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Assisted dying: A matter of life and death
Monday, Mar 25, 2013
The Straits Times
By SundareshMenon
Whatever our political, religious or moral leanings, the assisted dying debate remains an irreducibly human issue. It follows that we must summon all the compassion and kindness in our hearts when broaching this matter.
The subject of assisted dying is an intensely complicated one. There are many facets to it with very few ready answers. It would therefore be helpful to begin with some conceptual distinctions and definitions.
The most common abstraction used to represent the core principle in the debate on assisted dying has been the "right to die". This encapsulates the competing notions of "sanctity of life" on the one hand and "freedom of choice" on the other. Curiously, it suggests that we are at liberty to die, just as we are at liberty to live. However, as with any conversation of such moral complexity, we must be wary of reductive labels.
This leads us to an important set of definitions related to the various modes by which accelerated dying can be effected.
Euthanasia entails the termination of the life of a patient by someone other than the patient himself. A working definition of euthanasia as it is commonly understood is: An action that results in the immediate merciful killing by a doctor of a sick and suffering patient who has consented to this action. It is the deliberate and very humane ending of a patient's life to prevent further suffering... and rests on two fundamental principles: autonomy and mercy.
Voluntary euthanasia takes place at the patient's request but it is the physician who executes the final act. This is to be distinguished from assisted suicide, where the patient performs the final act and causes his own death. The assistance may come in the form of practical assistance, such as that rendered by friends and family members to those who travel abroad for the purpose of ending their lives. It may also
Assisted dying: A matter of life and death
Monday, Mar 25, 2013
The Straits Times
By SundareshMenon
Whatever our political, religious or moral leanings, the assisted dying debate remains an irreducibly human issue. It follows that we must summon all the compassion and kindness in our hearts when broaching this matter.
The subject of assisted dying is an intensely complicated one. There are many facets to it with very few ready answers. It would therefore be helpful to begin with some conceptual distinctions and definitions.
The most common abstraction used to represent the core principle in the debate on assisted dying has been the "right to die". This encapsulates the competing notions of "sanctity of life" on the one hand and "freedom of choice" on the other. Curiously, it suggests that we are at liberty to die, just as we are at liberty to live. However, as with any conversation of such moral complexity, we must be wary of reductive labels.
This leads us to an important set of definitions related to the various modes by which accelerated dying can be effected.
Euthanasia entails the termination of the life of a patient by someone other than the patient himself. A working definition of euthanasia as it is commonly understood is: An action that results in the immediate merciful killing by a doctor of a sick and suffering patient who has consented to this action. It is the deliberate and very humane ending of a patient's life to prevent further suffering... and rests on two fundamental principles: autonomy and mercy.
Voluntary euthanasia takes place at the patient's request but it is the physician who executes the final act. This is to be distinguished from assisted suicide, where the patient performs the final act and causes his own death. The assistance may come in the form of practical assistance, such as that rendered by friends and family members to those who travel abroad for the purpose of ending their lives. It may also