What are the issues involved in legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide?
Euthanasia involves the killing of someone who has an incurable and extremely painful or debilitating illness. Assisted suicide involves the helping of someone in such a condition to die. Where a doctor provides this help, it is known as physician-assisted suicide.
Euthanasia is a subject which raises both moral and legal issues. Those in favour of euthanasia and, by extension, assisted suicide claim that people have a right to die with dignity. They argue that people suffering from a painful or debilitating terminal illness might well take their own lives without help if they could. However, by the time they are in the later and most unbearable stages of their illness, they need help. They need someone to give them the relevant pills or the appropriate injection.
Supporters also argue that governments, by not giving people the legal right to get help to die, may encourage people to die earlier than they need. For example, a person diagnosed with a progressive and fatal disease may choose to commit suicide at a fairly early stage. At such a stage they may be able to get hold of the pills they need or they may choose a different method of suicide which they are able to perform or execute on their own.
The terminally ill person may decide to commit suicide at this early stage because they think that if they wait until a later stage of the disease, they will be helpless. They will not be able to die without someone else’s assistance. That person will be committing an illegal act and may well be sent to prison.
Opponents reject the claim that people suffering from a painful terminal illness should have the right to die. Many religious people believe that taking one’s own life is a sin. Only God, they say, has the right to take life.
Others stress the value of human life. They say that there is a natural, deep-rooted human desire to hang on to life for as long as possible. If someone wishes to die, then this intention or desire is a sign of mental illness. They back up their opinion by pointing out that people who commit suicide without help often have severe clinical depression. They are not in their right minds.
Some opponents suggest that legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide are open to serious misuse. Indeed, some regard them as a step towards legalized murder. They claim that pressure may be put on seriously ill patients to get them to ask for an assisted death. This pressure may be applied by a relative who is tired of looking after the invalid or by someone who has been bequeathed money in the invalid’s will and wants to get their hands on the money. Whoever is to blame, the request is not voluntary.
Supporters say that a living will should solve this problem. In a living will you make it clear what medical and legal decisions you want taken if you become too ill to make these yourself. In the will, too, you can state your desire for assisted suicide in certain circumstances.
However, the whole subject of living wills is also a controversial one. For instance, it is often argued that people may change their minds when they actually become ill, but forget to make changes to their living will. Then there is the possibility that the actual wording of the living will may not be very clear.
Generally, opponents declare that it is the duty of doctors to preserve life and that they should not be asked to become involved in taking life away. Others claim that some doctors try too hard to prolong life that lacks any real quality. Modern drugs and technology enable them to do this.
Several countries, such as Switzerland, Belgium and Albania, as well as some American states, have passed laws which allow euthanasia and assisted suicide. For the rest, the moral and complicated debate continues.
