When my father was dying in the summer of 2020, he was suffering from a respiratory illness that caused him intense distress. Basically, he would get the periods of time that he was not able to breathe, and he would panic and be in enormous physical and mental pain.

He would cry out and even sometimes scream for help. It’s impossible to convey in words how awful it was for him. At one point he even begged to die.

Home hospice fixed him up. They helped me administer regular large doses of morphine and Xanax that eliminated his panic response and allowed him to be comfortable for the last few weeks of his life.

Sitting in the kitchen one day, I asked the hospice nurse-practitioner if the larger-and-larger doses would not have the effect of shortening his life.

She didn’t answer for a long time, then she looked me directly in the eye and said, “It’s a trade-off. He’s going to die soon. We can’t both prolong his life and keep him out of pain and distress. We have to choose. He has to choose, and you know what his choice is.”

I didn’t have any problem with that, because I just couldn’t see him go through any more misery.

I don’t know what any Christian moralizer would think about this. It sounds like you’re saying they would oppose reducing suffering if reducing suffering also shortened life.

If that’s really the case, I’d like to see them face the pain of an almost 80-year-old man screaming for help because he can’t get air into his lungs. I’d like to see them choose not to dose him with morphine and Xanax to take his panic and pain away.