Death Decision [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The Pro-Life Movement would have their opposition call themselves the "Pro-Death Movement." The title of this book comes from such a persuasion. The contributors of this volume are all committed Christians, both Catholic and Protestant. Most of the authors are lawyers teaching at various law schools throughout the country, such as UC Berkeley, South Texas College of Law, University of Florida Law School and College of Medicine, and O. W. Coburn School of Law, Oral Roberts University. One is a systematic theologian from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and another a professor of church history at Harvard University. These authors include Harold O. J. Brown, John Eidsmoe, Leonard J. Nelsen III, John P. Noonan, Walter Probert, Charles E. Rice, Peter J. Riga, and George Huntston Williams.

This volume contains articles on a wide-range of topics concerning "New Biology." Noonan examines human reproduction throughout church history even though the article is a summary at best. He does show that the church has always insisted that procreation is good, that innocent life is not to be attacked, that personal dignity of each spouse is to be respected, and that sexual love expressed in marriage is holy.

Eidsmoe examines the biblical view of abortion as within a short treatment and excellent word study of the biblical usage for the "unborn child." He then takes apart, point by point, different arguments used to justify abortion.

Nelson shows that the abortion issue cuts across religious categories as he examines the Catholic, the Wesleyan, Lutheran, the Reformed, Judaistic, Baptist, and Anglican traditions. He contends, however, that "a group's position on abortion is often an indicator of that group's adherence to traditional Judeo-Christian values" (p. 53).

The Roe v. Wade decision not only gives sanction for abortion but implicitly sanctions compulsory abortion, writes Rice. Since 1975, courts have increasingly recognized a wrongful birth cause of the action in which physicians may be held liable to parents for the cost of raising a defective child in related damages where there has either been a failure to test for defects or negligence in administering the tests. Physicians can now be liable for the entire cost of raising and educating a child until that child reaches majority.

The well-established wrongful birth cases and emerging wrongful life cases effectively compel doctors to inform expectant mothers of the abortion option, at least in high risk cases, since they fear malpractice actions. This has also forced physicians to test exhaustively for any remote indications of trouble in a pregnancy and to make full disclosure of those risks to the mother, as well as encourage the physician to recommend abortion so that physicians will virtually be relieved of potential civil liability.

Abortion laws are not only affecting handicapped fetuses but handicapped neonates as well. The quality of life argument has been used for involuntary euthanasia on defective neonates for well over a decade at various university clinics and hospitals. In this regard, Riga raises some very interesting moral as well as legal questions to guide parents of handicapped neonates in making their decisions.

Abortion and infanticide are only two examples of the death decision. Euthanasia is another. Brown surveys a church history of euthanasia and, as well as gives some excellent pastoral, medical, and legal proposals.

Probert then outlines the legal precedent for euthanasia, concluding that although social attitudes may eventually support the active intervention to end the person's life, the outer legal limit seems really to be the opposite.

Williams then concludes this volume with an essay that summarizes bio-ethics in our civic, religious, historical and professional context, an essay which is interesting but adds nothing really new to the discussion.

The Death Decision does not offer easy answers, since there are none. But if raises questions and issue of profound interest and importance to everyone concerned with upholding the dignity and value of human life. It thoroughly examines the biblical, ethical, philosophical, and legal questions posed by the New Biology. It is not a book full of fancy rhetoric, but one that deals with the reality of the death decision.

-- Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 1986, 5 (3), 107-108.