In my country, there is an arrangement called “Advance Medical Directive (AMD)”. “It is a legal document that you sign in advance to inform the doctor treating you (in the event you become terminally ill and unconscious) that you do not want any extraordinary life-sustaining treatment to be used to prolong your life.”\u00a0Is it a sin for Christian to sign up for this? Is this equivalent to “Physician Assisted Suicide”?<\/p>\n\t
Life comes from God, and so it must be respected (Acts 17:25).<\/p>\n
Advanced Medical Directives tell doctors how much effort you want them to expend in trying to sustain your life. It is not assisted suicide, which tries to end life before it would naturally come to an end. Think of Advanced Medical Directives as more of an acceptance that your life is coming to an end and that spending large amounts of money to keep you alive for a few more days is not necessary.<\/p>\n
An Advanced Medical Directive could be wrong in asking that the basics of life, such as food and water, be withheld. However, it is not wrong to decline a medical treatment that might add a few months to your life if you think the added time is not worth the resulting pain and suffering caused by the treatment.<\/p>\n\t
Thank you, Jeffrey. It is always energizing to communicate with you.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: In my country, there is an arrangement called “Advance Medical Directive (AMD)”. “It is a legal document that you sign in advance to inform the doctor treating you (in the event you become terminally ill and unconscious) that you do not want any extraordinary life-sustaining treatment to be used to prolong your life.”\u00a0Is it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[911],"class_list":["post-87635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-medical-practices"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-physician-assisted-suicide-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":87635,"position":0},"title":"Is physician-assisted suicide a sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is physician-assisted suicide, otherwise known as medical aid in dying or death with dignity, a sin? What if the person is severely suffering from a terminal illness? If I was suffering I would want to eliminate my suffering. Answer: Throughout mankind's history, God has demanded that life be respected.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46340,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-refusing-medical-treatment-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":87635,"position":1},"title":"Is refusing medical treatment a sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know that assisted suicide is sinful because it is taking matters into your own hands, but when is it a sin to refuse medical treatment, or is it sinful? I'm not talking about those who refuse it because they are going to keep right on praying that God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38371,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-tired-of-living-with-this-medical-condition\/","url_meta":{"origin":87635,"position":2},"title":"I’m tired of living with this medical condition","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What's the purpose of my life when I'm suffering from a socially isolating and debilitating medical condition? I kid you not, I'm so sick and tired of reading platitudes; I'm tired of begging, pleading, imploring God for help. What's the point of living, if you can't function as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14627,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-counsel-a-person-who-wants-to-commit-suicide\/","url_meta":{"origin":87635,"position":3},"title":"How do you counsel a person who wants to commit suicide?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am struggling with how to counsel a person who wants to commit suicide.\u00a0 Would you please help me to find out a solution to this problem? Answer: The answer would vary with the cause of the person's desire to leave this life. So the first thing you need\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3985,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-person-doesnt-want-to-live-why-is-suicide-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":87635,"position":4},"title":"If a person doesn’t want to live, why is suicide wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My friend took her own life six years ago when we were both 17. She left me a note that said, \"I have so many things I want to tell you, but I don't know how to say. If we can meet each other in this world again, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-to-take-out-insurance\/","url_meta":{"origin":87635,"position":5},"title":"Is it a sin to take out insurance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to take out medical insurance or legal insurance? Are we rather expected to put our faith in the Lord to take care of those things? 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