Taiwan Church News
3183 Edition
February 25-March 3, 2013
Editorial

Translated by Lydia Ma

Just before the Lunar New Year, the government announced that it would start implementing the Hospice Palliative Care Act passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2012. The ultimate goal of this act is to help terminally ill patients to live out their final days and die with dignity. This new legislation was discussed at length throughout Taiwanese society and received a lot of support and praise from the Taiwanese public because of the 150,000 people who die every year, 30,000 of them die with many tubes inserted in their bodies. Due to strict regulations, many terminally ill patients who cannot communicate their wishes wind up enduring agonizing deaths though dying peacefully or naturally is one of the basic tenets of Confucianism. To relieve terminally ill patients in the final days of their lives, the Legislative Yuan amended this act 3 times.

Though sophisticated medical technology is available in this day and age to relieve suffering and extend life expectancy, no one has been able to perpetually cheat death. Though we cannot predict the hour of our death, we can say with certainty that it will come sooner or later. For this reason, the Bible contains many teachings and references regarding death, such as Ecclesiastes 7:1-2, 8:8, and Hebrews 9:27.

Perhaps the amended Hospice Palliative Care Act can be further scrutinized through religious, ethical, and medical lenses and it has yet to withstand the test of time and application. Nevertheless, Christians ought to take a stand on this legislation and speak out based on biblical principles. We must turn to the Bible to find answers to questions such as whether we need to use medical technology to prolong the life of people suffering from terminal cancer only because they bear the image of God, or whether we should avoid unnatural means of extending the life of people whom God has already called home.

For people concerned about dying peacefully and naturally, Simeon is probably one character in the Bible worth studying. He was a righteous and devout person filled with the Holy Spirit and he served God with passion and hoped in God. Simeon is the epitome of Jesus’ teaching in John 15:7, whereby he promised his disciples that if they remained in him and his words remained in them, they could ask for whatever they wished, and it would be granted.

As this new act is implemented, it is my hope that those of us who are still alive can reflect on death and imitate Simeon’s faith in God and his devotion doing justice, serving God, and glorifying God, so that we may take hold of eternity and die in peace through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.