Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law?

SHOULD THE RIGHT TO DIE BE INTRODUCED IN EU LAW?

Name
The Name of the Class
Professor
University
The City, and State
Date

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 2

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
The right to life................................................................................................................................3
Reasons for Urgings for and against Introduction of the Right to Die in EU law...........................4
So should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law?...................................................................5
The Legitimacy and Ethics of Medically Aided death....................................................................5
Right to Die as a Human Right........................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 3

Introduction
The term Right to Die develops from euthanasia, a Greek eu, connoting death. The
question of the right to die has an implicit reputation all over the globe due to a numerous public
and legitimate advances. In the European Union, the justifications include; recent medical
technology invention and artificial procedures extending life; Case law against laws forbidding
the right to die ; The rising population of the aged and the upsurge of those affected by AIDS;
Lastly, the deterioration in religious belief. In this paper, I discuss the right to death subject in the
law of human rights and look at the statutory thoughts for and against euthanasia. Before we
discuss the right to die, it is prudent we analyze the right to life, the first essential right declared
by the European Convention on Human Rights.

The right to life.

Those in the argument against the right to die find justification in the European
Convention on Human Rights on the right to life, Article 2 (Korff, 2016). This is the greatest
complex of all human rights; guaranteed by Article 2 of the European Convention on Human
Rights and various lawsuits of the Court of Human Rights of European (the court) under that
article as non-derogable. It is prudent to notice, the Convention must be interpreted in its totality,
and the convention rights never function in isolation. Basic concepts and approaches of law and
the tests of necessity, a legitimate aim, non-arbitrariness, proportionality, and fair balance are
considered by the European Human Rights Court and others in their verdicts of suits on the right
to life and the numerous rights in the European Convention.

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 4

The Court, in McCann and others v. the United Kingdom, held that Article 2 is unique of
the ultimate articles of the Convention(Judgments of the Court, 2016). One that, in peacetime,
acknowledges not any derogation in Article 15. Collectively with Article 3, it similarly preserves
one of the elementary principles of the self-governing cultures creating the Council of Europe.
The ending of Article 2, the second paragraph, delimits the right to life giving a list of
exceptions and bringing into play Articles 8 as well as Article 10, the European Human Rights
Court concepts and tests of this structure. This second paragraph permits exceptions to the right
to life solely when it is absolutely necessary, bringing the arguments for the right to die into play.
The Court in McCann with regard to use of the term unconditionally necessary, stated that the
second paragraph of Article 2 points towards a stringent and more convincing assessment of
necessity needs to be engaged from that ordinary application when deciding whether a countrys
act is essential for a self-governing culture under Articles 8-11, clause 2 of the European
Convention on Human Rights. Specifically, the force applied should be strictly in proportion to
the attainment of the objectives.

Reasons for Urgings for and against Introduction of the Right to Die in EU law
The first reason for arguments on whether the right to die should or should not be
introduced in, EU law is at what time does life, and the right to safeguard, by law, end? Second
is, is it satisfactory to offer comforting care to a fatally ill or failing individual, even if the cure
will possibly back the limitation of the patients lifetime? In addition, must the patient be asked?
Thirdly, does the State have to defend the right to life against somebody who sees no reason to
live anymore, or contrary to that beings own desires(Death with Dignity, 2016)? Alternatively,
do individuals, under the Convention, not only have a right to live but also a death right as their

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 5

option: to compel suicide(the Guardian, 2014)? Moreover, is there an option to seek help from
people to close their being in this world, if so? Finally, is the Nation obligated to permit the
culmination of life in order to close pain, even where the individual suffering is not able to say
out their desires in this reverence?

So should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law?

I discuss this question with regard to arguments against and for the introduction of the
right into EU law below.
The Legitimacy and Ethics of Medically Aided death
Inert euthanasia entails arrangements whose end result is taking out of life supporting
cure, while active euthanasia comprises of the progressive deed of initiating a persons demise.
With volunteer euthanasia, the approval of the person is principally attained, the opposite applies
to non-voluntary euthanasia, where there is not consent attained(Echr.coe.int, 2016). Doctor
aided suicide consists of the application of a deadly element to a patient by a medical doctor for
the patient, in order to compel suicide in an easy mode(Amarasekara K, and Bagaric M, 2002).
The principle of double effect conceals the management of medicines to get rid of an incurably
ill persons discomfort and grief regardless of the general practitioner expression that this could
have the supplementary result of quickening the passing of the patient.
Those against the introduction plea the sixth Biblical commandment to support their
locus that every procedures aiding are ethically immoral. Allowing application of the right to die
is against the doctors Hippocratic Oath, weakening the commitment of general practitioners to
saving life. It could also depress the investigation for fresh cures and cures for the fatally ill.
However, those in support of the introduction of the right to die into the EU law base their

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 6

justification on two essential principles of self-determination, and mercy(Otlowski, 1997). The
argument is the holiness of life or its duration is not as significant as an individuals life worth. If
such quality of being is intolerable because they are grieving from obstinate, grave, or painful
discomfort, the patient must obtain sympathy and consideration from a doctor by undeviating
help in the dying practice. Additional notable, patients possess the right to order the preference of
their individual breathes, an unwarrantable infringement upon the personal freedom to stop a
competent fatally ill person and an obliging medic from performing upon the individuals wish to
finish life. It is worth noting here that ,as of June this year, most European countries are in the
argument for the introduction of the right to die based on this physician-aided death argument.
Right to Die as a Human Right
In argument for the introduction of the right to death, the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, Recommendation 1418 (1999), paragraph 9, at (a) (vii), endorses my
argument that member States of the EU must ensure that, unless a patient indicates otherwise, a
dying or critically ill person ought to obtain sufficient agony relief and soothing care, regardless
of whether the treatment is a lateral effect contributing to the limitation of the persons life. In
Rodriguez v British Columbia. the issue before Canadian supreme court was whether the ban on
aided suicide was in contradiction with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canada
provisions, Judge Cory pronounced that death was an essential portion of living and, so eligible
for statutory safeguard availed to the right to life. In summary, the right to die with self-respect
must be protected as every other right to life feature. For this reason, he held that this guarding
covers debilitated individuals looking for support to pass on.
An additional human rights argument for the introduction of the right to die is the right to
privacy. The privacy right has been recycled to allow the withdrawal of simulated life sustenance

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 7

methods in hopeless circumstances that involve both able and incompetent ill persons. In light of
the European Convention Article 8, the European Court in Pretty v the United Kingdom, has
acknowledged that decrees averting persons exercising their right to evade unbecoming and
troubling termination of life may as well amount to meddling or violation of the right to private
life.
This right to select suicide or not to go on living in normal life has been forbidden by the
European Court. In dismissing the assertion that the Conventions Article 2 must be read as
allowing folks a right to compel suicide, the court in Pretty v. the United Kingdom stated that
Article 2 cannot, in unequivocal language, be deduced as allowing the absolutely opposite death
right; nor construe a right to free will in the logic of deliberating on a person the right to pick
demise than existence.

Conclusion
In conclusion, numerous arguments are made in support of the recognition and
introduction of the right to die into EU law. However, there is a need to weigh a persons right to
private autonomy that is, being permitted to seek help in dying, contrary to the governments
duty to preservation and protection of life, the unwell, and vulnerable. Further, there must be a
consideration whether giving medical support to terminate life was in line with the doctrines of
fundamental integrity, that is, the fundamental doctrine of generally accepted amongst reasonable
persons..

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 8

References
Amarasekara K and Bagaric M. (2002). The Vacuousness of Rights in the Euthanasia Debate, 6
Intl J Hum Rgts 19 at 21,23 See also Airedale NHS Trust v Bland
Death with Dignity. (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.deathwithdignity.org/stories/
[Accessed 7 Sep. 2016].
Echr.coe.int. (2016). ECHR - Search. [online] Available at:
http://www.echr.coe.int/sites/search_eng/pages/search.aspx#{"fulltext":["Euthanasia"]}
[Accessed 7 Sep. 2016].
Judgments of the Court, E. (2016). End of life and the European Convention on Human Rights:
Judgments of the Court. 1st ed. [ebook] press unit of European Court on Human Rights.
Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Euthanasia_ENG.pdf [Accessed 7
Sep. 2016].
Korff, D. (2016). A guide to The Right to Life: the implementation of Article 2 of the European
Convention on Human Rights. 1st ed. [ebook] F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex: Council of
Europe Press Unit, pp.1-23. Available at: http://www.echr.coe.int/LibraryDocs/HR
%20handbooks/handbook08_en.pdf [Accessed 7 Sep. 2016].
Otlowski, M. (1997). Voluntary Euthanasia and the Common Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
Oxford, p.213.
Pretty v. the United Kingdom, judgment of 29 April 2002.

Should the Right to Die be Introduced in EU Law? 9

the Guardian. (2014). Euthanasia and assisted suicide laws around the world. [online] Available
at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/17/euthanasia-assisted-suicide-lawsworld [Accessed 7 Sep. 2016].