dignity of life

The Irish Times October 19, 2004
Life and death debate
SECTION: Health; Consumer Health; Pg. 4

Those in favour of assisted suicide say that a person has the right to choose the moment and manner of death if death is imminent, inevitable and otherwise likely to be one of personal indignity, prolongation of pain or the misery felt by family members witnessing the suffering of their loved one. They speak about dying on one's own terms, about painless, mercy killing being a merciful release from life. Is it not cruel to prolong the agonies of life's end: to maintain people in pervasive vegetative states, breathing cadavers in incapacity and immobility? If animals are put out of their misery, do humans not deserve equal compassion? They say a citizen has the right to die with dignity. They believe that one is competent to make "living will" choices during life about later death. Death should be permitted and assisted.

Those against assisted suicide question the hidden coercion and level of choice a citizen has in a society prepared to use medical means to terminate life. They point to the slippery slope from stringent controls to flexible conditions once we author life and death. They fear euthanasia becoming a death warrant for the disabled, becoming paediatric euthanasia, then eugenics, then economic valuations of viability.

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09/03/12

South China Morning Post March 31, 2008 Monday
Mercy killing or murder, euthanasia is still illegal

BYLINE: Some people believe life is sacred, others think they should have the right to call it quits, writes Elaine Yau
SECTION: YOUNGPOST; liberal studies; Pg. 6
＜以下Aff.＞
The personal crusade of quadriplegic Tang Siu-pun, better known as Ah Bun, to end his life through assisted suicide exposed the rifts over the idea. The wheelchair-bound Mr Tang, who has been dependent on others for most of his basic needs ever since a sports accident more than a decade ago, wrote a letter to former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa in 2003 asking for euthanasia to be legalised.

He released a 300-page book I Want Euthanasia last year in which he argued for his right to die in peace and with dignity. He said the value of a person's life is subjective and should not be judged by others. His plight struck a chord with people who have witnessed the slow and painful deaths of their loved ones.

The sight of bed-ridden family members wilting away in hospital often makes people yearn for a more humane way to expedite their demise and end their suffering.

Proponents of euthanasia argue the practice can diminish the pressure on the public health system. However, this notion is rejected by moralists who believe this idea would see calls for people to die for the public good.

Sam Lee Yuan-tai, chairman of the Direction Association for the Handicapped, agreed that legalising euthanasia might put pressure on the sick and handicapped to commit suicide as they might worry about becoming a burden to society and their families.

＜以下Neg.＞
Mr Lee, a quadriplegic, argued that instead of legalising euthanasia, society should step up support for the disabled which would allow them to lead a full life.

Mr Lee's arguments echo the calls for the provision of better hospice and palliative care for the terminally ill instead of allowing patients suffering from incurable diseases to die prematurely.