Is Do Not Resuscitate Biblical?

What does the Bible say about death and dying, and how it applies Do Not Resuscitate orders? I am an ICU nurse and I deal with death on a regular basis, and lately I’ve been having conversations with God about it and wanted to see your thoughts. 

After thinking and praying about families who hold on to their loved ones with very poor prognosis that want aggressive treatment, it seems almost “un-Christian” to be a do not resuscitate, akin to even murder. 

I was talking to God and I thought about how in the Bible, it talks a lot about dying and how it can happen at any moment, and that it is finishing the race, fighting the good fight, and not to cling to our life on this earth, but it’s really heartbreaking for me to see families that profess the faith and go through this dilemma and wanted some more Godly insight on the subject.

Answer

Modern medicine offers options that were not around for the ancients nor New Testament believers. This is good and ironically, very complicated at times. There is not a clear answer to this question. Biblically, it is for God to determine our days. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment.”

We have biblical examples of people who wanted to die. It is vital to know your medical personnel and their view of life. Before we get to a stage where we have to make this decision, it’s incumbent to talk to your primary care physician. They may be vague or imprecise in language so ask very specific questions. You are well aware of the phrase, “quality of life” used which is ambiguous at best. 

Who decides? But the family / patient needs to ask, under what conditions? What are the best / worst case scenarios? For example, CPR, depending on the patient’s history, may be a simple and reliable form of patient care without which a person would die.  But if the patient has dealt with long term illness or is “elderly,” the situation becomes more complex.

In a similar vein, if we have a newborn with a terminal diagnosis, to what extent do you put the patient through complex and multiple procedures to gain days, weeks, months? Regarding God and the Bible, our days are numbered and life is sacred – we are made in the image of God. To hasten death vs. letting nature take its course will be a complicated issue. Your primary care physician, your pastor, and mature Christians that you know, can be of help when we face this.

Links Mentioned:

Bible.org

Bio Basics: Suicide and Euthenasia

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