Citation

Fernandes AK. Christ. Bioeth. 2010; 16(3): 257-273.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Journal of Christian Bioethics, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/cb/cbq023

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The debate over euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EPAS) continues to ignore the philosophical anthropology on which certain critical claims rest. In this paper, I offer several anthropologically based arguments against one prominent justification for EPAS: the Argument from the Evil of Suffering. I demonstrate that the argument is, at its core, a utilitarian one, and that a sound rebuttal can be found by examining Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II's view of suffering as a transformative experience for the human person. Wojtyla both rejects the secular bioethics vision of meaningless, quantifiable suffering, but also offers to take Christian bioethics far beyond the story of Job and into the realm of phenomenological change. By focusing on participation of the suffering sick in community with others, and rejecting alienation, Christians can arrive at a more complete conception of suffering that embraces the complementarities of philosophy and theology. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of The Journal of Christian Bioethics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Euthanasia; Assisted suicide; Suffering; Wojtyla