tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163514158748049548.post7881044815144147569..comments2024-02-28T16:57:47.055+00:00Comments on Diary of a Donkeybody: Al and Ad's animadversionsMichael Wenhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756324780596609238noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163514158748049548.post-4733438522209006242009-06-30T10:06:01.404+01:002009-06-30T10:06:01.404+01:00Hi Uncle Michael,
Having read your post of Satur...Hi Uncle Michael, <br /><br />Having read your post of Saturday 27th June (‘Al & Ad’s animadversions’) , I can see that it might seem contradictory to state both that ‘suicide is wrong’ and that Christians would not ‘condemn’ those who commit suicide. I used the word ‘condemn’ in a narrow sense, meaning that true Christians would not personally seek to punish those who tried or succeeded in committing suicide (bearing in mind that it is possible to ‘punish’ those who are dead by denying them burial or inheritance rights, for example). One can say without contradiction that it is wrong to personally punish those who commit suicide and, at the same time, to state that suicide is wrong and accept that governing institutions should apply sanctions to prevent suicide and protect people, particularly the vulnerable. I hope that is a bit clearer. <br /><br />You are quite right that my post was informed in part by my experience of work within hospitals. I regularly saw serious abuses of power by doctors, some of which were due to ignorance of the rules but a lot of which were due to indifference to these rules and because it was easier for staff (working in a stressful environment) not to comply. My role was to help patients in such situations and, although patients had a right to see us, often they were denied access to representation and we did not find out about abuse until after it had happen. These stories did not reach the newspapers; we dealt with cases every day. If people were aware of the regularity with which power was abused within certain sectors of our hospital system, they would be very frightened by the idea of legalising assisted suicide. We cannot bring back to life those who have been assisted to die and right wrong. <br /><br />Thanks for your comments. <br /><br />Love AlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com