Explain why a follower of religious ethics might object to euthanasia.

I have highlighted the three main points in bold!

Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism all oppose euthanasia and the taking of innocent human life, including voluntary euthanasia. Alternatively, Sikhs and Hindus tend to leave it to the individual’s conscience. All theistic religions express the value of human life for its own sake as a gift from God. Essentially, there are three arguments for why a religious follower would object to euthanasia: life is a sacred gift from God, killing is forbidden in the Old Testament and that suffering has a special place in God’s plan.

The most prominent religious argument consists of the belief that all life is a sacred gift from God. Religious believers advocate that as “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), it is not up to us to end our own lives through artificial intervention. Christians who view the Bible literally and as a source of authority, would stress that God was the author of all life and therefore only he can decide when it should end: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away” (Job 1:21). At the Declaration on Euthanasia in 1980, it was stated that we are “called upon to preserve and make [our lives] fruitful”, and therefore the intentional termination of one’s own life would go against this. A religious follower would emphasise that euthanasia challenges the concept of ‘agape’ (God’s unconditional love), and therefore rejects the duty of a person to live life accordingly to God’s plan. If you end your life prematurely, you may miss out on tasks to perform to show your faith, which would eventually lead you to God. This would mean that you were breaking the bond between God and man. Therefore, we should trust God and his purposes, as all life should be dedicated to him: “If we live it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die” (Romans 14:7-8). Thomas Aquinas also saw suicide as an unnatural act and a rejection of God’s gift of an immortal soul, and Augustine even said that suicide was worse than murder.

Moreover, a follower of the Catholic Church would be strictly opposed to euthanasia as at the second Vatican Ecumenical Council, the Roman Catholic church condemned all crimes against life: “any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful suicide”. At the same declaration, the Church said that assisted suicide is a “violation of divine law”. The Roman Catholic Church would therefore reject any argument made my John Stuart Mill for the autonomy of humans, as they believe that we do not have that sort of freedom because we are made by God for the purpose of loving him. The Papal Encyclical ‘Evangelium Vitae’ in 1995 by John Paul II says that “any action that is intended to cause death is a grave violation of the law of God”, which shows how the Catholic Church do not believe that there are any exceptions for euthanasia. St Paul’s letter, which can be seen in 1 Corinthians, discusses how humans should have an uncomplaining accepting attitude towards death, and that we should accept life with fortitude. It goes on to say, “Your body is the temple of the Holy spirit […] you do not belong to yourselves but to God” which emphasises their belief that we do not have the right to have a premature death.

Secondly, the act of killing is strictly forbidden in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Sixth Commandment states “Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13), which has been traditionally interpreted by Christians and Jews to include euthanasia. Both suicide and euthanasia (which is considered a form of assisted suicide) is viewed as a selfish act of self-harm against oneself and also society, as it deprives the community of one of its members. The prohibition of killing is an absolute for all theist religions, and while few exceptions have been made for warfare or self-defence, the act of taking one’s own life is considered intrinsically wrong. This is further emphasised in Islamic Scriptures, as the Quran clearly states “Take not life which Allah made sacred” and “Do not kill yourselves, for verily Allah has been to you most Merciful”. The argument that suggests that humans who are in a Permanent Vegetative State (PVS) are not really people anymore, is strongly condemned by many religious followers as they believe that we are human from the moment of conception until our deaths.

Another reason why a follower of religious ethics might object to Euthanasia, especially a follower of Christianity, is that suffering often has a special place in God’s plan of salvation. They would argue that as Jesus died in pain on the Cross, human suffering at the end of life connects us to the suffering that Jesus felt. Human suffering can have meaning in the context of a life lived in faith, as even great suffering can still have spiritual value and positive effects. Thomas Wood wrote in his article ‘Childress and Macquarrie’ (1986) that suffering is not the worst evil, and can be an occasion for spiritual growth. This involves the belief that we should trust God to find a way for us to cope with the suffering, instead of us choosing to end it ourselves: “He will not allow you to be tested above your powers” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Religious followers believe that we are not in a position to escape from this suffering, as it provides us a chance to grow closer to God (as quoted from the Declaration on Euthanasia, 1980). Therefore, euthanasia would be seen as wrong as it acts as a hindrance to God’s relationship with humanity. The idea of the after life is of great importance to Christian believers, and as the act of killing is an unforgivable sin, this would prevent them from entering heaven and being united with God.