Currently euthanasia is illegal in the United Kingdom. Any person found to be assisting a suicide is breaking the law and is most likely to be convicted of assisting a suicide or attempting to assist a suicide. This can be when a doctor gives a patient, who is in great pain, a bottle of morphine.
Those who argue in favour of euthanasia say that it allows a patient to undergo a gentle, pain-free death instead continuing a life of pain. They say it allows the patient to die with dignity, instead of a prolonged life full on mental and physical deterioration until their eventual death. Another argument is the fact that it removes the financial, and more importantly, the emotional burden on the families who would have had to undergo so much should the patient’s life be prolonged. And another argument is that it saves on hospital and medical expenses and free beds for non-terminal patients and those patients who desperately need medical care. And those who support the legalisation of euthanasia argue that if mankind didn’t fear death so much then they would understand and be able to recognise that euthanasia is a positive and humane action as it relieves someone from a lifetime of pain.
Those who argue against euthanasia say that there will be the problem of the ‘slippery slope’ if euthanasia is legalised. This means that once it is legal, it would be impossible to stop. This would then pile huge pressure on the sick and dying. They also argue that those patients who are in a vegetative state have been known to recover and those cases of ‘terminal’ illnesses do not always lead to death and some patients do recover.
If euthanasia is legalised, they argue that the decision to die may be hurried and thought over carefully. And it is not always the case that a terminally patient have to suffer excruciating pain. The hospice movement attempts to relieve the pain from patients giving them a painless end to their life. They aim to work towards helping doctors and the general public that euthanasia is not always the right answer. However hospice care is expensive and limited. Many feel that it is not a priority for medical professionals, who they claim disregard it as a less glamorous opportunity.
Christianity’s view on Euthanasia is mostly against Euthanasia. Christianity states that life is a gift from God and only God had the right to end a human’s life. Birth and death is considered as part of life’s process and which God has ordained and so we should we respect them. Churches say that Euthanasia should not be committed because it means humans are interfering with the natural process of death. Christianity also states that God created humans in his image i.e. the ability to decipher between right and wrong and so as people develop this ability they live a life close to God’s love. This means the aim of life is to strive towards achieving God’s love and kindness. No one can stop someone from their aim and life must be preserved so a person can achieve the aim of life. Another argument put forward is that to suggest euthanasia is propose that the patient’s life is worthless and this is not the case in the eyes of god. And if a patient is in a vegetative state this does not mean their life is worthless as every human’s life is valued the same in the eyes of God. So it would be wrong to say that someone ‘is better of death’.
Many churches also suggest that the process of dying is spiritually important. It is believed that if the process is interfered with then the process of the spirit moving towards God is interrupted.
However there are some exceptions to the ruling. Christianity states that to disregard someone’s wishes is a bad thing. This is due to the fact that Christianity requires humans to respect every human being. Therefore if we respect someone we must respect their wishes about their death and the end of their life and we should accept them.
Christianity also states that those who are in the last stages of life should be cared for by the community and the community should help the terminally ill to prepare for death and be open to discussion about death and dying. When they discuss the community should be supportive and honest.
The Roman Catholic view upon Euthanasia is that it is a moral wrong. The Church states that, “nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a foetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying.” The Church also considers any law legalising euthanasia an unjust law. It states that there is a value to life and suffering and pain doesn’t eliminate the value of life. “As Catholic leaders and moral teachers, we believe that life is the most basic gift of a loving God--a gift over which we have stewardship but not absolute dominion.”- National Conference of Catholic Bishops (USA), 1991. The Church also dismisses the argument that human’s have a right to die. Just because a human is granted free will it doesn’t extend to the termination of their lives. The ability belongs only to God.
However the Church accepts one can refuse ‘extraordinary’ and ‘aggressive’ medical treatment as it is a form of accepting the human condition in the face of death. On the other hand assisted suicide is morally wrong as it is morally wrong to commit suicide anyway. “True compassion leads to sharing another's pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.”- Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae.
Islam’s view on euthanasia is a firm one. Euthanasia is unacceptable under any circumstances. This is based on the idea that life is sacred and humans must not interfere with this. Two verses show this in the Quran. Chapter 17 verse 33 says, “Do not take life, which Allah made sacred, other than in the course of justice.” In chapter 5 verse 32 it says, “If anyone kills a person - unless it be for murder or spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he killed the whole people.” Another argument is that only Allah deserves the right to choose how long you live and this is shown in the Quran 3:145, “And no person can ever die except by Allah's leave and at an appointed term.” Both Euthanasia and suicide are explicitly forbidden in Islam due to the fact that Muslims believe that Allah is omnipotent. This is means he has the ability to do anything. If Allah wishes then he could cure the patient in an instant and relieve his pain. And so Islam on the basis of this forbids any act of Euthanasia and suicide.
By default my conclusion is that Euthanasia should not be legalised in the UK due to the fact that I am a Muslim. But by taking all the arguments into account it is rational that a person should if they are in unbearable pain, only then should they be allowed to kill themselves as they would rather die with dignity and die a painless death. However I think that if Euthanasia was legalised then it would cause people to hurry their decisions over life or death and it would become impossible to stop. Although it does seem rational the fact of the matter is that it isn’t possible as it would become an on-demand thing where people who are in little pain just decide to kill themselves. So although it is a rational argument it isn’t possible or conceivable to legalise it in the UK.
