INTRODUCTION

National Conference on Standards for Cardio-Pulmonary

Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care issued revised
guidelines that stated: "When doubt exists...resuscitation
should be instituted. One of the situations in which CPR is
usually not indicated is the case of the terminally ill
patient for whom no further therapy for the underlying
disease process remains available and for whom death
appears imminent."
A

Christian

assessment

of

the

issues

surrounding

resuscitation needs to start from the realization that

however poor, ill, disabled or even in pain a person is, his
or her life is never futile. Human beings are God-like
beings. The Bible states that human beings are made in
Gods image a statement that says more about values
than physical attributes. Being made in Gods image
means that we should respond to each other with wonder,
respect, empathy and above all with an attitude that seeks
to protect each other from abuse, harm, manipulation and
from willful neglect. A person who is exceedingly ill is still
a person. Even if a decision is made that attempts at
resuscitation are so unlikely to succeed that it would be
inappropriate to try, this does nothing to diminish the
value placed on the person.
A consequence of this high view of life is that we must
distinguish removing suffering from removing the sufferer.
Any action that sets out with the intention of destroying a

human life desecrates Gods image. Just because these

people or their family may be becoming physically or
financially

exhausted,

this

is

no

reason

for

taking

decisions that will hasten the death of another person.

Providing patients and families with accurate information
regarding the risks and potential medical benefit of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation is also critical. Under
certain circumstances, CPR may not offer the patient
direct clinical benefit, either because the resuscitation will
not be successful or because surviving the resuscitation
will lead to co-morbidities that will merely prolong
suffering without reversing the underlying disease.
Another problem is that people tend to have

an

excessively optimistic view of the chances of resuscitation

being successful. The reality is very different. To start
with, resuscitation is seldom a single event, but is a longdrawn-out

string

of

interventions.

This

includes

electrically stimulating the heart, mechanically helping

the person breathe, and transferring them to an intensive
care unit for further treatment.
The principal intention of DNR is to prevent patients
suffering

pointlessly

from

the

bad

effects

that

resuscitation can cause: broken ribs, other fractures,

ruptured spleen, brain damage while neither cure nor
recovery is possible. For example, there is basically no
chance that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) will save
the life of someone who has advanced cancer and heart
failure. In these sorts of situations the attempt to

resuscitate is a futile exercise denying the person a

dignified death. If the patient is elderly, there is a high
chance that the force needed to compress the chest will
break some ribs. This causes intense pain and complicates
further treatment.
God-fearing medical intuition begins not with an analysis
of the patient's condition, but the motives of those making
the decision about treatment. A doctor who evaluates the
value of life subjectively and qualitatively is more likely to
paint a dim picture of outcome for CPR therapy. That
doctor will be quick to recommend a DNR order rather
than risk survival of a patient whose quality of life is
diminished. On the other hand, a doctor who sees life as
having intrinsic value, who is rooted in Biblical principles,
will be more inclined to advise CPR and DNR decisions
from that perspective. Even though the ability of the
medical

community

to

accurately

predict

treatment

outcome is scarcely better than a weatherman's success at

predicting the weather, a God-fearing doctor will advise
with a backbone of Christian values about God and about
human life.
Instead, a Christian doctor is more inclined to be
concerned that the dying process not be artificially
extended or suffering increased.
Life is life. An individuals self-worth is not dependent on
mobility and/or function. Rather, it rests in the fact that
every human has been created in the image and likeness

of God. Godnot manis the One Who establishes

humanitys significance.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all
for the glory of God." Never forget that the entire decision
process falls under the broader umbrella which says, "Thy
will be done."
Biblical

teaching

regarding

the

nature

of

man

acknowledges that he is composed of two distinct parts

the physical and the spiritual. In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul
wrote: ...but though our outward man is decaying, yet
our inward man is renewed day by day. In some fashion,
then, God has placed within man a portion of His own
essencein the sense that man possesses a spirit that will
never die.

Topic

:CODE

BLUE!

CHRISTIAN

HEART

CRISIS:

RESUSCITATE?
Euthanasia-Do Not Resuscitate
Purpose : At times, the laws of man are of little use, since
what is acceptable and beneficial in the medical
society may not be what is right in the eyes of
God. Similarly, our instincts and insights may be
of no use, since they often are clouded by pain or

emotion, obscuring our view of the Almightys

plan. Therefore, through this study process, we
hope to be able to acquire and comprehend the
prerequisite mindset and presupposition required
to analyze and consider both the medical and
Christians view towards end of life decisions.
Structure:

I.

Definition of Physicians Assisted Suicide Euthanasia:

DNR
DNR in Medical Science
DNR in Christian World View
Interrelation DNR between Medical Science and

Christian World View in regrads to DNR

Definition of Physicians Assisted Suicide Euthanasia: DNR
in terminal care.
Euthanasia:
The painless killing of a patient suffering from an
incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma.
(oxford dictionaries)
Euthanasia is an act whereby a physician intentionally
causes the death of a terminally ill patient. It differs from
murder in that the motive is seen as merciful rather than
malevolent. The physician's intent is to help the terminally
ill patient avoid the suffering that often accompanies the
process of dying. (medscape)
According to BBC Ethics Guide, these are the different
forms

of

euthanasia

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/dnr.sht
ml):
Active and passive euthanasia

In active euthanasia a person directly and deliberately

causes the patient's death.
In passive euthanasia they don't directly take the patient's
life, they just allow them to die. This can be done in 2
ways:
1. Withdrawing treatment: for example, switching off a
machine that is keeping a person alive, so that they die
of their disease.
2. Withholding treatment: for example, not carrying out
surgery that will extend life for a short time.
Voluntary and involuntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia occurs at the request of the person
who dies.
Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when the person is
unconscious or otherwise unable to make a meaningful
choice between living and dying, and an appropriate
person takes the decision on their behalf.
Involuntary euthanasia occurs when the person who dies
chooses life and is killed anyway.
Indirect euthanasia
This means providing treatment (usually to reduce pain)
that has the side effect of speeding the patient's death.
Assisted suicide
This usually refers to cases where the person who is going
to die needs help to kill themselves and asks for it. It may

be something as simple as getting drugs for the person

and putting those drugs within their reach.
DNR:
According

to

BBC

Ethics,

DNR

is

defined

as

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/dnr.sht
ml):
DNRs are Do Not Resuscite orders. A DNR order on a
patient's file means that a doctor is not required to
resuscitate a patient if their heart stops and is designed to
prevent unnecessary suffering.