When Life Ends - Does G-d Really Determine Our Destiny?

A young woman in Oregon took her own life today.  She decided today was the day she was going to die, with dignity, before her illness took the rest of her without her knowledge or consent.  Oregon  now allows for assisted suicide.  The Catholic Diocese, of course, could not condone her actions but acknowledged her actions and her death and sent condolences to her family. 

The news of this assisted suicide brought back memories of Dr. Jack Kevorkian who, as many of you may know, assisted in terminating lives of the terminally ill in the 1990's.  The reason this resonated with me all these years is because my father died of Alzheimer's Disease in 1989 and I watched Dr. Kevorkian's later career as it began with his first assisted suicide of an Alzheimer's patient in 1990 not far from the nursing home my father lived out the final chapter of his life.

I do not know what religion, if any, that Dr. Kevorkian practiced.  I do not know what stance, if any, that the Conservative Judaism Movement has on assisted suicide.  Clearly, the Catholic Diocese does not approve or endorse the practice but I do wonder what individual religious people think of this highly ethical issue.  Of course, the easy thing to say is that G-d determines when one's life should end; but on the other hand, no one really knows for sure if G-d controls individual destinies. 

Should religion even play a role in the debate on assisted suicide?   I am not going to debate the issue of pain and suffering.  I have no experience in that area as my experience is based more on decline of a person's mind and body.  The first issue in my mind is whether or not one can argue the importance of quality of life.  Because I watched my father's mind and body deteriorate over the course of ten plus years I feel I am qualified to have a valid opinion on the value of quality of life.  Quality is an important factor of life.  Quantity, ironically, I have decided is less important.  In the scope of humanity, does it really matter if someone lives to 106 as my grandmother did or to 46 as my brother did as long as each of them contributed to the best of their ability and made the most of the life span that they had?

What about the soul?  Does the soul stay intact as the body and mind deteriorate?  Is the soul independent of the mind and heart and ability of someone to love, think and maintain a state of being?  I hope so but of course, can't be sure.  Watching someone lose their character, love of life and entire personality makes it very difficult to feel confident that their soul is intact.  And even if the soul is intact, should that alone be a barrier to assisted suicide?

I did a quick Google search on whether Jewish law permits assisted suicide while knowing in my heart that it did not.  Not surprisingly, one source by Prof. Steven H. Resnicoff, DePaul University College of Law, stated:

"Unlike nonreligious legal systems, Jewish law assumes the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent Creator whose purposes cannot always be fathomed. Jewish law also assumes a network of relationships between and among the Creator and all human beings. As a result of these assumptions, there is purpose and responsibility in every instant of life, for the individual and for the community, even though the purpose is not always readily apparent.
Jewish law imposes specific responsibilities on individuals to safeguard their own lives and to help others. The extent of these obligations, however, are not unlimited. The continued debate pertains to the nature of these limitations."

I imagine for some it is religion itself that would not allow for assisted suicide no matter what the circumstances.  I imagine for others it is faith more specifically that draws the line.  I envy those people who are so sure in their convictions on the topic.

I often wonder if death brings the answers to the questions that forever go unanswered.  While religion has brought so much to me in recent years I don't know if religion will ever provide me with the answer to the horrible experience I encountered while witnessing my father wither away to the point that I wondered what was even left.