Issues: Euthanasia

Introduction

The right to control the timing and the manner of your own death is not a right stated in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights that most developed countries have adopted as part of their legal system.

The word 'Euthanasia' is usually taken to mean the bringing about a peaceful death to someone who is dying or has an incurable illness. Although euthanasia is not a human right, in a survey in Britain in 1997, 86% of people surveyed felt that it should be allowed for people who have an incurable illness or are on a life support machine.

The subject of euthanasia leads to very strong emotional reactions. There are two main responses to the subject:

1. Some believe that life is special or sacred and should be preserved at any cost. Life isn't disposable and if you begin to say it is morally acceptable to prematurely end the life of a terminally ill patient who thinks life is no longer worth living, then it is not far from saying that the lives of disabled people aren't worth living.
2. Others believe that people should be allowed to choose for themselves when they want to die. They feel if it is cruel to let a dying animal suffer in pain then it is far more cruel to make a human die in so much pain.