Recently I heard a news story about a father who was trying to keep his children from seeing their brain damaged mother, arguing that the experience would be too traumatizing for them. Of all the details and discussion about this case, what impressed me most was the newscasters’ reasoning about the merits of the mother’s side of the case. They seemed to think that the presence or absence of cognition in the mother would be the deciding factor in the lawsuit. If, in the opinion of “experts”, she is unable to think or communicate (which is very difficult to determine in a severely brain damaged individual), it seems as though her ex-husband could prevent her children from visiting her.
Why is cognition so almighty important? Why does some test of cognition have to be the deciding factor to decide whether or not a disabled mother can see her own children? (I will refrain from making snide remarks about applying a cognition test to men who divorce their disabled wives.) Don’t get me wrong. I fully understand how devastating a brain injury can be. Or the slow death of progressive dementia. But is our brain function really what makes us human? Made in the image of God? Can a person just be a “vegetable”, a functioning body without a soul? Does having a soul require a mind? I don’t think so.
I take issue with applying the terms “vegetable” or “vegetative” to human beings. Pardon me, but I have never arrived at work to find a tomato, carrot, or onion assigned to my care. I have never pulled back sheets to discover an over-sized cucumber lying in a bed. People are not vegetables. People are people. Even when a person cannot think, swallow, or breath without assistance, he or she is still a person. A person, not a vegetable.
Of course, I completely acknowledge that deciding what kind of treatment plan to pursue with someone who shows little to no sign of cognition is not easy. The decision of whether or not to utilize artificial life support is complicated. It is not always clear if it will be beneficial. I am not an advocate of giving advanced life support to people who are terminally ill. I agree that when we are artificially supporting multiple body systems without hope of recovery it can become questionable whether life is really present. There is a time for each one of us to die, and most people would prefer not to die in an ICU. In a situation where death is inevitable, it’s best not to fight it.
And yet, there are people who are severely disabled, but not terminally ill. They may be able to live quite well on a feeding tube or even a ventilator. We can care for them, love them, and maximize the amount of cognitive function they have. Quality of life? We can give them quality of life. That’s our choice. What it takes, however, is a heart and willing hands. It takes work.
When Jesus was eating at a Pharisee’s house on one Sabbath day, He said these words:
“When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-14)
Jesus stated His values very clearly at that long-ago dinner. He doesn’t want us to focus on giving to those who can return the favor, but to those who cannot. Who, then, could deserve our care and love more than those who cannot even say the word “thanks”? Even the most severely brain-damaged individual is loved by an Almighty God. I believe that God can speak to a person’s soul even when the mind is not functioning. The brain is just another organ. The soul is what makes us human and alive. Should we determine a person’s right to live purely based on their cognitive function? I hope not. (Welcome to the Third Reich, people.) I’m not sure my own poor brain could always qualify as being “alive”.
We need to remember that our Lord Jesus never took a pragmatic approach to human life. He touched lepers, spoke to the demon-possessed, and had a thing or two to say to people who didn’t like children. No one was too low to merit His attention. He brought healing into the lives of the most neglected and rejected people. We, too, can be channels of healing and blessing to those who have been rejected because of their “deficiencies”. Because God loves them and Christ died for them, we must take care of them as people.
People, not vegetables.
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May 25th, 2010 - 1:45 pm
thank you. just beautiful. will be linking.
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