Questions of Life

The modern world struggles with defining when life begins and when life ends. This remains one of the troubling ethical/moral questions of our age. In some ways, due to ever more sophisticated medical technology, the question gets harder to answer.

Certainly, we are all familiar with the debate on the beginning of life as it relates to the legality or morality of abortions. Through the centuries, various answers to the question of "when does life begin?" have been given, ranging from the very moment of conception to the moment of birth. And, that presumes being able to define one specific moment at which the fetus has passed from non-life to life. Obviously, your understanding of this fundamental issue will affect your view of the ethics/morality of abortion.

Questions of "alive or not alive" at the other end of the continuum of human existence - as one is dying - are not any easier to answer. When I was a pastor in Mobile Alabama, I had the occasion to talk with a Catholic theologian who was a consultant to the court in a case of a nursing home resident who showed no life functions, but had not signed a Living Will document. While the doctor had advised the family that there was no hope for the person recovering and was recommending turning off the life-support, a nurse's aide at the care home, not related to the patient, sued to have the patient remain on life support. The judge was in a quandry.

In 1980, a bill was proposed, the Universal Determination of Death Act, that was eventually accepted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which defined death in this way: "An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem is dead." There are many terms in this definition open to interpretation, but, at leasst, it provides a framework.

What happens, though, when one's religious community chooses not to accept this definition. In the Washington Post's On Faith this weekend is the story of a 12 year old Orthodox Jewish boy who meets the criteria of the UDDA, but whose family does not accept these standards because of their faith. The family says that, as long as his heart is beating, even if it is on a machine, the boy is still alive.

Do you struggle with questions of life? How does your faith inform your understandings? How do you respond to those who disagree with your understandings?