The Right to Decide

We may have read and heard about organizations fighting for human rights and the right of being alive; but what about the right to consciously take your own life? Euthanasia has been talked about more openly for the past years, but the right to chose death when you are very ill but still conscious and sane seems to be a bigger taboo. People are entitled to decide what to do with their lives, therefore they should also be granted the right to decide on their own deaths.

“The right to die is the ethical or institutional entitlement of the individual to commit suicide or to undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood to mean that a person with a terminal illness should be allowed to commit suicide or assisted suicide where a disease would otherwise prolong their suffering to an identical result.” (http://www.worldrtd.net/) Associations pro-assisted suicide agree that some conditions must be fulfilled in order have the procedure done: the patient must suffer of an incurable illness, repeatedly request for assistance, feel intolerable physical or psychological suffering, have a terminal prognosis or serious disability and discernment. These conditions showed to be understandable and convincing and can be used to legally support whoever is involved.

For most of religions, taking your own life is considered a sin; only to God is granted that right. According to many countries or states’ law, it is considered a suicide, and any person involved in the process can be charged for murder. Society is not used to death, it is seeing as a sad and hurtful moment, and most people want to postpone it as much as they can. The decision for death tends to be not so difficult for those who are ill than to those around him/her. It is never easy to lose someone and it can be very confusing to agree with someone’s death.

Most religions say that men have free will to decide what to do with their lives; therefore it includes even the right of ending it. The Bible, which is the collection of religious texts holy to Judaism and Christianity, says that humans are allowed to follow whatever path and make whatever decisions they want. On the other hand, these same religions are against assisted death, assuming a contradictory position in relation to human rights and freedom. A religion that preaches free will cannot ignore one’s desire to end suffering and pain.

Assisting death should not be considered murder once the doctor has the patient’s authorization for the procedure. In cases of terminal illness where the patient can no longer answer for him/herself, the family and doctor can together decide to end the use of medical equipment and it with, end the patient’s life. Thinking by that same idea, if the person is still conscious and suffering, they should have the right to have counseling about the subject in order to take that same decision by themselves and the doctor should not be charged of murder.

Despite the majority’s beliefs that life is worth fighting to the end, the decision to cease one’s life should concern only the affected individual and his/her suffering and health. In a society where each day we become more and more individualists, the decisions should regard only to the ill person and no one else. Unlike religion and law, the “Right to Die” does not damage society in a large scale, that meaning only the person who wants the assisted death and people close to him/her will be affected.

A person’s life belongs to only him/herself and no one is entitled to change it and the same right we have over our lives should be extended to our deaths. Having the correct conditions, support, professionalism and assistance, there is no reason why a person - who is mentally and physically suffering to an unbearable extent – should not be given the right to chose what is the next step to follow. Right to die should be granted by law in order to provide a dignified death for those who suffer and want to end their agony.