Religion and Medical Ethics
Maddy Warnes
Topic 8 – Religion and Medical Ethics
“People should have the right to choose when they die”
The statement in the title could have been referring to any form of death possible, but for the purposes of this essay I am going to stick with suicide and euthanasia as my interpretation. I think people should have the right to choose when they die but I don’t think that giving them the right is possible because of the many problems that could occur if we do.
Euthanasia is currently illegal in the UK and until 1961, so was suicide. Some people think that they are morally wrong and should not be encouraged. Some people debate that euthanasia, like suicide should be legalised because they are both one in the same. We should have the right to make our own decision about the time of our death. There are a lot of problems with this and in this essay I hope to explain them.
Pro-Life arguments
Christians, especially the Roman Catholic denomination, believe in the sanctity of life, which means that they believe that all life is precious and should be protected, rather than destroyed. They believe that god created all life and that he should be the one to decide when and how life is terminated.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” – Psalm 139:13-16
The quote above refers to how god has a plan for all of our lives. He saw us before we were born and will continue to watch over us as long as we live. The psalm says that the human race is wonderfully made, meaning that God’s plan was almost faultless in our upbringing. It says ‘my frame was not hidden from you’ which means
Topic 8 – Religion and Medical Ethics
“People should have the right to choose when they die”
The statement in the title could have been referring to any form of death possible, but for the purposes of this essay I am going to stick with suicide and euthanasia as my interpretation. I think people should have the right to choose when they die but I don’t think that giving them the right is possible because of the many problems that could occur if we do.
Euthanasia is currently illegal in the UK and until 1961, so was suicide. Some people think that they are morally wrong and should not be encouraged. Some people debate that euthanasia, like suicide should be legalised because they are both one in the same. We should have the right to make our own decision about the time of our death. There are a lot of problems with this and in this essay I hope to explain them.
Pro-Life arguments
Christians, especially the Roman Catholic denomination, believe in the sanctity of life, which means that they believe that all life is precious and should be protected, rather than destroyed. They believe that god created all life and that he should be the one to decide when and how life is terminated.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” – Psalm 139:13-16
The quote above refers to how god has a plan for all of our lives. He saw us before we were born and will continue to watch over us as long as we live. The psalm says that the human race is wonderfully made, meaning that God’s plan was almost faultless in our upbringing. It says ‘my frame was not hidden from you’ which means