved in their latest jump away from the Christian faith but we have similar scenes here. I’m reminded of The Uniting Church of Australia, which was once the third largest Christian denomination in Australia (they declined 23% between 2016-2021, and around 40% since 2011). In 2019, the Uniting Church of Victoria and Tasmania voted to allow euthanasia in their hospitals and aged care homes. The then Moderator declared,

“As followers of Jesus, we affirm that all human life is precious and has God-given dignity.

“We believe allowing voluntary assisted dying in our agencies, under the constraints of the legislation, is consistent with this belief.

“The Synod will prepare pastoral responses and resources that reflect the Synod’s decision.”

My response at the time was,

“Let’s get our heads around the moderator’s assertion, “in the name of Jesus…voluntary assisted dying in our agencies, under the constraints of the legislation, is consistent with this belief”.

‘In the name of Jesus’, we support the killing of terminally ill human beings?! What a disgrace to attach Christ’s name to such an ignominious and evil practice.”

The Uniting Church like the Anglican Church of Canada has liturgy and a resource page available for helping people who choose euthanasia. In fact, the Uniting Church includes links to the Anglican Church of Canada and their prayers, including prayers which give thanks to God for those who choose euthanasia.

Sinclair notes,

“In one of the discernment prayers provided, the person deciding whether or not to be killed is compared to Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane. The minister is given encouragement to replace terms like “Father” and “Lord” with language more acceptable (without limit) to those present. Those performing the killing can be present in the service and hear words of absolution spoken over them. The person about to be killed can make a private confession, and as part of that, is told to pray, “[…] that I may live and serve you in newness of life […] to the honour and glory of your name”

I share Sinclair’s dismay, ‘How can this be?.’

Much like the Anglican Church of Canada, the Uniting Church of Australia formally divorced itself from the Christian faith when in 2018 their synod affirmed same sex marriage. It isn’t such a big step from one anthological error to another. Neither will it shock that when we throw away God’s design and vision for humanity, we have already abandoned other key doctrines such as Christology and the atonement.

It’s National Census time in Australia. As 28 million Aussies gear up to answer a host of questions about ourselves, expectations are that Christianity will continue to fall in number. Should we be surprised when Christian denominations keep chasing cultural relevance and following the gospel of the age? The sirenic sounds of cultural anthropology is appealing but it only offers death, in every sense of the word. That’s the problem with that destination, it is so final. The Gospel on the other hand offers life and resurrection hope. The Gospel gives hope and even joy to those who are sick, and to the rest of us who one day will each face death.

As I pastor I am not immune to the terrible suffering people experience, including those who have a terminal illness. As a member of the community, I’m not blind to awful suffering experienced by friends and family. No one wants people suffering, and yet there is a line we ought not to cross, namely sanctioning the killing of human beings because they are ill. Hundreds of medical professionals urged the Victorian Parliament not to accept this legislation, but instead provide proper funding to palliative care. Sadly their concerns and appeals were ignored. The answer to dying isn’t to kill, it is to provide better palliatve care. The ultimate answer to death, is the only one who has defeated it and can guarantee life to come.

Christian theology touches real life and real ethical challenges. We may mourn those who shipwreck their faith, and there is something particularly ignominious about teachers and denominations who encourage others to join the wreckage. John retells a scene where many of Jesus’ followers decide staying with Jesus is too hard.

“many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”