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Is it against God's will to unplug somebody from machines to let them die?

I have faced this problem more than once in my family. Sometimes, people are forced to make a choice about letting someone linger with the aid of machines which keep them alive. Many people have a living will which states they don't won't to be kept alive. Usually, it's the family that has to make this decision. Is it murder when people have to make this choice for a family member?

Update:

There are many good answers here! I don't think of it as murder. I wanted to know how others feel.

In my opinion, people wouldn't still be alive if man had not intervened.

18 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    My aunt battled cancer for 15 years, and at the end was placed on life support. It was an agonizing death, and her passing a blessing. At least, that's my opinion.

    She only lived by artificial means for 2 weeks, but those were 2 of the longest, most difficult weeks I have ever faced. I can't imagine what it was like for her, and I hope I never find out.

    We would not allow our pets to endure such torturous deaths, and it's a crying shame that we expect this from family members. Sometimes I think that the prolonging of a person's life is more for the benefit of the survivors than the terminal patient.

    Allowing your loved ones to die with dignity is not murder, it is a kindness. I'm sorry you had to face this with family members, and I hope that you find peace in whatever choice you may have made.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I have the same Living Will that my Husband had.It is written that I am not to be given any feeding tubes, no I.V.'s as a matter of fact no Medical Dr. is to lay hands on me!We believe in alternative medicine.God made medications. Vitamins, minerals,Herbs. Nothing Man made.These were the exact words my husband and I both have used in our living wills! I will not be put on Man made machines to prolong my life. It is not murder in my opinion, to pull the plug. In my opinion the sin is in keeping someone alive when God wants to call them home.

  • 1 decade ago

    It comes down to motive. If the motive is to have the person dead, like the Schaivo case, then it is. If there is no chance of recovery and the machines are all that are keeping someone alive, it can be an act of mercy. It is all in the motive.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    In the case of a will ... I would follow the wishes of the patient unless they were conscious and told me not to do it.

    Also, I would NOT let the hospital staff bully me into pulling the plug. They are motivated by greed and the need to empty the room for the next terminal patient. They are seldom motivated by compassion if they're PUSHING you to sign papers and make a life/death decision.

    .

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  • 1 decade ago

    My mom was a very devout Christian woman. She believed it was against "God's Will" to hook her up to start with. I really despise the implication of it being murder to obey her wishes. This was a hard decision to have to make to begin with, even knowing how she felt about following the natural order of life. Anyone who knows their family members will know how they feel about life support even if they do not have a living will

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    That is a very hard question to answer. I think that is something you would really have to pray about and pray hard about. But for myself, I wouldn't want to be on life-support. If I am dead, let me stay dead. Even if the person does wake up and come back to life, they appear to be worse off and become a larger burden on the family. So for me, don't hook me up, then you won't face these issues.

  • 1 decade ago

    I don't know about God's will, but I have specified in MY living will that I don't want to end up like Teri Schiavo. If I become PVS, I don't want my body artificially kept alive by machines, AND, I don't want a bunch of religious busy bodies FORCING their will on me.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    The way I see it, it would be against god's will to keep them ALIVE! Obviously, god intended for them to pass on, otherwise he would have made them better. If he can save people from car accidents, 6 story falls, gun shots to the head, and other highly lethal situations, then he has proved that if he wants you to live, he will save you. Otherwise he won't.

    Source(s): No religious belief implied. Just looking at the situation from a hypothetically logical point of view.
  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    God gave them the experience to stay out of a flash flood. yet this present day day, as we see on the information, there are some dingys accessible that would attempt. does not you think of there could be extra beneficial issues to place forth in this international, than the sorry excuses guy has for blaming actual everyone else, even God for his very own stupidity? lol

  • Thom
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    As a Catholic I can say that it's not a sin or murder or anything like that. Like others here have said, it's just allowing your body to die naturally as God intended.

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