An Argument Against Euthanasia

Shortly before his death, Dr. Donald Low recorded a video of himself proclaiming his wish that euthanasia be legalized in Canada. Euthanasia has since become a hot topic in Canada with many in favour of the legalization of the practice. However, I would argue that human life is not an entitlement, but a gift and a privilege, and that humanity has intrinsic self-worth.

Many hold the common mentality that they are entitled to live a healthy, happy, and pain-free life.  There is, however, a fundamental distinction between entitlement and human right – the difference between a right to life and an entitlement to life is debt. People feel they deserve a good life, that someone or something (call it fate, the universe, god, etc.) owes them a good life. This sense of entitlement is mostly governed by the notion that one’s life belongs to them, and that they have the right to do with their lives whatever they please.

We are not the ‘owners’ of our own lives for one basic reason: we do not have absolute free will. We do not decide when or where we are born, who our parents will be, or which political, religious, and social institutions will influence our beliefs. We are not in control of the events that surround us, and reality does not adapt according to our desires. How then is it possible that we are the ‘owners’ of our lives? You come to own something by three ways: creation, purchase, or benefaction, none of which we have done in regard to our own lives. It would then seem more logical to suggest that life has been granted to us.

Those who argue in favour of euthanasia usually do so on the basis of  “it’s my life and I have the right to do with it as I please.” They preach about the right to die with dignity. However, if life is a privilege, then we do not necessarily deserve anything, it is not ours to do with as we please, and there are moral implications for doing so. Taking your own life, or having someone else take it for you is not dying with dignity, it is the opposite: it is disgraceful and cowardly. Is it really so appalling and horrid that we suggest someone endure hardship and pain in life? How conceited is this view of what we think we deserve? Is pain not a part of life?

Those who argue in favour of euthanasia also assume that humanity’s value and worth is extrinsic, meaning that worth and value are bestowed upon humanity by society or government, or perhaps some other form of social or political organization. This assumption must be made for the following reason: euthanizing is the act of removing worth and value from human life. If human value is extrinsic and given to us by the government, then it can also be removed by the government. The decision to euthanize a life is essentially deciding that said life is no longer worth living, and any worth that life may have is removed.

This is a huge claim – think about it for a moment. What makes human life meaningful and what sets us apart from mere deterministic biological organisms, is simply a bestowment from a social entity – an entity that is comprised of human individuals in the first place. I do not believe human value is extrinsic because I do not believe that human value can be removed for any reason. If human life has intrinsic worth, then euthanasia brings about serious moral implications.

If Canada as a nation wants to seriously discuss and consider euthanasia as a legal practice, then we must also seriously consider these implications. Once the door to euthanasia is opened, it may be hard, if not impossible, to close and the lines of human value and morality will become even more blurred. If euthanasia is made legal, what is next?

What makes us human is more than the cognitive, physical, or social capabilities we have as a species. The grounds upon which we derive or receive human value and worth is also more than that which our social entities and institutions can provide us. If human life is a privilege and humanity has intrinsic worth, then the sacredness of life is not something to be taken lightly. Human life is worth so much more than what we think we deserve in terms of our rights and our dignity, and it is time Canadians take these considerations seriously.