Prolonging suffering by procrastinating death has resulted in greatest bioethical debates in modern healthcare. A depressed person who has no chance of better times is better of ending life, just like a terminally sick person who is suffering (Zenz, Tryba & Zenz, 2015). Different countries have different laws about suicide and euthanasia, with some countries allowing doctor-assisted suicide for patients who chose to do so, even when they are healthy (Zimmerman, 2016). It is, however, unfair to ventilate this argument without making reference to God, the source of all life who expressly decrees against any taking of life through murder or suicide.
The Fallacy of Definitiveness
Suicide and euthanasia are wrong because no one can definitively say how tomorrow will be like. The primary ground for suicide is hopelessness (Lamis et al., 2014). Conversely, the primary ground for euthanasia is the conclusion that a patient is terminal and the suffering they are going through is unnecessary. However, the contention that there is no hope or that a condition is terminal can only be based on the concept of omniscience yet only God is known to be omniscient. For example, part of the defection of sudden death syndrome is death whose cause remains unknown even after full investigation (Hakeem, Oddy, Holcroft & Abenhaim, 2015). Similarly, cancer patients who have been considered terminal will sometimes go into remission with no viable scientific explanation over the same. Based on these, anyone who portends to indicate what will happen in the future is either misinformed or not being candid. Suicide and euthanasia are final events with no probability of reversal. As the decisions to carry them out is based on the finality of either hopelessness or the existence of terminal diseases, anyone who makes such as decision is playing God thus, comitting sin.
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God’s Commandment about Killing
The other basis for conceding to the contention that suicide and by extension euthanasia is a sin lies in the express commandment of God against taking life. One of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses states that humans should not kill (Bartels et al., 2014). This statement is both definitive and direct, meaning that it is a general rule that lacks any exception. Many intelligent, eloquent, and substantive arguments have been made in favor of suicide and euthanasia, some of which clearly hold water and may be hard to countermand scientifically. However, all these arguments and contentions fall within the ambit of excuses for taking a life. Any form of suicide still amounts to a person taking their own lives hence goes against a cardinal commandment issued by God. Conversely, any form of euthanasia assisted or otherwise amounts to a conspiracy to take a life. When a single exception to the express commandment is made, the slippery slope concept will take effect. At some point, people will begin to be written off like cars when the cost of treating them seems counterproductive when compared to their economic output. The safest way to handle suicide and euthanasia is to avoid general rules and consider it as a sin.
Conclusion
Any form of taking life is against the will of God hence, the contention that suicide is a sin , is right. Further, regardless of social, psychological or physiological situation in the present, there is no telling for a fact that it might not change in the future . The two statements above provide two solid grounds for the avoidance of both suicide and euthanasia. The statements also provide ground for leading to the conclusion that anyone who commits either suicide or euthanasia, or their extended versions, such as assisted suicide plays God and kills another human. Both playing God and taking a life amounts to sin.
References
Bartels, D., Bauman, C., Cushman, F., Pizarro, D., & McGraw, A. P. (2014). Moral judgment and decision making. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=2478463
Hakeem, G. F., Oddy, L., Holcroft, C. A., & Abenhaim, H. A. (2015). Incidence and determinants of sudden infant death syndrome: a population-based study on 37 million births. World Journal of Pediatrics , 11 (1), 41-47
Lamis, D. A., Saito, M., Osman, A., Klibert, J., Malone, P. S., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2014). Hopelessness and suicide proneness in US and Japanese college students: Depressive symptoms as a potential mediator. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , 45 (5), 805-820
Zenz, J., Tryba, M., & Zenz, M. (2015). Palliative care professionals’ willingness to perform euthanasia or physician assisted suicide. BMC Palliative Care , 14 (1), 60
Zimmermann, N. (2016). A matter of life or death: the euthanasia debate under a human rights perspective. Ex Ante , (2), 41-48
