Does anyone have the RIGHT to die?

Today the BBC have reported that assisted suicide could be offered to Britons who are chronically depressed rather than terminally according to illLudwig Minelli from the controversial Swiss organisation, Dignitas. I’m personally against euthanasia, and this story highlights one of the reasons why. Mr Minelli is quoted as saying: “The question for politicians in Britain today is why do you force your citizens, people in the most terrible circumstances who are determined to end their suffering in a way of their own choosing, to leave their country and travel to Switzerland to exercise their free will. Where’s the humanity in this?” But I would ask a different question, why is it that people in terrible circumstances are not getting the care and treatment they need to minimise their suffering. If someone is chronically depressed, what they need is help and support to deal with the courses of this depression (I am aware of how crippling depression can be for the person who suffers from it, and their family), and not the means to kill themselves, does this realistically help that person? Real humanity is caring for people who have these needs in a dignified and loving manner, so that they can live life to the full, rather than killing them. Where do we draw the line? How depressed would you need to be, to justify ending your life?

One of the greatest dangers with legalising euthanasia, is that how do we protect the most vulnerable people in society, when does someone’s right to die, become someone else’s obligation to die? Supporters of euthanasia would argue that there are safeguards in place to prevent this from happening, but there is good evidence to suggest that in Holland, where euthanasia is legal, that there have been a number of cases of involuntary euthanasia. What happens when someone grows old, and needs to go into nursuing care which would cost them hundreds of pounds a week, there surely would be the pressure on some people (from outside, or from within themselves) to hasten their death because they do not want to be a financial burden on their families. But is that the right way to treat people? Is that the way we show respect for life, that we say ’when you get to a certain age, or your health fails, you life is therefore somehow of less value?’ How do we protect the rights of the most vulnerable, the elderly, and those with learning disabilities?

The original word euthanasia meant ‘good death’, but never had in mind the idea of causing or speeding up death. It meant dying with dignity. What many people fear about death, is unnecessary suffering, and research has shown that people who would have requested euthanasia, withdraw their requests as soon as their pain is brought under control. We should be investing more money into the hospice movement, and similar organisations, so that people can die with real dignity, and so that we can show proper respect for life.