When one opens up an American newspaper (well, online for me that is), one can read about all kinds of debates about ‘moral values’ and in how far the government should be allowed to intervene in one’s personal life. The hot issues are, obviously, abortion and gay marriage.
A while ago I wrote an article about abortion, today I would like to spend some attention to the issue of euthanasia. As always please weigh in, in the comment section of this post. It is highly interesting to see what your opinion about this matter is and why.
Anyway, here’s my opinion:
Quite some people seem to believe that euthanasia should be illegal because they consider it to be (perhaps even highly) immoral. This view is based on their religion: Christianity (and for some, Islam, Judaism, etc.). From this point of view, one could regard life as being so incredibly valuable, that none should, except for war, take it. Not even one’s own life. As a Christian I understand this point of view. Some go (even) further and argue that if a specific society legalizes euthanasia, that society will degenerate quickly, because legalizing (and using that option) euthanasia leads society as a whole away from God. On the other hand, we also have to keep in mind that the interpretation of the Bible and how one experiences one’s faith, is not ‘unquestionable’. Some Christians make the case that, if there is one Christian moral value that all Christian should live by, it is to help those who suffer deal with it and to help them suffer less. If one’s suffering will never end (at least not until one dies), helping one to die with grace and dignity could very well be – so they argue – the Christian thing to do.
From a political point of view, however, we have to ask ourselves whether the government should be able to decide for people how and when they voluntarily die and whether the government should play a role in ‘defending’ what some at least consider to be ‘true Christian values’. Murder, so some argue, is illegal and should be illegal because it is immoral. True, but isn’t one of the reasons for its illegality, not that it’s immoral, but because by allowing citizens to kill other citizens, we’ll create chaos? More importantly, isn’t it (together with most things like theft for instance) truly illegal because most Western countries have adopted the political ‘value’ as described by John Stuart Mill; that the government should not make anything illegal, except for when by doing a certain thing, one hurts another person unreasonably?
As I see it, this question should be the basis for our answer, when we are questioning (or debating) the status of abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia. When one ‘commits’ euthanasia, is one hurting another person unreasonably? When defining ‘unreasonable’ along the lines of one in such a way that it cannot be expected of the other to accept it, my answer is ‘no’. Committing euthanasia has an impact on, for instance, the ones who stay behind. But, considering the fact that one’s family and friends will always be hurt when one dies, be it either 1 year later due to a sickness, of today because one commits euthanasia and considering that the only alternative to the one who is sick is a last year of pain and agony, without any hope of improvement, it seems to me that, one by not allowing it the result for the sick person will be disproportionate, and two the hurt for the one’s who stay behind does not seem to be unacceptable compared to the ‘gain’ for the other.
As for the argument by those who oppose legalizing euthanasia I summarized as follows:
Some go (even) further and argue that if a specific society legalizes euthenesia, that society will degenerate quickly, because legalizing (and using that option) euthanasia leads society as a whole away from God.
Couldn’t one argue that ‘assisted suicide’ is not caused by turning away from God, but by compassion and love? Could one not turn the argument around and say that if society favors letting those who suffer tremendously continue to suffer just because it is afraid of being punished by God or doing ungodly things, society has become extremely cold and more occupied with helping itself than helping those who truly suffer?
Just some thoughts, it’s rambling… sorry for that.
Anyway, please weigh in.
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