Euthanasia: A Violation of the Right to Self-Preservation
by Euthanasia is quite a controversial issue as far as morality is concerned. There have different views about the rightness and wrongness of this act among philosophers. Today, the legalization of euthanasia in some states has generated controversies. This articule, then, argues against the legalization of Euthanasia.
It is a known fact that every human being will die. No human person will live in this mortal life in perpetuity, because we are contingent beings. Our mortal life has a beginning and definitely this mortal existence will end at death. Now, the fact that we will all die does not mean that we should die any kind of death. The end of a human life should be a dignified one. It is not any kind of end that befits a human being. Mercy killing or euthanasia, therefore, should not be an option for human beings no matter the suffering they are going through, because it is not a dignified death – a death that prevents life to fulfil the mission it is created to fulfil in the world. Every human life has a purpose and that purpose is given by God, the Creator.
Euthanasia has for some time now been a moral issue in philosophy, and there have been philosophers who argued against it as well as those who argued in its support. The problem of euthanasia has been aggravated in our age that is characterised by advancement in medicine by its legalisation in some states. To perform euthanasia in some states is not seen as evil since the law of such states allow physicians to do that without prosecution. The elimination of human suffering of any kind is not enough to give moral justification to euthanasia.
According to Gichure, the initial theory of the elimination of suffering and the people considered to be devoid of vital value in human society reached its mass practical realisation in Nazi, Germany with Hitler who, between 1933 and 1939, made specific programmes of how euthanasia was to be carried out. This led to the holocaust.[1]
Today, euthanasia is requested by those who feel that it is useless for them to live and sometimes the relatives of a patient think it is better for the sick relation to die than to live in pain. This practice makes us ask: is it right for a person to be killed because he or she suffers from incurable disease? Any practice of euthanasia should be seen as a violation of a person’s right to life, whether the person requests it or the decision was made for him or her.
I shall begin my paper with the meaning of euthanasia, followed by the different types of euthanasia. I shall also endeavour to consider some thinkers who promoted euthanasia. Finally, I shall explicate how euthanasia is a violation of the human right to life.
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