Euthanasia Revisited

We’ve talked about euthanasia a few times over the years. Since all physical life ends in death, euthanasia is a near-constant subject of interest. And a subject of conflict.

A few days ago, there was an article about Helen, the world’s second-oldest gorilla. She was very popular with her keepers and the public.

But she had to be euthanized a few weeks ago because her health was declining. She was 64, far beyond the typical female gorilla life expectancy of 39 years.

As one of her keepers said, “Letting go of a special gorilla like Helen is very hard, but it is often the last best thing we can do for our animals.” (Emphasis added.)

Spirit

We love those words of Helen’s keeper: “Letting go of a special gorilla like Helen is very hard, but it is often the last best thing we can do for our animals.”

At the risk of offending some of you, we would add this to that: Letting go is also the last best thing you can do for your human family.

In Berna’s and Johnny’s families, there have been some members who lingered long and painfully with serious illnesses. And that is likely true for many of you reading this.

It is also likely, euthanasia was not considered or practiced.The reason is simple: You fear death! You fear it because you have no idea of what death is.

As Johnny is fond of saying, “You didn’t come here to earth to stay forever.”

You, at your spirit level, came to earth to play, have fun, and grow in joy.

Read that last sentence again. Life is supposed to be fun, even in your darkest hours!

Life is sacred, yes—all life. But your Creator never meant your physical life to be forever. It was meant to be a single, simple step in your eternal journey of joy.

When you are on a journey, you never consider it wrong or evil to take the next step. Physical life is a journey. Your next step is death.

Your Creator never intended your physical life to be a time of suffering. You have created the suffering, not the Creator. Life is a time of challenges, yes. But a time of suffering, NO!

And so, when life does become a journey of unbearable suffering, there is no sin in moving on by whatever means works for you.

Are we saying euthanasia is sometimes a good and acceptable path? Yes!

You didn’t come here to stay forever. You didn’t come here to suffer endlessly. You came to experience physical life in all its joys and sorrows.

And then you return to that Home you never left.

Copyright © 2022 by John Cali and Berna Copray
Edited by Berna Copray

We’re playing “the devil’s advocate” with this video. Here a terminally ill mother, a faithful Catholic, argues against euthanasia or assisted suicide. As Spirit often says, we must honor all people’s values and opinions, whether they agree with us or not.

Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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