Youth in asia.

“ An acceptance of the practice of voluntary euthanasia is incompatible with Christian belief in the sanctity of life but not with the attitudes of some ethical philosophers or some medical practitioners.” Examine and comment on this claim.

Euthanasia - what is euthanasia? Why does this word, this ‘forbidden’ action bring up so many problems that people can only solve using their own initiative and their own morality; even if they go against a strict religious belief or follow a strict religious belief.
The first thing I must outline is what euthanasia actually is. Euthanasia has three different faces to it, meaning there are three man different types of euthanasia.

Firstly there is suicide. This is a self inflicted form of euthanasia. Where a person willing to die, and wanting to die literally takes their own life. People debate whether or not this is actually a form of euthanasia but I believe that it is because the dictionary definition of euthanasia states “a good death”, therefore if this person is in so much suffering and at the depths of their despair then in their eyes this is a “good death” for them, because it ends all misery and pain. This form of euthanasia is frowned upon by the Christian faith and was frowned upon by humanity, and outlawed by government until not too long ago until euthanasia clinics started merging and some governments ruled in favour of the act.

Then there is voluntary euthanasia This is carried out at the request of the patient who is suffering extremely and wishes to end their life but is unable to physically commit suicide. This type of euthanasia is illegal in this country and most countries throughout the world, though there are some countries, such as Switzerland, who permit the act of euthanasia. In the past there has been people who have travelled to these countries in order to obtain the treatment of euthanasia. Like suicide and all other forms of euthanasia some Christians, for example Catholics, do not agree with this, thinking that is going against God’s will and power.

Thirdly there is involuntary euthanasia. This is when a person is killed in order to save them from additional suffering. This person can or can not be in a position to ask for the treatment. If the person is in a position to ask for this treatment then it can be carried out, depending on whether euthanasia is legal in the country they live in. If the person is question is not in an able state to ask then a doctor can choose whether or not to end the suffering and commit the act of euthanasia or prolong the suffering and let nature take its course.

My initial reaction is that euthanasia should be legalised in the UK to anybody of a suitable age and with a critical illness but I am going to examine in depth religious and ethical views, then I will judge what I feel is right or wrong. I feel this because if a person is suffering from an illness that has destroyed any chance of leading a normal life and leaves the person in mass amounts of unbearable pain then they should be able to decide whether or not it is their time to die and not follow any moral rules. When it comes down to this I look at it with a relative moralists point of view because if the person may be able to get well, for example if they where suffering cancer but there was a cure for it then I would say go for treatment not death but on the other hand if the person is going to die anyway then they shouldn’t be put through more suffering than they are already going through.

Some people, and religious followers will oppose this belief and say that all forms of euthanasia are wrong and a moral sin. I will be discussing this clash of opinions within my coursework and will be comparing it to beliefs of ethical philosophers. Also I will be researching into the Christian beliefs on voluntary euthanasia, trying to find out exactly what they think, why they think it and how it determines their moral views and comparing these with the views of famous ethical philosophers.

Fundamental Christians, such as Catholics, follow a strict and absolute set of guidelines to determine what is good and what is bad. These guidelines are set out in the Bible, and people interpret these guidelines differently depending on the extremity of their beliefs. To Christians the Bible is more than just a book, it is the word of God; it is what makes the world good; it is the truth. To not follow these rules would be going against the word of God meaning the person opposing God’s word is a sinner and not a good willed person, thus causes Christians to oppose the practice of euthanasia, as it is going against the word of God.

Nowhere in the Bible does it state that euthanasia is a sin, or does it state anything to do with euthanasia. But what it does talk about is the sanctity of life and how God created us is his image, therefore believers say we should not disrespect the Lord, by going against his word, and destroy his creation. Here is one of the quotes that Christian believers may interpret to be against euthanasia, it is taken from Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man by man his blood shall be shed: for God made man in his own image.” I don’t think that that this quote fully solves the debate about euthanasia because even though God might have made us in his own image, he is meant to be all knowing and powerful, therefore he would stop people from committing the blood shed.

Also Christians teach that we are part of the natural order, that we are creatures not divine beings. Therefore we do not have the power or authority to end each other or our own lives. This teaching was backed up by the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant when he says “man can not have the power to dispose of his life.” Meaning that it is only up to God to decide when our time is up and we can hence forth into the unknown.

I am not saying that all Christian denominations take this teachings as absolute and some denominations such as all denominations of the protestant belief try to look at it relatively. Protestants try to balance compassion and agape against the sanctity of life. Therefore they want what is best for the person is question but will try to get around it using their beliefs. They try to argue the fact that we might have our own minds and make our own decisions on things but what we do effects others around us just as much as it does ourselves. In the bishop of St. Albans synod on euthanasia & suicide he states that “But a moment's thought will reveal that, actually, the choices I make as an individual impinge on others - that, ultimately, is why we have laws, to enable us to decide who has the priority or what is just.” Here he is saying that if euthanasia was to be legalised then people would just be asking to die whenever they felt like it and there would be no restrictions, thus outbreak could be caused.

Beliefs about euthanasia with anybody can change vastly depending on the type of euthanasia being carried out and the religious beliefs of people arguing with euthanasia. For example a person may think that voluntary euthanasia is acceptable as it is the persons choice and the doctor who is treating the person knows whether or not they are in a critical position. Therefore this is a ‘good death’ and is morally correct in my eyes. But on the other hand a person may think that involuntary euthanasia is unacceptable because a person might be in a sedated or inappropriate state to decide whether or not they want to die, therefore it is not their decision but the doctors which is morally unacceptable.

A famous philosopher who has talked about the sanctity of human life and a humans autonomy to make their own decision is Friedrich Nietzsche. He said that “God is dead”, this means that people have killed God, not that he has never existed but that people have turned away from his thus causing his death. This means that people are free to make their own choices on subject such as suicide and euthanasia instead of going to the Bible for answers on these subjects. Nietzsche says that it is growing darker because of this. I believe this is a metaphor for evil taking over. Therefore people need to create their own light and their own good way of living to lead a suitable lifestyle. Also he states that people are creating their own moral codes instead of following the word of God, therefore they are choosing to take their own views into account when it comes to euthanasia.
To Nietzsche self-development is fundamental to humans. Therefore we should be free to adopt whatever means we need in order to secure that power, therefore euthanasia is just another step on the ladder of self-development and it can help people to improve on their lives. For example if a man has taken a lot of time off work to look after his sick, dying mother then his time is being wasted and he is not developing his own life, he is just prolonging the inevitable. Therefore if he was to let euthanasia take his sick mother then he, himself would carry on living instead of being stuck in one spot.

Existential themes can be argued for the legalisation of euthanasia and disapproval of religious beliefs on euthanasia. Martin Heidegger says that what you choose should be up to you and what you want not because a religion says so. Meaning that people shouldn’t take into account religious teaching when it comes to euthanasia but go on antinomian views and moral beliefs; not going on rules and being free. He also states that there is no God to guarantee and explain what life is about because we are all individual and different, and that there is no meaning to be found through religious beliefs, the only meaning that can be found is the meaning that we make.

Through all of these views it is hard to determine whether or not euthanasia is right or wrong. It is entirely up to yourself to decide whether you think it is right or wrong, unless you are a Christian, then you will follow the teachings of the Bible. But then still it is up to you how you interpret the Bible and its teachings; whether you take them as literal or metaphorical.

In my opinion I still take a relative morality view when it comes to euthanasia for the same reason stated earlier in this work; the simple fact that we do not know whether or not there is actually a God and that we do not know the real truth persuades me that it is up to every individual to choose for themselves what they believe to be good and bad, true or false. Also that euthanasia doesn’t have to be a bad thing because we do not know what happens after death and we don’t know whether death is actually a bad thing, because why does death have to be a bad thing? If it is helping a person to relieve themselves from suffering then isn’t that doing good? Isn’t that treating your neighbour as you would like to be treated? If you where to prolong the suffering then it would be your fault that they are suffering, in a way, therefore you must take into account these different views before you come to your climax and your answer to what the truth is. I believe that nobody knows the entire truth, their may be bits of truth in every teaching of the Bible but there may also be faults and therefore it is not perfectly true. This is another reason why we must go about finding out our own truths of the right or wrong thing to do when it comes to euthanasia, and not be brainwashed by what we don’t know is entirely true.