Euthanasia The right to die

Euthanasia has been an ongoing debate for many years in different countries. Should it be
legal? is one of the most controversial questions of this case. The word euthanasia means an easy and
mild death and it comes from the Greek words Eu" means well and thanatos" means death but the
argument surrounding is just the reverse. Everyone has an opinion on why euthanasia should or should
not be allowed, for me it is simple - it is the choice to die with dignity. If a patient wishes to end his or
her life before a disease takes away their quality of life, then the patient should have the option of
euthanasia. Although, many societies (including our society) view this problem with their ethics,
consider it as morally wrong, also mix it up with their beliefs, but Id say continuing the life of a
terminally ill person who suffers day by day morally wrong, but lets not get into it right now. The
year is 2016, the pinnacle of human development, science, technology, freedom, democracy etc In a
time like this a human being should be able to make their own decision as to when their own life has
ebbed away to such a reduced level of quality that it becomes not worth living. Now to think about it,
dogs dont actually have many advantages over humans, but theres one important advantage euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case, animals actually have right to a merciful death, funny
isnt it?
As humans we have the right to take responsibility for our actions and to make our own choices.
We are an autonomous people with a right to self-sufficiency, independence and to self-regulation, so
why should we not have the right to choose whether or not our lives should end if there is little or no
hope of recovery? Usually those antagonistic towards euthanasia claim that legalization would mean it
could be abused and misused. However, appropriate procedures and safeguards would be installed to
provide maximum protection for patients and doctors involved. Precautions such as clarification of a
voluntary request, secondary medical opinions, informed consultation and psychiatric evaluations
combined with open ended time restraints would ensure a patients full understanding and compliance
with euthanasia. Such precautions have been installed in the Netherlands where euthanasia is legal and
they have not been abused.1 Also, anti-euthanasia proponents argue that euthanasia infringes on a
persons fundamental right to live. But if you let me to philosophize a bit life itself implies death.
Without death, there cant be human life by its very own definition, therefore human life cannot
occur without death. It is the finite nature of our lives brought about by the immovable and inevitable
wall of death that gives every second of our time spent on this earth its most powerful meaning.
Euthanasia, in contemporary practice means that someones life is ended for sympathetic
reasons by some active or passive steps taken by another person. So basically it is categorized in to
passive or active and voluntary, non-voluntary or involuntary. Active euthanasia is criminal while
passive euthanasia is non-criminal2 (in our legislation any kind of euthanasia is considered a crime).
1 http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/holland-background/

2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/forms.shtml

Individual Work on Criminal LawPage 1

Written by Kanat Deniz
Supervised by Vidaicu Mihaela
Group 311, State University of Moldova

Euthanasia The right to die

The big debate surrounding euthanasia is whether to consider it as voluntary thus becoming a suicide or
involuntary - murder. Further, there have been numerous arguments as to whether a certain death could
be considered easy, happy, painless or wrongful. As you might already observe, I stand firmly on
legalizing the euthanasia. But alas in our country euthanasia is criminalized by the Criminal Code of
RM art. 148.3 If it could be legal in Republic of Moldova, I would like it to be just like in Netherlands
with proper procedures and safeguards where the will of patient is clear that he or she actually is ready
to take such a step.
Unfortunately I couldnt find any decisions regarding euthanasia in our national court, therefore
I analyzed decisions of ECHR, specifically the case of Koch v. Germany4. This case is about a couple,
a husband and wife, as I understand, in 2004 the wife who was suffering from complete quadriplegia,5
unsuccessfully applied to the Federal Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medical Products for
authorization to obtain a lethal dose of a drug that would have enabled her to commit suicide at home
in Germany. An administrative appeal by the applicant and his wife was dismissed. In February 2005
they both went to Switzerland, where the wife committed suicide with the help of an association. In
April 2005 the applicant unsuccessfully brought an action to obtain a declaration that the Federal
Institutes decisions had been unlawful. It held that, in the present case, there had been a violation of
the applicants procedural rights under Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the
Convention, in respect of the German courts refusal to examine the merits of his complaint. As further
regards the substance of the applicants complaint, the Court considered that it was primarily up to the
German courts to examine its merits, in particular in view of the fact that there was no consensus
among the Member States of the Council of Europe as to the question of whether or not to allow any
form of assisted suicide. Theres also the case of Pretty v. The United Kingdom6, the cases are similar,
but in this one the applicant was dying of motor neurone disease7. Given that the final stages of the
disease are distressing and undignified, she wished to be able to control how and when she died. As I
3 THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
4 http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Euthanasia_ENG.pdf
5 quadriplegia, also known as tetraplegia is paralysis caused by illness or injury that
results in the partial or total loss of use of all four limbs and torso. The loss is usually
sensory and motor, which means that both sensation and control are lost.
6 http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Euthanasia_ENG.pdf
7 Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurological condition that attacks
the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages
gradually stop reaching the muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting. MND can
affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe.
Individual Work on Criminal LawPage 2
Written by Kanat Deniz
Supervised by Vidaicu Mihaela
Group 311, State University of Moldova

Euthanasia The right to die

analyze these cases I observed that both of them were under the assisted suicide and in both cases at
these times of 2002-2005 assisted suicide was illegal, (it was legalized in Germany though, 2015). And
the ECHR decisions were more or less based on domestic legislations of Germany and UK.
In conclusion, what can I say? Both of the cases above are pretty much self-explanatory.
Persons are already suffering, and these legislations dont make it better, even worse, make them suffer
more. There are still heavy discussions revolving around the topic of euthanasia. Both pro and antieuthanasia have strong points supporting for and against euthanasia. New Zealand and Netherlands are
perfect examples for those points, the two countries are exact opposites in their stand regarding
euthanasia and both countries have their own reason. In fact, I suppose the greatest problem of this
controversial point is the inability of the government to implement a thoroughly made law that can
foresee all the possible problems of the legalization of euthanasia and avoid them. I am sure that
euthanasia has the right to exist in our society. It should be considered not as a murder but as an
absolute necessity in urgent situations. As a final note, all countries must consider legalizing euthanasia
because it can save millions of patients around the globe hours of gruelling pain and suffering instead
of dying a peaceful death.

Bibliography
http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/holland-background/
2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/forms.shtml
3

THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Euthanasia_ENG.pdf

Individual Work on Criminal LawPage 3

Written by Kanat Deniz
Supervised by Vidaicu Mihaela
Group 311, State University of Moldova

Euthanasia The right to die

Individual Work on Criminal LawPage 4

Written by Kanat Deniz
Supervised by Vidaicu Mihaela
Group 311, State University of Moldova