The article I have chosen I based on the Euthanasia of a physician’s patient, where the physician assisted in the mercy killing. All qualified doctors have to take the Hippocratic oath to help their patients, not end their lives so this is going against doctrine principles not only those adopted by all major religions such as Catholic Christians.
‘To some doctors the idea of assisting a patient in ending their life is repugnant. Anne Rodway former deputy chairman of BMA says ‘ I want patients to know that I have a license to heal and not a license to kill.’
However this GP who didn’t want to be named said I had an elderly patient with a very advanced form of cancer and she begged me to help her die. She said that if she could reach the bleach in her kitchen cupboard she would have drunk it. He claims he didn’t help her die but prescribed medication in such a dose that it probably relieved a great deal of pain and gave her a higher risk of causing death, she died a couple days later.
In this article many things are considered firstly that Euthanasia should be legalised as it was in Ancient Greece. The Catholic teaching on Euthanasia, abortion or suicide is quite clear, it is strongly forbidden. No one has the right to command life except God you cannot choose when to die God gave you life and he will end it is not up to the individual in any way or form. ‘As a doctor and a Roman Catholic I see life as sacred….’ This is a quote from the case study. According to Catholicism and most Religions all life is sacred, it is human nature to try and preserve it. ‘I prefer to keep them alive’ is another quote from the case study. This statement agrees with catholic teaching. ‘ I helped her die is another quote’ according to most religions this is considered murder, and goes against Catholic teaching.
This article also mentions the dignity of the human person, people see themselves as degraded sometimes in circumstance where they can have no say or control over their own bodies, people who choose to die want to remain with some dignity where they are not dependant on someone else, they feel they burden those around them.
The human right, of the person trying to die are effected because they may wish to die but in the end they change their minds. A person can have one bad day and say I want to die but one deed could result in a change of mind and so if the euthanasia goes ahead then that person is murdered and the human rights are violated. Most people wanting to go through a mercy killing have some sort of disability, and the emotional state of the person wanting to die is not considered, and in reality they may have chosen to live. If they go through with the Euthanasia, those helping them have violated their human rights.
Despite any circumstance the scripture clearly state no life should be taken by another living being, whatever the circumstances. One of the Ten Commandments is thou shalt not kill.
The Catholic teachings on Euthanasia are identical to those of my own religion, however I believe Euthanasia should be legalised, and in the future I believe Euthanasia will become legal in this country. This is because it is not the idea Euthanasia that is wrong but that society does not do enough for each other, life has become very isolated with new technology and busy jobs.