Many of the conversations around what constitutes a good death seek to enshrine dignity of the dying person as the highest value. Very often, the understanding of dignity is tied to one’s autonomy in agency – being able to think, act, and make decisions on one’s own. Human dignity, however, rests in our being created by a loving God. It is not something to be tied to a question of worth to be determined according to standards that place autonomy as the highest value of dignity. God has given us dignity and worth as part of who we are as God’s creatures. Our agency in health care decisions is, furthermore, something that we need to entrust to God in our discernment. We do not make decisions alone, but in the presence of God.Some Anglicans have had profound experiences in which a death by MAiD has been accompanied by faithful prayer and strong pastoral care. Other Anglicans hold that MAiD does not offer any moral good, and may indeed be against God's wishes for humanity. Many of us share concerns about the potentials for abuse of the practice through coercion or in the fragilities of a health care system that is in crisis. All of us in Canada, especially clergy and other pastoral care ministers, are likely at some point in our ministries, to be met with a request for pastoral care and prayer by someone who has opted for a medically assisted death.
Our intention is to help the church’s ministers to respond pastorally to the needs before them. It is not our intent to enter into the ethical arguments regarding MAiD, nor to provide a moral argument for or against MAiD.(1)
... (1) The General Synod has produced several resources since the legalization of medically assisted dying. In Sure and Certain Hope, 2017, presented a pastoral response with some pastoral and prayer resources, upholding the duty of pastoral care, and also holding up some key theological principles of caution with respect to MAiD. Faith Seeking Understanding: Medical Assistance in Dying: Reflections by Canadian Anglicans, 2024, gathered up over forty reflections from theological, pastoral and ethical perspectives by Canadian Anglicans, representing a wide collection of experiences and positions on the ethics of MAiD.
Yikes. True, the intro says "Human dignity, ... is not something to be tied to a question of worth to be determined according to standards that place autonomy as the highest value of dignity." And the 2017 document is " holding up some key theological principles of caution with respect to MAiD". But the 2024 document is "representing a wide collection of experiences and positions." It sounds like they don't know how to say no and stick to it.
"To some following some Dioceses’ guidance or their own consciences, it will be important to walk the challenging path in choosing and adapting prayers in this resource that do not imply that the procedure, the medical assistance in dying itself, and the decision to employ MAiD, are not being given God’s blessing." I read that as meaning that they foresee priests sometimes giving a blessing to the procedure and the decision, or picking prayers that imply that (which seems dishonest if they don't). Perhaps they mis-spoke.
They consider the possibility of having "Confession and Absolution" as part of the liturgy.
At Lambeth in 1930 the Anglicans "affirmed the permissibility of birth control for married couples who felt a moral obligation to forgo both ‘parenthood’ and ‘complete abstinence’". Shortly after, many other denominations jumped on the bandwagon, and uncounted couples decided that they met the criteria, and the Overton window shifted.
I hope that isn't going to be the case here.
FWIW, a Liturgy on the Day of an Execution doesn't seem to quite fit.
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