General Assembly
Action On a Churchwide Dialogue on End-of-Life Issues.
That the 213th General Assembly (2001):
1. Request the Office of Theology to do the following:
a. Organize and host a national dialogue to be held in 2002–2003 on
theological issues related to end-of-life care, including the articulation of
a biblical ethic within the bounds of historic Christian faith that encompasses
both pastoral care and palliative care. The Office of Theology shall invite presenters
holding differing perspectives consistent with the Reformed faith as expressed
in the confessions of our church; send invitations to the event to all congregations;
and compile and make available resources to the whole church that result from
this meeting.
b. Urge presbyteries and local congregations to follow up the national conference
with similar presbytery-wide dialogues over the following two years (2004–2005)
in order to emphasize the importance of discussion between and among congregations,
and to add to resources generated by the national conference.
c. Prepare a compilation of resources consistent with the Reformed faith as
expressed in the confessions of our church, which includes resources generated
from both the national and presbytery dialogues to be submitted to the 218th General
Assembly (2006). The resources shall express a biblical ethic on the end of life,
and pastoral and palliative care based on the biblical ethic. The resources shall
be made available as an aid to pastoral teaching and care.
d. Encourage churches and presbyteries to communicate with the General Assembly
and its offices, expressing findings and convictions resulting from their studies
and discussions that would serve as a basis for any policy development at the
General Assembly level.
2. Defer any effort at policy development on the end of life until 2006 and
request the 218th General Assembly (2006) to review the resources generated and
the communications sent from lower governing bodies to determine whether the General
Assembly finds a need for policy on this subject, and whether a consensus has
developed that would guide the development of policy on the end of life.
Rationale
Advancing medical technologies, combined with the aging of the largest segment
of the American population, have brought consideration of end-of-life issues to
the fore. Recent research, such as that done by the Duke Institute on Care at
the end of life, shows that there is both concern and confusion about end-of-life
issues in the culture and the church. While the church is needed to speak a timely
word on this subject, there is a notable lack of both pastoral teaching and resources
for pastoral care ministry in this regard. Churches, and in particular church
leaders, need to consider together end-of-life issues in light of biblical and
Reformed theology. This discussion can best occur in dialogue with our members
who have faced end-of-life care issues in the context of faith. Grassroots experience
must meet biblical reflection in order for the church to speak a clear and grace-filled
word to the culture.
Sound theology is the foundation of biblically sound policy and practice.
The articulation of a biblical ethic within the bounds of historic Christian faith
is the beginning from which any policy and practice in our church should flow.
A clear understanding is needed, for we will meet resistance in the culture. There
is strong political advocacy in certain parts of our country for the removal of
any legal restrictions on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Nevertheless, we are
encouraged that the three most prominent professional associations—the American
Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Nurses
Association—all have condemned physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Much of the current debate around physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is
based on unexamined assumptions as to what constitutes sound medical practice
and effective pain management, and does not include the significant advances in
the field of palliative care. There is a need, then, for interaction between the
church and the medical community in meeting the needs of families facing concerns
at the end of life.
It has been six years since the release of a study guide on end-of-life issues
by the Office of Theology, but only fewer than twenty responses from churches
have been received. We have failed to achieve the grassroots consideration that
is needed. Such dialogue should supercede any top-down policy development in order
that a fruitful interaction may occur between (a) the needs and the witness of
our people, (b) the expertise of the medical community, and (c) our theological
and biblical heritage. The church needs to reach a point of knowing and expressing
its own mind prior to the formal process of developing a General Assembly policy
that expresses a word from the church to the world. |
