We hear a lot about compassion regarding MAID (or medical aid in dying). The word is frequently used for patients and by the proponents of MAID.
Kind and compassionate care is what all healthcare workers should strive for. I'm very thankful for nurses, doctors, etc. and the help they provide to so many people.
Not too long ago, I was working as a caregiver at an assisted living facility. It wasn't uncommon for some of my coworkers to work doubles (16-hour shifts). Sometimes they would work multiple doubles in a week or in a row.
I'm thankful to those who can work long and/or hard shifts, but still be tenderhearted. Caregiving wasn't always an easy job, but it was a good experience that I'm thankful for.
We want real care
People don't always get the care they deserve. Sometimes caregivers will abuse their job. Sometimes healthcare providers find themselves in compassion fatigue. If we aren't careful, we can become compassion-complacent. I've been there.
Compassion fatigue can cause people (specifically healthcare workers) to be numb to the suffering in front of them. I believe people can also be complacent. We may speak or act in a way that is disrespectful or unprofessional. Everyone should guard against that.
So many individuals are people we want to see in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. People who honestly care, who put patients first, and who genuinely want to help. People who are compassionate.
A difficulty we face with the word compassion is that we aren't all on the same page about what it truly means. I might even accept that there are compassionate people who embrace non-compassionate ideology.
How do you define compassion?
According to Webster's Dictionary, compassion is: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.1
When we feel compassion toward someone, part of us shares the pain they are experiencing with a hope of helping them. We feel pain when they do, and we want to alleviate their pain. Many of us would even take the pain for them if we could.
"If you feel pain, you are alive. If you feel other people's pain, you are a human being."
Unfortunately, in our culture, many people readily defend the notion that, to end pain, you must offer death. So-called "mercy killing" to end a human's suffering as you would a dog's.
Pain is a part of life, and when people decide that suffering is unacceptable, we come to a dangerous conclusion: physician-assisted suicide. Many people claim this is a compassionate option.
Compassionate care revolves around a person's life, but not always their choices. Patients should have the right to make important decisions, but there needs to be a limit.
The line in the sand:
There needs to be a line drawn in the sand where compassion is no longer the issue; it's about what is ethical. MAID is a bioethical issue affecting society.
Even if it were deemed completely legitimate to let someone with a terminal illness choose MAID, we have an issue. What message does it leave to a grandpa's grandkids if he decides he's had enough?
It sends a message that life can be discarded. It proclaims a message of "I have nothing left to add to society." It demonstrates that when life gets tough, you can just give up.
This is detrimental. It leaves a bad impression on everyone. It takes a very unhealthy act (suicide) and proclaims it's okay in certain instances.
Unfortunately, culture has normalized MAID so much that you're ousted for daring to undermine MAID's "compassionate" care. Society has embraced this choice as if it's the cure to suffering.
Real compassion
Compassionate care needs to be willing to say "no." No to self-harm, no to the offer of MAID, no to those who say that "this is what compassion is."
It's time to reconnect with what care looks like - life. Providing comfort in life, helping patients fight pain, and NEVER giving up on them. Let's actually help them and promote ways to navigate what they're facing.
Don't resort to a compromise, but seek care that will benefit your family, friends, patients, or yourself. Palliative and hospice care are available for a reason.
I know hospice care can't solve all the problems, and I'm not advocating that it does. As a Christian, I only know one perfect answer. That is Christ. Let's promote healing for those in need.
I hope this article helps you in some way. If you are in a difficult place with the subject, please take a moment to dig deeper into what life is really about. Remember there's purpose.
