Euthanasia is called active euthanasia, referring to moving up the time of a patient's death by a person besides a patient him/herself in an artificial, active method, such as the administration of a substance incurring death to a patient according to...
Euthanasia is called active euthanasia, referring to moving up the time of a patient's death by a person besides a patient him/herself in an artificial, active method, such as the administration of a substance incurring death to a patient according to a patient's explicit request for the purpose of removing pain which is impossible for a patient to bear anymore, and whose treatment and control is almost impossible even through medical aids.
The person besides a patient him/herself mentioned here is a doctor who has the obligation to protect and treat a patient. This paper is addressing the category of euthanasia by a patient's own will which connotes a problem of the so-called assisted suicide.
Up to the present, the country which allows the mercy killing of patients includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Switzerland. In case of the USA, as of 2015, euthanasia is allowed only in the State of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, New Mexico, and Montana. In case of Germany, active euthanasia is not allowed in principle, but there exist no rules of punishment separately for aiding and abetting suicide. Recently, Canada becomes a country which allows euthanasia as the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the existing law punishing active euthanasia is against the Canadian spirit of constitution, and that euthanasia is constitutional, on February 6, 2015. In addition, in case of France, the National Assembly of France passed the so-called 'Deep Sleep Bill' actually allowing euthanasia, on March 18, 2015.
Countless numbers of precedents related to euthanasia are based on human dignity and life values. 'Life' to humans is the essence for realizing the value which they aim to defend in their own life other than just physically living. Human dignity premises maintenance of life and living; further, human dignity has a vital significance in that individuals live their life of realizing their personality and character to the maximum on the basis of maintenance of healthy mind and body. Accordingly, living in the way they want while maintaining healthy body and mind can be a part of the right to life based on the value of human dignity. In other words, dying with dignity in the way they want means living in the way they want.
Protection of the right to life is based on the protection of such a human value, and active euthanasia for realizing such a life value is the active realization of the right to life. Traditionally, the right to life has been perceived as the passive right that is protected from its infringement, but it's necessary to extend the meaning of the right to life by interpreting that the right to life in conformity with the principle of the constitution that the right to life is the human dignity & value. If that is the case, protection of the right to life should be also newly re-constituted in line with the normative meaning of the right to life.
In relation to the right of self-determination of death, it's possible to draw the individual basic rights, which are not listed in Clause 1, Article 37 of the Constitution, as a direct basis indirectly under the basic rights on human dignity and value.
Active euthanasia is the self-determination of living in one's way and the way of facing death, as well as a private area. A nation is not allowed to encroach on an individual area, and unless it is allowed according to general values, it can be pointed out as community violence on one individual.
The public interest, and benefit & protection of the law, which should be pursued by a nation, lie in allowing an individual facing death to exercise his/her right to personally decide whether to continue his/her life or not.
A nation's social responsibility is to arrange juridically reasonable procedures lest there should be abuse of homicide, or should be against legal sentiment by suggesting strict requirements in exercising such a right.