Human Suffering and Human Dignity

Abstract

Human Suffering and Human Dignity* Gerry O’Hanlon SJ The immediate trigger for these reflections is the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020. This Private Members’ Bill intends to give patients with a progressive and incurable terminal illness a choice to avail of ‘assisted dying’. Its chief sponsor, Gino Kenny TD, has acknowledged that this is ‘a profoundly difficult subject, no matter what side you’re on’ and called for ‘a respectful, rational and meaningful debate’.1 I think most of us will empathise with the concerns underlying the bill. Pain, suffering and dying/death are universals, which affect us all deeply. We are treading on sensitive and sacred ground here, not least as we draw on our own experiences and those of our loved ones. As human beings we commonly resent dependence on others, being a ‘burden’ as we often express it. This is so particularly as we get older and, as our powers begin to fail, irritability and grumpiness easily morph into mild and even sometimes severe depression. When this pattern of human decline, irrespective of age, reaches for some the more critical points of loss of control over bodily functions, incipient and progressive organ failure, acute pain and mental deterioration, we find it hard to understand how such conditions are compatible with human dignity. It can seem compelling in these circumstances that the most compassionate, loving response is some sort of legally acceptable assisted dying, as indeed has been introduced in many other countries already. When one digs a bit deeper, however, it strikes me that a major premise of this response is the assumption that there comes a point where pain and suffering, especially when involuntary, are incompatible with human dignity. It can be spontaneously assumed that the indispensable essence of human dignity is autonomy. This was well summed up by a doctor from the Netherlands who commented on the legal practice of assisted dying in that country: ‘I think it fits with the modern time: people who are autonomous and decide things for themselves also want to decide about their death’.2 But what if pain and suffering, even involuntary, have meaning and value and can be considered compatible with human dignity? So, without Studies • volume 110 • number 438 158 commenting directly on the Dying with Dignity Bill as such, I want to offer some reflections on how Christians might deepen their own understanding of the relationship between involuntary suffering and human dignity, given the undoubted influence on us all of the prevailing culture of autonomy as central to dignity. Autonomy in a broader context Some may recall the classic song by Bob Dylan from the 1970s called ‘Forever Young’. The lyrics are in prayer form, and early on he sings: ‘May God bless you always / May your wishes all come true / May you always do for others / And let others do for you’ (my emphasis). ‘Let others do for you’ – this strikes a counter-cultural note, opening up space for a less exclusively autonomy- centred anthropology. Padraig McCarthy, in a letter to the Irish Times, commented on the Dying with Dignity Bill, ‘I depend on others in almost every aspect of my life’.3 Even when my autonomy is at a ‘normal’ level I depend on others – we are, after all, inherently relational beings and our autonomy functions best in the context of a mutual giving and receiving that takes on different forms as we progress through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. We have learned this again in this time of Covid-19, even the most fiercely independent have been freshly alerted to our reliance on hospital doctors and nurses, porters, cleaning and catering staff, check-out and other staff in food stores, operators of public transport, collectors of refuse and so on. Similarly, McCarthy argues, pain is an integral part of human life – ‘the human body is closely integrated with the world around us, and is affected by wind and rain and viruses’. All of us experience this from time to time, and we trust that our diminished autonomy on such occasions does not rob us of our human dignity. This pain can be very distressing and, particularly in end-of-life...