Euthanasia

Euthanasia

Introduction

The case which I have chosen to study is that of Diane Pretty v United Kingdom (2346/02) a case that went through the English judicial system and case of Bland. The reason for this is that it challenges both ethical and legal aspects of our society that are considered to be norms and as such are vehemently protected and which some critics may say should not be questioned, any such questioning being morally wrong and distasteful. Further more it is not uncommon in other societies for such practices to actually be carried out. The Netherlands being one example of this, in which it was believed that approximately two fifths of the deaths in a year, roughly 50,000 were due to euthanasia, with the individuals concerned having their lives shortened by varying degrees, anything from a few days to a few months or more.

Discussion

From this, above anything else, the idea of sanctity of life and the need for its preservation is apparent. It suggests with no subtlety the need for life to continue free of what could be called “unnatural” intervention. Such notions are contained within the European convention on Human Rights which is on what many of Mrs Pretty's arguments are based, to be specific articles 2, 3, 8, 9 and 14 of the convention.

Mrs Pretty's condition, that of motor neurone disease is associated with progressive muscle weakness affecting the voluntary muscles of the body resulting in a failure of the respiratory system and pneumonia. Not only this, but up until the time of her death her state would have declined rapidly, subjecting her to what was described by the court as the extremely distressing and undignified final stages of the disease. Sympathisers of Mrs Pretty would agree, as she argued, that to have to continue in this way violated the idea that no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, that being article three of convention. In relation to article two, that of the right to life, Mrs Pretty argued that conferred upon individuals the right to die and a choice in how and when. It is not possible for many to think Mrs Pretty irrational in her thinking for she gives logical reasoning for her wish to die. As Philosophers such as Harris and Glover argue when making decisions relating to ending of life the idea of quality of life should be encompassed. They believed human life should no longer be regarded as possessing intrinsic value per se; rather, what makes life valuable is the life-holders capacity for pleasurable states of consciousness (www.deathreference.com).

Can it be said that such a right should be protected by law when it is argued that there is no life there to protect, in the sense of a being having the “capacity for pleasurable states of consciousness” as Harris and Glover suggest. But perhaps we should not only look at the individual concerned but to those who are directly affected, loved ones who share ...