Discuss the theological and philosophical views on euthanasia.

St Paul wrote 'we are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it" (Ephisteans 2:10). This is tied into euthanasia because if humans are God's work then they must be special and worth preserving, and euthanasia is not preserving life but destroying it.

'Only God is greater than human life' (Psalm 8:3-5), this means that God's will must be done as the he is greater than we are. If God does not will us to die then we should respect his wishes and not go against him. By using Euthanasia we are not waiting for our turn and we are going against God's will and we are betraying Him. However some say that by God giving us a conscience and free will we are doing Gods will and if He didn't want us to think for ourselves then He shouldn't have given us this freedom in the first place.

The sanctity of life means that our life is holy and sacred. The Roman Catholic Church believes that life is holy and sacred but it doesn't mean that a life must be preserved at all costs. They believe that if a person is in a vegetative state they should be allowed their basic rights of food and water and have the plug pulled on the life support system if the practice is deemed 'medically futile'. If a practice is deemed 'medically futile' it means that all the practice is doing is keeping a person alive and is not going to make them any better. In the Evangelium Vitae of 1995 (John Paul II) 'any action which is intended to cause death as a relief from suffering is a grave violation of the law of God'. However Roman Catholics allow using of morphine because its primary use if for pain killing and if a death occurs it is a side affect and not deliberate. They do believe that life is sacred and holy but when your time comes it is time to leave and we shouldn't put it back.

The fact is all Christian denominations believe that life is holy and sacred but when a person's time comes they should be allowed to go peacefully and not be kept alive by machines and artificial respiration if the practice isn't going to make the person better.

Different churches have different reactions to ' There are times when someone should be allowed to die rather than being kept alive against their will'.

The Roman Catholics agree with this statement when it catatonia and vegetation is involved. They don't feel that keeping someone alive with machines is viable if the person isn't going to have a miraculous recovery. Otherwise the Roman Catholic Church has an absolute morality. No euthanasia, because switching off a machine isn't euthanasia because the person isn't going to get better anyway. The Catholics are fundamentalists, which means they take things as read. If the Bible says 'your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) then it is. If you destroy life then you are destroying part of God.

The Roman Catholic Church also believes in palliative care such as hospices. Treatment in such establishments is acceptable because the primary aim of such a treatment is to ease pain, not to prolong suffering. All they want is for people to prepare for death when it comes and not when your own hand or someone else's administers it.

The Church of England agrees with the Catholics in that death is a tragedy, but they are more liberal in than fundamental. 'He guide me in the path of righteousness', this means that God will guide the person the good and the bad and into the right decision.

Church of Englanders believe removing treatment and administering painkilling drugs must be taken seriously. It must also be debated whether or not this is deliberate killing. They believe that if it is right then it should be done. It all depends on the circumstances.

The Religious Society of Friends is placed somewhere in the middle of the Catholics fundamentalism and the Church of England's liberalism and it is divided on the topic. Some believe that allowing someone to die whose life is being prolonged by medication and the 'mercy killing' of someone who's in pain. Some believe that if a person is in pain they should be allowed a dignified death by euthanasia and others believe that palliative care is the best option. Euthanasia goes against the palliative care belief. Those who do believe in palliative care also believe that if a persons quality of life does not deteriorate and they are prepared for death then they will approach it with love and willingly. There is a split decision on euthanasia among the Quakers.

The Methodist church sides with the Roman Catholics, as it is strongly opposed to euthanasia. They are opposed to it for many reasons; primarily there is the religious aspect. They believe that men and women bear the signature of God who 'made life in his image' (Genesis 1:2). Taking away what God gave us to them is sacrilege. Also there is the medical aspect of euthanasia, how the legalisation of euthanasia would affect the relationships between patients, families of patients, and the medical profession.

The are afraid that there will be a miss-use of euthanasia on difficult or stubborn patients. Also they are afraid that patients will be affected by knowing that euthanasia is taking place in the hospital where they are being treated.

B. There are few arguments for euthanasia on the whole, but some Protestant churches have backed arguments for euthanasia in certain circumstances. I think the reasons that have been presented are reasonable as they have the interests of the patients and not others linked with the patients as their priority.

I agree with the reasons because they are in the best interest of the patient. If a person is suffering and wishes to choose this option then I agree.

I think the arguments for euthanasia are unfair to those people who are being kept alive by life support and have not made a living will. How are we to know whether they want to be kept alive or allowed to die? No one raised this point. I think that if a patient wants to die then they should be allowed to. If they are in pain and want to spare themselves the physical pain and the suffering and they want to spare their family the mental anguish of watching them die then they should be allowed to. A person should be allowed to have a dignified death.

I don't think Christians on the whole (taking into consideration the size of the Quakers in comparison to the Catholics) are in favour of Euthanasia because of the whole concept of death. A person's quality of life may be dismal now but what quality of life will the person have when they're dead.

I also think that the arguments against euthanasia are fair and reasonable as long as someone ways up their arguments first. I agree with the reasons because they are important to the argument.

I think that a Christian should keep an open mind on the case of euthanasia and the likes but I know they won't. I don't think that the reasons are particularly justified just because the Pope or the Bible says so, I also don't think that it is fair that one person can have such control over people's beliefs just because that person is the Pope.

I think it is unfair that the arguments that the arguments both for and against euthanasia come from an ancient text that had been written and re-written thousands of times. This makes me dubious about reference reliability because I have looked up different references in different Bibles and books and come up with different answers all the time.

As a Christian I hold the opinion that a person should be open minded about religions and listen to other peoples opinions before making their mind up. I also feel that one Christian should not try and change another Christian's opinion. I think that euthanasia should be acceptable in certain circumstances but each individual case should be brought before a review board. This board should consist of two doctors, a member of the clergy and a psychiatrist. The person requesting euthanasia must be tested for sound will and mind and both doctors must agree that the person is allowed to go ahead and have euthanasia. Also the doctor carrying out euthanasia must be trained in that speciality and also must be psychologically analysed periodically to make sure the doctor can cope. Also I think euthanasia should be monitored so that euthanasia doesn't escalate to systematic culling of the infirm and the old.

I am a Christian of the Church of England and even thought I am not particularly religious I fell my religion plays a major role in my values. All I want is to make people happy and to 'love thy neighbour' and if euthanasia is the answer then so be it.

Stephanie Henderson 10CK Religious Studies Mr Jones

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