just really recently, member of a friend’s family was taken to a health care facility, upon doing some testing, was detected with a troublesome case of spreaded leukemia and liver failure. cancer spreaded so much that doc was surprised how did the patient made it there?
anyway, to cut the long story short, my friend called me to come by and say my final words to her family member.. i went, called her brother on the way, we both went.. and doc asked that its a lost cause.. moment they remove the machines, the patient will die in immense pain.. they offered to use injection while keeping machines on, this way patient will go in deep sleep, wouldnt feel a thing and simply all body functions will crawl upto a flatline stop.. totally painless, medically speaking.
my friend cried her eyes out and took that option since there was nothing that could be done..
later on she brought up a valid point of, isnt that intervening in god’s plan? that is, doc taking life away?
i sort of agreed, but then i brought up points that hikmat is a REALLY old profession, when u get sick, u seek health, u go to hakeems/doctors.. they STILL intervene dont they? by making u all healthy .. then how come intervening to ease ur pain is like taking ur life away/killing/murder?
i’m somewhat neutral on this as i understand, she had to sign the authorization to use that injection, in the case of total failure and painless death. but then ever since the start of times, there have been miracles and its a VERY GOOD point that isnt injection guaranteeing the death? because it WAS a miracle that patient lived it that far…? 2-3 hrs MORE of immense torture and pain in body compared to peaceful painless death?
I'd favour for injection. Why should a dying person suffer immense pain if we know that there is an alternative available for peaceful death. It is not interfering God's plan, if we think that way then seeking medical help in case of sickness is interferring God's plan too since he gives u sickness & he gives you health too. A doctor is just a bridge towards health.
euthanasia has always been , and will always remain a big debate no matter what ......................... from medical point of view i agree with this idea , but i'm not aware of islamic ruling about it that's y might not able to decide what to do if get caught in a situation where my consent would be required for such procedure.
Many say that the suffering we endure at the time of death is a cleansing process; that the pain we live through here is penance for the sins we have committed.
If we are able to wash away those sins we are promised a more comfortable time in the after-life.
On the other hand, I believe in a merciful Allah that loves us. One that loves us more than our own mother can. I cannot understand why he would want us to suffer a painful death when we are already assured that we will be rewarded/punished for our actions in the afterlife.
Allah knows best. May He always be in our hearts and minds and may He guide us through these troublesome decisions.
Very difficult call to make indeed. I can relate my recent experience of my mother passing away. We do not know how much pain she was in because she never came to after her angioplasty. She did have multiple organ failure (or at least that is what is listed on her death certificate). Her kidneys had stopped functioning and her blood pressure was very low. In one of the phone calls I had asked my father, that tell the doctors that we will bare all expenses, just do not turn off any of the life supporting machines. When it was time, the doctor explained (or showed) that if the machines were turned off, she will not be able to survive on her own. My father was hesitant, hence, they did turn the machines off for a couple of minutes.... her blood pressure dropped to 60/40, heartbeat was almost non existent.... he made the call to turn off the machines. I never did discuss this in great depth with him, because, I understand the pain he must have gone through to come that conclusion.
The point of this long post is... I guess it depends upon each individual situation and remember, it is Allah who gives and takes the life, not you me or the doctor.
A tough situation indeed. My dad and mom set up "healthcare directives", legal documents that outline what they want done in the case that they become unable to decide for themselves. Since its such a personal decision, this is a wise thing to have in place.
I keep thinking of Terri Schiavo and actually had a conversation with my parents about her before my dad was diagnosed with advanced cancer. In HER case ("vegetative state"), I think there was at least SOME level of awareness. Even if it were at the basest levels, she DID respond to her mother. AND her mother wanted her to live, her mother wanted to take care of her. I say why not? They took her off "life support" and forbid the mother to even offer her a cup of water with a straw. A police officer was standing by to prevent that. SO the poor mother watched her daughter starve to death. Thats incredibly beyond awful. It could have all been prevented with that legal document containing "health directives".
I have to say that in the end stages, my dad was aware but in pain. We did as much as we could for that, we knew he didnt want tubes and breathing machines so we let him go at home. WIth as much support and love as we could give him.
It all comes down to the fact that ALlah/GOd gave us humans the ability to figure out how to prolong life. Whether you want to avail yourself of that or not is a completely personal choice and one which needs to be discussed and laid out in plain terms with your loved ones. No sin IMO either way - whether you want to just go or if you want to fight on. But having these things in place beforehand, whether in legal documents or by simply discussing it with loved ones can make all the difference.
Confused, i don't know where exactly your friends relative is or what exactly was he told by the doctors, or how effective was really the communication.
Euthanasia is still illegal in most of the world.
Pain relief however, is standard, it has to be offered to all patients in pain, whether a decison is made to continue life support or not.
The act of withdrawing treatment is not classified as euthanasia, neither is the act of providing pain relief even if its secondary effect can cause death. That is at least the UK legal situation.
I suspect that the "injection" to which confused is referring was for pain relief. It must have been a narcotic that would induce sleep and during that sleep, organs would eventually fail and cause the body to cease functioning/die. These organs were being "helped along" by the life support mechanism and once removed would be left to manage on their own.
I can't believe that the drug administered via injection would have been used to encourage or bring on the actual death.
The Schiavo case still give me goosebumps. To be forced to sit idle and watch your child die must be the most difficult thing to do in the world. I would surely be committed to an insane assylum thereafter.
and that’s about it.
One who needs to suffer with the time of death will suffer it no matter how painless it may feel to others. Suffering of death is not the criteria of a person being good or bad. Even Prophet:saw: last days were exremely painful as we read in the books.
Quran talks about death “when one ankle inter-twined with other” and then prophet:saw:'s hadith that a non-believer feels at the time of the capture of soul like hot meat stuck to iron bars and someone forcefully pulls it out VS a believer’s soul as if you take a drop out of a water bowl…
I lost both parents in the last year, and had the occasion to speak extensively with both of them. They were both ill with cancer, and specifically chose to have "no heroic efforts". So we were all very clear, there would be no machines, no CPR etc. They both also enrolled in Hospice care. Hospice seeks to control pain, and to allow the patient to die naturally, and with dignity. God gave us the wisdom to discover pain control. There is no good that can come from a painful death. God also gave us the ability to use machines to prolong life. My personal view is that the case you witnessed would be decided the same way by the vast majority of people. When all involved are convinced that death is imminent and irreversible, then a painless death is best. God still has the opportunity to intervene, even up to the last moment. In modern society we very seldom see people die. A hundred years ago we all would have been far more experienced with the emotions and the trauma that comes with death.
I have made very clear to my family that I do not want my life prolonged by machinery.
The act of withdrawing treatment is not classified as euthanasia, neither is the act of providing pain relief even if its secondary effect can cause death. That is at least the UK legal situation.
Exactly,
… and the pain of death is a natural thing to happen, no matter how we die, but we will feel the same pain which is written for us.
I will recommend consulting to a Mufti or a Molaana, because it’s a serious matter, but at the same time you never know if by the Grace of Allah she might be able to recover and survive. So, go with the natural process only.
The pain what we see or feel, is from only Allah, we need to accept it as it is, we must not interfere in this option at the least, we must try to save a person till the end, we are no one to decide how to give a death to a person. Death only belongs to Allah, HE is the justice and HE is the most merciful, so leave it to Allah, and let her go by naturally.
This is a moment every person has to go through, and every person will taste it according to Allah’s plan, and being Muslim we must have firm faith that ALLAH will not put any one in any kind of Misery.
hmm. I think an injection is to make it easier for the people who are alive. Dying is never painless. The moments the 'rhoo' is pulled from the body is incredibly painful. (Exceptions ofcourse here and there)
I have read this somewhere a long while ago and thats why I dont have a reference. Although I would probably go for an injection it would probably be to comfort myself. :)
edit/ A little late, Abbajee has the complete anwser
The act of withdrawing treatment is not classified as euthanasia, neither is the act of providing pain relief even if its secondary effect can cause death. That is at least the UK legal situation.
i dont believe withdrawing life support is euthanasia in Pakistan either.
i sort of agreed, but then i brought up points that hikmat is a REALLY old profession, when u get sick, u seek health, u go to hakeems/doctors.. they STILL intervene dont they? by making u all healthy .. then how come intervening to ease ur pain is like taking ur life away/killing/murder?