Misplaced compassion

According to a CNN article, a child in Belgium recently asked for the right to be euthanized. The law requires the child to ask for it, and requires the parents to consent before any lethal action is taken. (If parents withhold consent, I understand the child's request is denied.)

I understand that it was a heartbreaking decision these parents had to face. To have a child with a terminal illness, with no medical hope of recovery, must be devastating. I thank God that I've never been faced with that situation, and I pray I never will be. I pray also for the consolation for the parents in their sorrow, sorrow I can never understand and no words will ever take away.

Understand that there is a difference between human euthanasia and not taking "over-zealous" efforts to prolong life. Not taking "over-zealous" steps to prolong life allows a life to end on its own terms (refusing a breathing tube, perhaps). Human euthanasia is actively taking steps to end a life (administering a cocktail of drugs, perhaps).

Several people commenting on the article think that human euthanasia is a compassionate choice. I think their idea of compassion is misapplied in this instance, and similar instances.

I can see why allowing human euthanasia seems to be the compassionate choice. It seems to end the child's suffering. It seems to release the child's soul from a body that won't support the child. It may, in a way, allow the parents some release, knowing their child is no longer struggling to survive in a body that won't. In spite of this, I still don't think allowing human euthanasia is a compassionate option. Human euthanasia misapplies the feelings drawn out by the horrible situation the family is facing.

The first reason I think so is the fact that the choice cannot be made without pressure from others. The government-approved option to intentionally take human life will create pressure to choose that option. Pressure from insurance companies, who may view it as a cheaper option than other treatments or no treatment. Pressure from family members, tired or stressed from taking care of aged loved ones. Pressure from within ones own self, wondering if it's better for everyone else to intentionally end his or her own life. I can't see placing someone who is sick, or someone caring for someone who is sick, under that kind of pressure as compassionate.

Secondly, when the option is chosen, it calls into question the value of human life. Is life more precious for a child than a grandparent? Does an illness have to be less hopeless for a senior than it does a minor? Does cancer qualify? How about AIDS, or arthritis? A brain injury? All these may be incurable and untreatable. Heck, for that matter, so is depression for some people. Who's to judge? Eventually, some will demand the right to euthanize themselves and won't disclose their health issues, as that's private health information. From there, it's a short leap to allow any suicide as a basic human right...

Here's the thing: all life is precious. It's precious at three a.m. with a baby screaming. It's precious at six a.m. when cleaning up after an elderly parent's accidents. It's precious after school at soccer practice, at graduations, at weddings. It is precious when we are young and when we are old. It's precious when we are healthy and when we are sick. It's precious when we celebrate and when we suffer.

Human life is a gift. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us the same: "2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of."

Having the government-sanctioned option to choose to end it misplaces compassion...instead of choosing to serve people suffering, we choose something else. And that is something I can't think of as compassion.