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Summary
- Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches teach that a patient may stop a treatment whose burdens outweigh its benefits, dialysis included, and that doing so is not suicide.
- The Catholic Catechism allows a patient to discontinue “burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate” procedures, but it forbids interrupting the ordinary care owed to the sick (CCC 2278–2279).
- The Orthodox Church in America rejects euthanasia, yet it does not oppose removing life support that brings no demonstrable benefit when that is the patient’s wish.
- Lutheran, Southern Baptist, United Methodist and Seventh-day Adventist statements and spokesmen all draw the line between allowing death and causing it.
- The National Kidney Foundation says patients have the right to stop dialysis, that people who stop may live from one to several weeks, and that death from kidney failure is usually painless.
- The Bible never mentions dialysis, but it forbids murder (Exodus 20:13) and records medical remedies used alongside prayer (2 Kings 20:1–7).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Genesis 1:27; Exodus 20:13; 2 Kings 20:1–7; Ecclesiastes 3:2; Romans 14:8; Philippians 1:13, 21–24; James 5:14. https://www.esv.org/
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2277–2279. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7Z.HTM
- Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia (5 May 1980). https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19800505_euthanasia_en.html
- Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, “Synodal Affirmations on Marriage, Family, Sexuality, and the Sanctity of Life” (Miami, July 1992). https://www.oca.org/holy-synod/statements/holy-synod/synodal-affirmations-on-marriage-family-sexuality-and-the-sanctity-of-life
- Orthodox Church in America, “Medical Bioethics: An Orthodox Christian Perspective for Orthodox Christians,” Parish Ministry Resources. https://www.oca.org/parish-ministry/familylife/medical-bioethics-an-orthodox-christian-perspective-for-orthodox-christians
- Pew Research Center, “Religious Groups’ Views on End-of-Life Issues” (21 November 2013), sections on the ELCA, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Seventh-day Adventist Church, Southern Baptist Convention, United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/11/21/religious-groups-views-on-end-of-life-issues/
- “Commending Life’s End to God: The ELCA Message on ‘End-of-Life Decisions’ After Two Decades,” Journal of Lutheran Ethics, quoting the ELCA message “End-of-Life Decisions” (1992). https://learn.elca.org/jle/commending-lifes-end-to-god-the-elca-message-on-end-of-life-decisions-after-two-decades/
- Southern Baptist Convention, “Resolution on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide” (Indianapolis, 1992). https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/resolution-on-euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/
- National Kidney Foundation, “Dialysis: Deciding to Stop.” https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/dialysis-deciding-to-stop
- National Kidney Foundation, “Dialysis.” https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/dialysis
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