5. Euthanasia & the Law
1994, US state of Oregon legalised physician-assisted
dying with certain restrictions
1995, Euthanasia was legalized in Australia's Northern
Territory, by the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act
1998, Australian Federal Government overturned the
Rights of the Terminally Ill Act
1999, Euthanasia was legalized in Albania
2001, The Netherlands became the first European country
to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide
2002, Belgium followed suit, with similar legislation
2002, Switzerland legalised euthanasia
2009, Luxembourg legalised euthanasia
7. Euthanasi
a
If a third party performs the last
act that intentionally causes a
patient's death
Assisted
Suicide
If the person who dies
performs the last act
8. Human Rights
The right to a painless death
„Right to Die‟
Death is better than dying
„Dignified death‟
Control over their own lives
Pet euthanasia is seen as merciful
Are human lives worth more than animals‟?
10. Euthanasia & Buddhism
Euthanasia is advised against
Killing mitigated severely by motivation
While the Buddhist text state that both abortion
and euthanasia involve negative karma, the
intention is critical. If one truly believes that a
foetus is not a living being, for example, the
karma of abortion is less serious than otherwise.
If something is suffering, it‟s due to their previous
karma
11. Euthanasia & Hinduism
Not all Hindus agree on whether euthanasia should
be permitted. There are two Hindu views of
euthanasia:
1. A person who helps another reduce suffering is doing
a good deed and gains good karma
2. Euthanasia disrupts the timing of the cycle of rebirth
and therefore yields bad karma
• The same argument suggests that keeping a person
artificially alive on life-support would also be a bad
thing to do
• Use of life-support as a temporary attempt at healing
would not be a bad thing
12. Euthanasia & Hinduism
One exception to the Hindu prohibition of suicide
is the practice of prayopavesa, or fasting to death
Prayopavesa is not regarded as suicide because
it is natural and non-violent, and is acceptable
only for spiritually advanced people under
specified circumstances
13. Euthanasia & Islam
To live and die in accordance with God's will as
revealed in the Qur‟an and practiced by the
Prophet
To take a life is murder
Wishing for death is forbidden
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
None of you should wish for death because
of some harm that has come to him. If he
has such a wish, he should say, „O Allah,
give me life if You know that life is better for
me. And give me death if You know that
death is better is better for me.‟
14. Euthanasia & Christianity
Christians are generally opposed to euthanasia
Roman Catholic Church remains firmly opposed
to both suicide and euthanasia
Life is given by God, suicide implies the person is
master of his body instead of God
Some churches emphasise the importance of not
interfering with the natural process of death
Commandment states that “Thou shalt not kill”
16. CBS News
Advocate Opposition
Terry Youk, brother of Dorothy Yeung,
Thomas Youk, who National Right to Life
sought help from Dr. K Committee Counsel
Duration: 2:30 Duration: 2:00
17. CBS News
Advocate Opposition
A way to die with peace and “Face of Dr. Death”
dignity
“Hope he doesn‟t continue on
Jack Kevorkian was “only his escapades of killing
option” people”
Brother wanted “simple, “Virtually eliminating people
peaceful death” who are less than perfect,
people with disabilities,
Had to do this in great people who suffer from
secrecy, family couldn‟t be depression”
present
“Killing them is not the
Safe, peaceful dignified option answer”
“Compassionate practitioner” “The solution is not to kill
those people”
18. Fox News
“You spent more than 8 years in prison for helping
terminally ill people die. Prosecution said you
murdered them, it‟s been a long time, are you angry?”
“They called you a murderer, what did you think of
that?”
“Sarah Palin called them „Death Panels‟, what do you
call them?”
“You think religion and God play too much of a role in
these decisions. Are you an atheist? What are you
exactly?”
“Well aren‟t there drugs for suffering and pain? And
drugs for depression?”
19. Euthanasia & the Mediaincluded?
how is religion
The media tries not to include religion in
reporting of euthanasia
When religion is included, it is usually
represented by the Catholic Church
20. The presence of the Church in this debate irks some
of our listeners. One asked "why do you feel the
need to wheel out these numbskull clerics on any
opportunity?”
Jamie Angus
Editor of World at One and World This Weekend
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2010/02/euthanasia_debate.html
21. Euthanasia & the Media
Debates on societal issues, such as euthanasia,
are not carried out face to face and in person.
Our public square is the television box.
“Mediatization” affects the "shared story" that we
create through our dialogue,
We may engage in too much "death talk" and too
little "life talk," because media indulges our
obsession with death.
22. Euthanasia & the isMedia
there a balance?
No balance in coverage of different religion‟s
views of euthanasia (due to the Catholic Church
being the most active voice against euthanasia
and the audience)
Media engages in too much "death talk" and too
little "life talk”
Media tries to show a balance of coverage in the
debate, but most of the time fails to balance it out
appropriately, sometimes „faking‟ the balance
(e.g. CBC‟s coverage)
23. Discussion
Should religion be included in the euthanasia
debate?
Have you been influenced by the media in its
portrayal of euthanasia? If so, how?
24. "Our bodies break down, sometimes when
we're 90, sometimes before we're even born,
but it always happens and there's never any
dignity in it. I don't care if you can walk, see,
wipe your own ass. It's always ugly. Always.
You can live with dignity, you can't die with
it.”
Gregory House, House M.D.
Notas do Editor
I’ll be focusing on the issue of Euthanasia and religion in the media. I’ll be going through four religions and their stances on euthanasia and the media portrayal of euthanasia and how the media includes religion in the coverage. First, I’ll go through a brief overview of what Euthanasia is.
Euthanasia is defined as the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves pain and suffering and that is why it is also known as…
Good Death, Gentle death, Dignified death, Mercy-killing
In 1995, Australia’s Northern Territorylegalised euthanasia, but in 1998 it was overturned by the Australian Federal GovernmentMost notably, The Netherlands. To qualify for euthanasia in the Netherlands, you don’t have to have a terminal illness. However, you must be under unbearable suffering of either a physical or mental nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5YeTWkVWfwVoluntary: The person is mentally stable and has made the decision for themselves to dieNon-voluntary: The person is unconscious and the decision is made by a family member or relative for them to diePassive: Refusing to take treatment that could prevent the person from dying, resulting in a sooner deathActive: Taking specific steps to cause the person’s death, by poison, suffocating or overdoseAssisted Suicide: Providing the person with a means to die
One way to distinguish them is to look at the last act:So if a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient's death, euthanasia has occurred.For example, giving a patient a lethal injection or putting a plastic bag over her head to suffocate her would be considered euthanasia.If the person who dies performs the last act, assisted suicide has taken place.Thus it would be assisted suicide if a person swallows an overdose of drugs that has been provided by a doctor.
Secularists or people not bound by religious teachings would argue for and against euthanasia with ‘human rights’.It is their own lives and their own bodies, they should be able to do whatever they want with it.Our pets have better treatment
Because Euthanasia is the act of taking a life, the debate for and against it is similar to the case of abortion and includes religion.Discussions include the sanctity of life, right to live and what is natural – the natural process of deathEuthanasia weakens society's respect for the sanctity of life, suffering may have value, Accepting euthanasia would mean that some lives (those of the disabled or sick) are worth less than others 4 major religions – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7FwucXnZAU
It is not allowed for anyone to wish for death because of some harm, hardship or difficulty that has come to him. In fact, he should be patient and expect a reward from Allah for what he is passing through.From the Islamic perspective, when a person suffers in pain and they’re patient with it, it purifies them from sin, and they are rewarded. “If living is good for me then let me live, but if dying is better for me then let me die.”
Katie Couric - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6EAMD6NS9U0:25I noticed that even though they tried to make it a balanced piece of news, it was not really balanced at all because it’s not a good comparison – between someone who is personally involved and someone who is an outsider. Terry Youk was talking from an experienced point of view, an insider’s point of view whereas Dorothy Yeung was merely commenting on the issue.Furthermore, other than being placed first, I noted that Terry Youk was allocated 30 seconds longer in terms duration, and this I felt was an important point because time is precious on television.
– shallow, not exhibiting any in depth, serious thoughtAlso she downplays suffering by referring to them as “people with disabilities” or “people who suffer from depression”As you can see, there are stark differences in their interviews. On one hand, Terry Youk evokes our sympathy and appeals to us more easily with his more personalised experience with euthanasia compared to the opposition which uses very general descriptions of the issue and is very impersonal.Also the use of kill, killing and eliminate is very negative and puts off the viewers.I feel that if Katie Couric wanted to make this report a more balanced piece, she should have gotten another person who would be more personal about the issue. (e.g. someone who suffers from a terminal illness but who does not seek euthanasia)
2:25From what I gathered in the interview, his questions are biased. They were mostly negative and confrontational. I felt that it was a really good interview despite that because he managed to phrase it in a way that didn’t make it sound like he was attacking Dr. Kevorkian from his own point of view. Because at the start of his questions he would say that “oh many people said this, what do you think”, “sarahpalin said this, what do you think?”Dr. Kevorkian’s replies, I felt, were very informative and I thought that he analysed the questions Neil Cavuto asked him in his answers. So even though he was defensive – he had to be because the questions asked demanded that kind of answers.However, I thought that the interview was a very informative and a very good one because the both of them were very calm and collected in their roles.Neil Cavuto’s bias, even though it was obvious, did not affect his reporting.Also!! Neil Cavuto fought back a near life ending cancer and ended up with multiple sclerosis years later
Should religion be included in the debate? Does religion matter?The people who are non-religious or who do not see religion as an issue obviously would feel annoyed whenever religion is mentioned in the Euthanasia debate.
We are the first generation that debates on societal issues are not carried out face to face and in person. Instead, issues such as these are usually presented through television, through news. This is ‘Mediatization’, and mediatization affects the shared story, it affects our shared experiences of the issue because most of us only experience these issues such as euthanasia through the media. And because the media indulges our obsession with death, we may engage in too much death talk and too little life talk.
We don’t see many Buddhists talking about euthanasia on the news or Hindus because they don’t have a fixed set of rules that euthanasia in their religion is right or wrong. It is mostly a grey area for them and there can be more than one point of views.