Pulling the Plug

     At the very end of My Sister's Keeper, Anna is declared braindead after finding herself in a tragic car accident. In the book, both Campbell Alexander and her parents do not hesitate to harvest Anna's organs and pull the plug. The main reason this decision was so easy for them was because Kate's life depended on Anna's kidney. Although they were unsure as to whether or not the kidney would help Kate, they were willing to take the risk anyway. Thankfully Kate made a full recovery after receiving the transplant and would most likely get to live a long and happy life.
     On the other hand, what happens when a person's loved one is in a similar situation, but they are not quite ready to let go? The issue at hand is life support. When someone is on life support, they are not breathing for themselves or doing anything for themselves; they are fully supported by machines that breathe and live for them. Many people that are against pulling the plug on life support hold on in hopes that their loved one will make a miraculous recovery. The patient's family holds onto the sliver of hope that they have praying that God will grant them a miracle. Unfortunately, many times there is no phenomenal recovery and at some point the life support needs to end. Although it does not happen often, sometimes a miraculous recovery is made, so how do family members know when they can pull the plug or not? Unlike the previous three ethical issues within this blog, there is not a clear answer.

     Pulling the plug mainly has to do with the idea of ensoulment - the idea that a person has a soul. I would imagine that if people could confirm that their loved one's body no longer had a soul, they would easily be able to let go. However, there is no "soul test" to determine if that person will come back to a normal life or not. Not to mention, people outside of the Christian tradition may not believe in a soul at all. How do we address the controversy of life support in an ethical manner?
     As I have done with the previous three issues, I will consult the Bible for an answer. First, we must establish that under the Christian tradition - I realize this is not the case for everyone - that there is a soul. This is shown countless times throughout the Bible, but the most famous verse mentioning the soul is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength," in Deuteronomy 6:5. Therefore, if one believes that the body has a soul, the absence of that soul would then lead one to conclude that the person is no longer alive rather is supported only by  a machine. The idea that the body and soul are separated is shown in Matthew 10:28 where he states, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Since someone can kill the body but not the soul, it suggests that they are two separate entities. This passage also shows that the soul is the portion of people that live on in either heaven or hell. Therefore, if there was a way to determine if the soul had left the body, life support would be a far easier decision.
     However, as it is, life support is not easy to deal with. Unfortunately, there is nothing within the Bible that provides an easy answer either. Therefore, I think the only approach that we can take is to prayerfully consider the decision when encountering this situation.