Russia (bbabo.net) - Since January 1, the Austrian authorities have allowed euthanasia for adults, but this position of the authorities ignores the opinion of Christians on this issue, said Archpriest Alexander Abramov, secretary of the Synodal Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church on Bioethics, rector of the Moscow Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Krapivniki.
He recalled that the practice of euthanasia, which boils down to not providing assistance or using drugs to kill a person, is not new to Europe.
“The Netherlands did it first, then Spain, Portugal,” he said.
According to him, the so-called suicide tourism has spread, for example, "to die, people come to Switzerland, where the most lenient regulation of euthanasia."
At the same time, he stressed that "everywhere this meets the resistance of the conservatives."
“From the point of view of Christians, euthanasia is an unconditional evil, a sin,” said the archpriest. - The.jpgt of life is a.jpgt from God, no one can take it away, including the person himself has no right to dispose of his life.
He recalled that representatives of monotheistic religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, signed a document several years ago, which expresses their common position on the end of human life: "there is no euthanasia and yes - palliative care."
He insists that the position of Austrian legislation is precisely "in line with further rough secularization, where some things are recognized as desirable, while others are totally suppressed, for example, the position of Christian conservatives, Christians who say that they are against euthanasia. They are answered:" if you are against, it means that you are against the person and the relief of his suffering. "Unfortunately, such a perverted logic is taken into account so far and is on the rise. I hope that, like many other sinful manifestations, this will stop and roll back," RIA Novosti quotes words of the archpriest.
He warns that following the logic of euthanasia advocates will end up with "eugenic arguments and rules." Someone will decide whether a person experiences excruciating suffering, whether there is a utilitarian benefit from the continuation of his existence and how much his existence costs. "All this leads to a deep disregard for human dignity," insists the priest.
However, he stressed that Christians are not opposed to alleviating the suffering of the dying. "But in order to help a person, to alleviate his suffering, he needs to be helped, not killed," the clergyman says.
Father Alexander believes that everyone has a role to play in helping the terminally ill. "The duty of society to the sick is the duty of compassion. The duty of doctors is to do so in order to alleviate suffering. Close people should not be afraid to come to the hospital, to share this pain. Christian clergy of different confessions do this anyway: the duty of a pastor is to be near the sick, dying , to encourage him, "says the archpriest.
And the dying person himself, in his opinion, should "have all the possibilities to know about his departure and prepare for it." "You need to look with open eyes at the upcoming death, to know that it will be, that it may be close. Do not flirt with death, which is often done by relatives, saying" it's okay, you will live a hundred years. " who, I emphasize, is ready to accept it, to give him the opportunity to adequately prepare for death, this is also part of our duty, "the clergyman said.
He recalled that in the Orthodox tradition, people pray for a painless, shameful and peaceful death. If the death is painful, believers pray to God for relief of suffering, suffering should be "within the strength" of a person.
Christians before death turn to the sacraments: "the dying person asks him to unleash, to confess ..., takes the sacrament, asks God to strengthen him."
“We have the experience of life, no one has the experience of death. There are no people who would not be afraid of death, but someone accepts it in the hope of eternal life, and someone believes that there is nothing beyond this border and she is afraid of him. The attempt of society and a person to hide death, to turn it into something shameful sometimes turns the last hours of a person into a nightmare. Whereas, if you look at it as the fulfillment of the Savior's promise of eternal life, the dying person is not that waiting or looking for it, but accepts, "the priest summed up.
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