Another form of euthanasia is active euthanasia; this is causing the death of a person with a direct action in reply to a request given from that person. A prime example of this is in the case of Jack Kevorkian. Jack Kevorkian a physician from Michigan is known for performing euthanasia on a number of people who have requested him to do so. Normally he injects controlled substances into his patients, which induce death. There have been a vast number of cases hence a lot of deaths and Dr Kevorkian has been charged with 1st and 2nd degree murder although still believes he holds the right to end a life of suffering for his patients. Physician assisted suicide is another form relatively similar to that of active, however the doctor does not directly perform euthanasia but prescribes lethal doses of medication so that the patient is able to terminate their own life themselves.
Involuntary euthanasia is the term used to describe the killing of a person who has not directly requested help in dying. This is usually performed in the cases of patients in a Persistent Vegetative State, one example being Tony Bland, he was left in a coma after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster when football fans were crushed and 95 people died. His feeding tube was stopped and he later died from starvation and dehydration not due to his injuries due to the disaster. Contrary to this is voluntary euthanasia; this is carried out at the request of the patient.
At present the law states that anyone who helps another person to end their life can be charged with manslaughter or even murder. Principles of our society were once based on biblical worldview; western culture and our legal system were founded on it. The Christian view can be shown due to a number of references made in the Bible about the controversial issue of euthanasia. Genesis 9:6 was instructed for our fore bearers and should be for us as well “whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of god has he made man.” Christians believe that we were created by god that we our stewards of our own lives rather than owners. Consequently we do not have the right to decide when we should die. As Saint Paul said (Corinthians 6:19) “You are not your own.” Christians believe that suffering is a way of strengthening faith and that it is there for a purpose. A person does not have the right to escape what God has planned for them. Euthanasia opposes the 6th commandment “Do not kill.” We are made in the image of God; hence human life is precious sacrosanct and God given, a sacred gift from God. Its end is therefore determined by him as we have no choice as to when we are placed on the earth so are we to decide when our time on earth is up? The answer is we aren’t. “There is no god but me, I put to death, and I bring to life.”(Deuteronomy 32:39). God’s dominion includes all life, which means that suffering is a part of God’s plan. Therefore suffering that cannot be relieved my modern medicine is to be accepted as from the hand of God, who knows what he is doing, even if we fail to understand it as Hebrews 12:7 reads “endure hardship as discipline, god is treating you as sons.”
There are many miracles that occur within the Bible, such as Jesus feeding the five thousand, walking on water etc so it could be said that one who is suffering from a long term illness for which there is no cure could perhaps miraculously get better as evidently miracles are possible within Christianity. Christians believe they belong to Christ because they have been redeemed. The aim of all Christians is not to please themselves but to serve Christ and thus the Holy Father; human life is a sacred gift from God. Euthanasia is against the law and generally most Christian Churches do not want to view a change in the law, teachings from the bible such as Ecclesiastes 8:8 from the Old Testament, “no one has the power over his day of death.” Hence only God is able to create life and therefore it is only he that can end a life, taking this into your own hands is not only wrong but also a sin in the eyes of a Christian.
It is not just Christianity that holds such strong opinions on the subject of euthanasia. Different cultures and faiths address the subject with a number of ideas and opinions. In history warriors in Norway believed that suicide paved the way to heaven. In Hinduism widows were accustomed to throw themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre, they believed that each of their atmans would join with each others and unite for eternity. Buddhists in the past took the view that self-immolation was the key to the ultimate renouncing of craving and desire, and paved the way to nirvana.
In conclusion, the Christian perspective of human life puts God in control of the issue. They would argue that we should trust God only, to decide when our time is up. Death is a part of life, as Ecclesiastes 3:2 says, “There is a time to be born and a time to die.” And this will be in my opinion left up to only one person, and that being God. Although I am not a Christian, I follow the Islamic way and believe that life is given by god, we have no right in deciding when we should die, this has been planned by God every step of our life is pre determined by God and this includes when we die.
