Euthanasia: En Ingles

Euthanasia

Not surprisingly, euthanasia is one of the most polemic contemporary subjects of our constantly changing society.

The Conservatives and religious strongest argument perhaps lies in the question: Who has the right to end a life? In contrast, the opposition argues that the circumstances of the case determine whether to follow the desire of the person to end their life of suffering.

In the movie “The Sea Inside”, based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro, a Spanish ship mechanic left quadriplegic after a diving accident fought a 28-year campaign in support of euthanasia and his right to end his own life. An interesting question he postulates as a part of his argument is: Is life a right or an obligation? I find this question fascinating, is it the case that we have any obligation to stay in this life? Are we are bonded to this world disregarding our freedom to choose whether we actually desire to be here? Or can we exercise the freedom of choice over our most valued asset: our Life.

Even though it might be easier to criticize someone who wants to die , I think people never wonder what it would feel like to be in that person shoes? In some cases it would be as bad as waking up to suffer great pain all day long, in some cases it just mean being able to dream you can walk through the gardens smelling the fresh flowers, when you finally realize that you can’t move any muscle in your body and you are tied to a bed.

Going further into the perspective of Manuel Sampedro, his argument hinged on the fact that he was sure of his decision to die. However, owing to his paralysis, he was physically unable to commit suicide without help. He argued that suicide was a right that he was being denied, and he sought legal advice concerning his right to receive assistance to end his life, first in the courts of Spain, where his case attracted country-wide attention. Eventually, his fight became known worldwide. Sampedro died on Monday, January 12, 1998, in Boiro, Spain, from potassium cyanide poisoning. Several days later, a close friend of Ramón, Ramona Maneiro, was arrested and charged with assisting his suicide but was released due to lack of evidence. No further charges were ever filed in connection with Ramón's death.

In some countries suicide is illegal, in some others it is not an illegal action, but in most places it is viewed as morally wrong to commit suicide. However I am going to take a Deontological Ethics perspective, to try to justify euthanasia. Immanuel Kant stated the moral value of an action lies in the motive that inspired you to commit certain action.
If pain and suffering are ended, then according to Kant, the assisted suicide would be good. If someone decides to end his life just because he felt like it, his motive would obviously not justify the action of suicide. However, if it is the case that prolonged suffering or the inability to live one’s life normally were the reasons that led the person to commit suicide, we might be able to say that this action can be justified.


Eduardo Calvachi