For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
To say euthanasia is a solution to a terminally ill person’s suffering, is like saying their life is not worthwhile, when it is. All life is valuable. No one should ask for euthanasia because they do not have the right to value themselves or anyone else as worthless. Death is part of the life process that God created for us and we should respect that and not take the process into our own hands. No human has the right to take the life of another innocent human even if they wanted to die.
Not all Christians are against euthanasia though. They might think that the main thing to consider with a terminally ill person is how one would feel if they were suffering. The Christian belief that you should treat others as you wish to be treated yourself and the principle of agape (Christian love for one another) may over rule the sanctity of life and euthanasia may be considered the most loving action. Seeing a loved one’s suffering can be very hard on family and friends and the patients themselves sometimes feel the pain is too much to bear. They may request to end their own and their loved ones’ misery by ending their lives with dignity and no pain. The people campaigning for euthanasia to be made legal in the UK say that it’s immoral to force people to live in suffering and pain. Some people also argue that in most countries there is a shortage of health resources and so some people who are ill and could be cured are not able to get quick access to the facilities they need for treatment. Instead these health resources are being used on people who cannot be cured, and who, for their own reasons, would prefer not to continue living. They say that letting these people commit euthanasia would not only let them have what they want, but it would also free valuable resources to treat others who want to live.
Although people argue that it is wrong for someone to have to suffer so, it’s seen by most Christians as part of God’s plan for that person, and Christ will be present to share the suffering of the believer. Most other religions would say similar such as: “We should relieve suffering when we can, and be with those who suffer, helping them to bear their suffering, when we can't. We should never deal with the problem of suffering by eliminating those who suffer.”
Jews do not interpret the fifth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," as referring to suicide or euthanasia. But, in Judaism, the preservation of human life is valued above almost all else. In Jewish law, nearly every other consideration is put second to saving a life. Both fasting and circumcision, for example, are to be postponed if the practice might endanger the individual's health. The premature ending of a person's life is indisputably rejected in modern Judaism. Although, the teachings of Rabbi Moses Isserles are sometimes used to argue that people should not be kept on life-support machines if there is no real chance of them recovering:
“If there is anything which causes a hindrance to the departure of the soul...then it is permissible to remove it.”
Muslims are unquestionably against euthanasia, Allah created life and everything belongs to him.
To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He pleases.
Surah 42:49
Muslims also believe that life is sacred and should not be destroyed.
Destroy not yourselves. Surely Allah is ever merciful to you.
Surah 4:29
Prophet Mohammed warned Muslims that those who commit suicide will go to hell. He said that if one is suffering they should turn to Allah for help.
O ye who believe seek help with patient perseverance and Prayer; surely Allah is with those who patiently persevere.
Surah 2:153
Muslims also believe that no one has the right to chose when they die or has the right to interfere with God’s choices for us.
When their time…arrives they cannot tarry for a single hour nor can they go ahead.
Surah 16:61
The only time where the killing of another is allowed in Islam is when someone has committed adultery, or killed another unjustly. Muslims believe that human life belongs to God and on one may end it or ask another to take it.
From a non religious point of view suffering can have a value. It is thought that it provides an opportunity to grow in wisdom, character, and compassion. Suffering can be seen as something that draws upon all the resources of a person and brings them to reach their highest and noblest point.
People argue that euthanasia can be in someone’s best interest, but they can be wrong because there can be many situations where euthanasia isn’t in a patient’s best interest. For example, if the diagnosis is wrong and the patient is not terminally ill or if the doctor's prediction as to how the disease will progress is wrong and the patient is not going to die soon. The patient could be is getting bad medical care and their suffering could be relieved by other means. Doctors could be unaware of other non-fatal options that could be offered to the patient. The patient's request for euthanasia is actually a 'cry for help', suggesting that their life is not worth living now but could be worth living if emotional help was offered as well as medical care. The patient is very depressed and doesn’t understand the true details of their situation, so might believe things are much worse than they are. The patient thinks that they are a large burden on others and that they have no place in the community so believe that they would be better off dead. The patient feels they are under pressure because of a shortage of the resources that are needed to care for them. The patient requests euthanasia because of a passing phase of their disease, on which their pain and suffering is especially bad, and they are not aware that it will be better after this phase.
When a person asks for euthanasia the effect it might have on others should also be considered, mostly the family and friends of the patient, who will be deeply saddened by this decision. We also have to consider that other patients in a similar situation may feel pressured to do the same by the decision of this patient. Society in general will be in dispute over the subject as many people will oppose this decision as they might feel it’s against religion or just against their morals.
Even in countries where euthanasia is legal, it isn’t a dignified or comfortable death at all. Maxine Coombes decided that she couldn’t cope to live with the pain of her motor neurone disease any longer and she was drawn to the idea of an assisted suicide in Switzerland where she thought that she would meet a peaceful end surrounded by music, candles, flowers and compassionate staff. But when she paid the 10, 000 pounds Sterling and booked herself into the Dignitas Clinic and arrived at Zurich, her son claims that her end was far from dignified. He said that the flat where his mother died looked more like a “backstreet abortion place” with graffiti in the walls. The lethal dose of Barbiturates that Maxine Coombes took to die was meant to keep her conscious for another 45 minutes but her son said it killed her in seconds. This proves that even in the places where euthanasia is allowed it’s not as dignified as, for example, dying in a hospice. In a hospice you are in pleasant surroundings with doctors and compassionate nurses.
The debate about euthanasia is an ongoing one. There will always be those against it and there will always be those pleading for it.