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I’ve been following this, and this whole thing disturbs me.

I am a Christian, and it is a teaching of the denomination to which I belong (Southern Baptist) that suicide is wrong because it does not allow God Himself to be the final say-so. That is...it takes a decision that should belong to God alone.

I saw an article done by a woman who is currently suffering from Stage 4 breast cancer. It is inoperable, and she is going to die. She fights on in order to spend the last few months, weeks, and days she has with her family. She has written an open letter to the young woman who is planning to die, asking her to reconsider and to try to participate in the possible ‘joys’ that her final days may bring.

Another woman wrote that “miracles can still happen”, and that the young woman should hang on and allow that “miracle” to take place.

I’ll say it right now. I do not believe in miracles of healing. You might, and that’s fine...but I have not seen WITH MY OWN EYES or known from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that these things exist. Any recoveries I have seen from Christians around me from things like cancer, heart disease, or whatever have been through medical science and the body’s natural healing ability. There have been a few cases where, despite the prayers and pleas to Heaven for people who are suffering, no answer came and they passed on. They are in a much better place, but that is cold comfort to those left here to grieve. Some people never recover from that grief.

That this woman does not want her last days to be filled with unimaginable pain and suffering seems quite logical to me. I can see NO, and absolutely mean NO reason or purpose for a loving and holy God to want this to take place. What possible reason can there be? Yes...I know the line from the Bible “My ways are not your ways, and My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). However, looking at it from the point of view of the suffering person, that doesn’t provide an iota of comfort...none at all.

If I were in the position of the young woman (and I thank God I am not) I would not want to spend the last days of my life in intractable pain. I know I would not have the resources (read: money) to provide for pain relief, so I’d be stuck in unimaginable agony until God provided the relief of death.

At that point...in spite of my belief...ending that pain would be a very, VERY tempting option.