Why Marie Fleming Should Not Have the ‘Right to Die’

It’s not up to us to decide when or how we die. Our times are in God’s hands. And although God doesn’t cause suffering, He sometimes allows us to suffer in the flesh as we wait for the promise of eternity.

That’s why I believe Dublin’s High Court made the right call in the controversial case of a terminally ill Irish woman with multiple sclerosis.

Marie Fleming was battling for the lawful right to die. It was the first case like it in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland.

According to Reuters, the mother of two testified that her “life had become totally undignified and too painful to bear, and said she had planned every detail, including funeral arrangements.”

But Judge Nicholas Kearns decided it wasn’t realistic to custom-make laws governing assisted suicide: “It would be impossible to ensure the aged, disabled, poor, unwanted, rejected etc would not avail of this option to avoid a sense being a burden on their families and society.”

I feel for Marie Fleming. My heart breaks for the 59-year-old former university lecturer who is completely paralyzed. She’s is experiencing tremendous suffering. She just wants to end her misery. But that doesn’t mean she should end her life. God has her here for a reason. God is not done with her yet. Her times, as difficult as they are, are in God’s hands.

Fleming’s life is not undignified because God has dignified her with life. Her life is not over and I believe God can work a miracle in her life, beginning with a saving faith in Christ that carries her through unimaginable pain and suffering.

Let’s pray for Fleming. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort her. Let’s pray for Jesus to save her from her misery. Let’s pray that the Father would encounter her with His fiery love. Let’s pray that she gets up out of that wheelchair healed and whole. Let’s just pray.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Did the Spirit of God Say That? You can email Jennifer at [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.