sign in sign up
<<
Home , Dignified death, Euthanasia, Murder

E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009

Euthanasia - is it a or charity? Clinical perspective 1

Dr. Ewa Kucharska Jagiellonian University - Medical College, Krakow

1. Introduction Medical progress constantly creates new opportunities to restore peo- ple’s health, and – in certain circumstances – even prolonging. On the other hand, mobilization of forces promoting the destruction of life on its limit sections can be observed: the beginning of life – by the legalization of , and in the end of life, by the legalization of . That dimension of the final stage threat will be the subject of my lecture 2. It is about the deadly euthanasia dealings. is a , but in the mental- ity of our society there is a constant yearning for the ideal of a . Currently, we are afraid to lose our subjectivity, autonomy and hu- manity. The constant fear of , of vegetation, before the depriva- tion of consciousness and dignity and being dependent on other people raises the question about the meaning of human existence and the possibility of interference with the natural boundary, which is the death of a man. On the one hand, specialized care centres began to appear in the world to take care of terminally ill patients, such as: , hospitals and home units in England, USA, , Australia, Asia, Africa and in European countries, and as well in Poland since 1980’s ; on the other hand, associations were formed opting for assisted death, such as the organization LEGALISATION SOCIETY. This organization was founded in the 1930's in England, and others were established in the , France, , and in 1980, the World

1 Lecture upon an invitation of Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, the President of the Pon- tifical Council for Pastoral Care of the Sick and Health Care Workers, Rome, 19 January, 2013. 2 Cf. Congregation for the of the Faith. Declaration of euthanasia „Iura et bona”. In: W trosce o życie. Chosen documents of the Holy See. Ed. K. Szczygieł. Tarnów 1998 p. 333.

97 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009

Federation, concentrating 28 associations from 18 countries was estab- lished. All of these organizations run numerous campaigns promoting the "right to a dignified death", and propose bills to national parliaments to legalise euthanasia. Often, they provide assistance in rational , particularly in countries where it is "a unpunishable " such as: Swit- zerland, France, Germany. In my presentation I will discuss the following issues – a general characteristics of euthanasia, its types, euthanasia as a clinical matter and proportions in the use of therapeutic agents.

2. Euthanasia - general characteristic 2.1 Euthanasia in antiquity. The concept of euthanasia occurred in the fifth century BC. Euthana- sia, the very word comes from the Greek word "euthanasia" - a good and painless death 3. As one of the first, this notion was used by a poet Krati- nos, but he did not characterize what would a "good" death might be like. At the end of the fourth century BC, another poet - Meander used the term meaning "easy death", which is the result of having an adequate attitude to life. In his comedies, he criticized the old age. According to ancient be- liefs, they considered that a good death is quick and deprived of o suffer- ing; the so-called excitus facilis. 2.2 Euthanasia in modern times. Already in 1516, Thomas Moore in his "Utopia" referred to ancient doctors - the so-called death helpers, talking about "freewill death", made only upon of the patient and the government of Utopia. The first man to introduce the word "euthanasia" was . In the "Novum Organum" he described a gentle and peaceful death. He encouraged all scientists to seek ways to reduce the of the patient. Euthanasia was discussed by prominent physicians and philosophers such as Z. P. Schultz, M. Paradys. In the second half of the 19 th century, S. Williams and Lionel Tolemache defined euthanasia as active help in freeing the patient from suffering, and dying at his request. They demanded the legalization of euthanasia in cases of terminally ill and suffering patients. The problem of the Nazi pseudoeuthanasia can be found in "Mein Kampf" by . 2.3 Definition of euthanasia. a) by Helga Kuhse: it's achieving a good death – murder of mercy, in which person A ends person’s B life, taking into consideration the benefit of person B. What can clearly be seen, is first an intentional deprivation of life, and secondly making it for the sake of the person who asks for it because of suffering, or an incurable or .

3 Cf. P. Kieniewicz. Eutanazja. In: Jan Paweł II. Encyklopedia nauczania moralnego. Ed. J. Nagórny, K. Jeżyna. Radom 2005 p. 195.

98 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009

b) according to the Dictionary of Foreign Words by W. Kopaliński: means: reducing a hospital patient suffering by a doctor during a pro- longed agony, with a lethal dose of pain killer. c) According to Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Euthanasia declaration 1980: regardless of motives and means, it means ending of the life of a handicapped, sick, or dying person. It is morally unacceptable. d) according to a PWN popular encyclopaedia : the murder of a man at his request and caused by of sympathy for him. e) by M. Szeroczyńska; from the book "Euthanasia and assisted in the world": deprivation of life by a direct or indirect causing death, not preventing its arrival, aiding in taking life away independently by a suffer- ing human, by someone motivated by compassion, acting for the benefit of that person in order to ensure a dignified death by deliverance that person from , which is suffering. The main promoter of euthanasia is a self-proclaimed ethicist, or actu- ally Australian sociobiologist , who believes that human life can only be seen in terms of usability, as it is not sacred. The utility is proven by IQ 4. Singer accused Christians that if they treated life as sacred, "than butchering of a pig or pulling out a cabbage would be as disgusting as murdering of a human being”5. Singer’s absurd statements requires constant emphasis on the basic principles of human life. The point is that no-one has the right to endanger human life, as each person is obliged to live according to God's plan. In this God statement, life is a , and its full perfection is reached in eternity. 6. This makes a deliberate deprivation of life something negative, because the rejection of love to yourself be- comes a denial of "the natural instinct of life.” 7. Rightly, therefore, John Paul II said that human life is a gift from God, "and its purpose is to serve brothers, which, according to the present salvation plan can always be use- ful. Therefore, never violate its course, from the beginning to its natural end. On the contrary, you have to accept it, respect, and promote by all means and defend against any threat. ”8.

3. Reasons for euthanasia The basic reasons for euthanasia are serious and endless suffering, the cost of care, drop in the birth rate and disregard of the Ten Command- ments.

4 Cf. R. Nęcek, Z prasy wzięte , Kraków 2010, p. 38. 5 P. Singer, Etyka praktyczna, Warszawa 2007, p. 89. 6 Cf. E. Kucharska, R. Nęcek, Eutanazja – odniesienie do perspektywy klinicznej i etycznej . Praca socjalna” 1(2012) p. 91. 7 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Deklaracja o eutanazji, p. 335. 8 Jan Paweł II, Człowiek wobec tajemnicy śmierci, p. 38.

99 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009

Endless suffering has always been the cause for supporters of eutha- nasia legalization. Because there is always a deplorable of human health manifesting itself in great pain. The care of such people becomes extremely burdensome and consumes huge amounts of money. Then, a temptation arises to shorten this life, caused by a feeling of pity 9. The ex- plosion of care costs is due to obvious advances in medicine which ex- tends the human lifetime. And even though all living things - according to Austrian Bishop Egon Kapellari - are condemned to death, still, medicine is able to significantly extend human life. 10 . In this way, the number of people with prolonged age is raising. Additionally, a foreground for euthanasia is prepared by a pitiful state of Western society populations. A demographic collapse is associated with the consumer lifestyle mentality. Following the contraceptive and abortion mentality, the birth rate drops dramatically. In such circumstances, the care of patients becomes ex- tremely challenging. 11 . An important reason for of euthanasia legalization is the dis- respect to the fifth commandment of the Decalogue. Many authorities be- lieve in the creation of national rights that are devoid a base anchored in the commandments of God. So let's recall the words of Cardinal Ratzinger, saying that "law can only be an effective force of peace, when its measure does not lie in our hands. The law is formed by us, but not created. In other words: there is no law justification without transcendence . ”12 .

4. Types of euthanasia We distinguish between passive, direct or indirect euthanasia. Table 1: Types of euthanasia by Bernard Beartschi Passive euthanasia active, indirect euthanasia active, direct euthanasia Voluntary Voluntary Voluntary Involuntary Involuntary Involuntary Against patient will Against patient will Against patient will Source: M. Szeroczyńska, Eutanazja i wspomagane samobójstwo na świecie , Kraków 2004 , p. 39. Active euthanasia can be distinguished, where death is the result of an active action such as the administration of a lethal dose of a narcotic and the so-called passive, orthothanasia where death occurs as a result of de- sistence from the use of appropriate therapeutic methods, abandonment of resuscitation and any further treatment. There is also the voluntary eutha- nasia, when the patient expresses a conscious request to be deprived of

9 Cf. A. Laun, Contemporary issues of moral theology, Kraków 2002, p. 320. 10 Cf. E. Kapellari, Ars moriendi, Kraków 2006, p. 222. 11 Cf. ibidem. 12 J. Ratzinger, Czas przemian w Europie. Miejsce Kościoła i świata, Kraków 2005, p. 47.

100 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009 life, and involuntary when patient is unable to express his will, because e.g. he is unconscious, and his will to deprive him of his life was either previously presented in a document signed by him, the so-called "Testa- ment of life", or when he assigned a third party as a proxy to make deci- sions on his behalf, concerning his own life and death, or when his will is reconstructed back in time, based on the testimony of witnesses before court, which ultimately makes the decision. A direct euthanasia occurs when an action or negligence to act is aimed directly at the reduction of the patient’s life, e.g. such as disconnecting the respirator, while indirect euthanasia occurs when action is taken to stop the pain, but other, unin- tended but inevitable effect is a shortening of the patient's life, e.g. feeding very strong doses that cause the shortening of life. The concept involves the so-called , i.e. a situation where a third party helps the patient in self-killing (providing him a lethal dose of drugs), which is then taken by patient himself. The term euthanasia is sometimes incorrectly used to describe the murder for other reasons such as eugenic or economic – so-called pseudoeuthanasia, as well as deprivation of hu- man life against the patient will to live and be treated - the so-called cryp- toeuthanasia. Euthanasia is a deprivation of life – through a direct or indirect caus- ing of death, not preventing it, any aiding in independent taking one’s life – in a suffering human (physically or mentally). 13 . It should be noted that the issue of euthanasia includes only actions performed on . All legal and ethical debates about the phenome- non concerns precisely the legality and moral permissibility of mercy- killing or murder at the request of another man. Euthanasia can be made on both a dying person and on a terminally ill one, who are not in a ter- minal state; and it can be done on an old person whose degradation and suffering are caused by the age.

5. Euthanasia as a clinical matter Deliberations on euthanasia from the medical point of view touch on aspects of the euthanasia procedure itself. They inspire reflections con- cerning the designation of an appropriate boundary between a passive euthanasia and the abandonment of persistent medical treatment, and bring both health professionals and patients in the issue of palliative care, which aims at caring for terminally ill patients, and denies the idea of euthanasia. Proposals of alternative medicine models deserves attention. They concern desistance of the so-called combat medicine in favour of disease prevention, health promotion and its maintenance. Medicine –

13 M. Seroczyńska, Eutanazja i wspomagane samobójstwo na świecie, Kraków 2004, p. 57.

101 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009 under the proposal – must express an absolute concern for the patient, alleviate or eliminate suffering, but not in the form of euthanasia, but by means of good palliative care.

6. Euthanasia is not mercy, it is a murder In today's world, constant discussions about the issue of euthanasia are taking place. A recent research conducted by CBOS in June 2007 show that nearly 2/5 of Poles – 37% believe that the physician should follow the will of the suffering, terminally ill patients, who demand substances that would give them death, while less than a half – 46% expressed their op- position to this type of practices. In addition, we noticed a change in the previously observed trend for social acceptance of assisted suicide. While in the years 1988 – 2001, we observed a progressive acceptance of assisted death, the last period brought a reversal of that trend. The percentage of people opting that physicians fulfil the will of suffering persons decreased by 12%, while the number of respondents opposing such practices grew by 9%. These opinions were closely associated with the age and religious- ness of the respondents. Young people accept help in dying, whereas the oldest strongly disagree. Those participating in religious practices (at least once a week) usually express their opposition, while others accept such action. In our centre, research on euthanasia was also carried out. The study took place in December 12, 2012 among our patients. In the survey in which 200 people participated, they were asked a question "do you sup- port the legalization of euthanasia in Poland", yes – was said by 37% and no – by 53%, I do not know - 10%. The Poles, however, are reluctant to speak out on taboo topics.

7. Euthanasia, pros and cons In modern times, it is clear that the citizens of modern democratic states want to have an increasing influence on how they will die. This is evidenced by the interest with ’s the book "The ", which describes the different ways of taking lives away. It still en- joys a lot of interest, and attempts to its distribution have failed. In various countries of the world, there are ongoing discussions about euthanasia, many arguments that are for and against euthanasia are brought forward. Supporters of euthanasia consider moral rules as the most important argument in the discussion. They believe that ongoing pain and suffering experienced by the patient is immoral. An important in this debate is the definition of the human person and the prin- ciple of "sanctity of life". John Locke distinguishes between the concept of "being a person" from the concept of being a human. According to him, a

102 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009

"person" endowed with a set of attributes that give him/her rights, free- dom, awareness of their own identity and existence of biological, will re- main a "living person" and not just someone "having life". The patient is no longer a subject of medical actions, he becomes the object. A dehu- manization of medical relationships takes place. The principle of autonomy and respect for human dignity are the ar- guments in defence of euthanasia. The right to autonomy, to which every- one is entitled is a basis for making decisions about own life-ending ac- tions. Everyone has the right to decide about the length of the treatment and its end. In many countries, it is considered that the state has no right to force citizens to keep their lives against their will. It is believed that law should be interpreted quite apart from any religious arguments and the . Many philosophers emphasize that since life is con- sidered as a gift of God, not some kind of a loan, you have to administer it according to your own beliefs and feelings. Proeuthusiasts recall the words of Kant: just follow the rules that you would like to form a universal law, or by such rules that you would like others to apply to you. The famous, eminent cardiologist Christiaan Barnard, believes that this is precisely not respecting patients’ wishes and is a hypocrisy from a medical point of view. He believes that euthanasia is not incompatible with the work of the physician, as his most important task is to treat the patient to the point where it becomes physically impossible – then it should help him to die, if he so requests. Supporters of palliative care believe that the patient is faced with the full right to choose the manner of dying. They emphasize that euthanasia is not in opposition, but it should still remain a last resort. They also stress the fact that palliative medicine is not a perfect cure for any disease. A very difficult problem in which supporters of euthanasia must face is a risk of so-called “inclined plane”. They emphasize the fact that precise legal framework was created to be able to distinguish legal behaviours from illegal ones. They point out that there is no empirical justification for the “inclined plane” phenomenon. Awarding humans rights to euthanasia does not oblige him to choose such a procedure, as it gives him just a possibility. Supporters of legal euthanasia make reference to the following arguments, such as: - mercy and compassion for the suffering person, - the inherent and inalienable right to freedom, - the idea of "quality of life", which a terminally ill person loses as a result of suffering, - the concept of "sense and no-sense of" life, - pragmatism (including high costs of caring for the terminally ill and the use of medical equipment to treat patients whose health augur im- provement),

103 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009

- the need for legal sanctioning and regulation of the euthanasia prac- tice, thereby subjecting it to This raises the question: what is euthanasia, is it murder or assistance in murder, by lending a helping hand to the needy in their suffering? All opponents of euthanasia legalization based their arguments pri- marily on moral and religious principles. "Do not kill" is also accept by the agnostics. Vitalism is a certain radical concept for the understanding of euthanasia. Its followers believe that human life must be defended to the end regardless of its quality. They underline that the physician has no right to decide whether it makes sense to prolong life or not. Because the physician is obliged to abide by the , "I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” A Polish representative of vitalism was Dr. Richard Fenigsten, author of "Eu- tanazja Śmierć z Wyboru." He compares euthanasia with pseudo Nazi euthanasia. Medicine practiced in accordance with the principle of the Hippocratic imperative absolutely emphasizes the subordination of all goods to the most important value of all goods which is the good of the patient and of human life. Human life is an imperative value and one can- not argue with that. In view of the continuously progressing aging of our population, and the increase in the number of terminally ill people, every- thing should be done to give them a dignified death, especially to those who do not demonstrate any hope for improvement and can not resist. Pity for the patient cannot be a protective argument. Often, the physician or family push the patient to undergo euthanasia. Family looking at the patient's suffering and agreeing to euthanasia wants to save his suffering, and reduce family pain and discomfort associated with it. Legalizing euthanasia will consent to other dangerous dealings, e.g. allowing for vol- untary euthanasia becomes a consent for , and to eliminate the disabled, handicapped, old, unwanted in society, or signifi- cantly burdensome in economic terms. Currently, a very important prob- lem is the economic factor, because persistent therapies are costly and require targeted and very expensive treatment. In the current health sys- tems in all countries of the world, the costs of patient treatment are esti- mated in a very accurate manner. There is a great tendency to reduce these costs and make choices to use expensive forms of therapy in pa- tients promising and not promising improvement. An example of this model is the health care system in Poland, where especially in the last five years, the payer which is the National Health Fund significantly reduced the cost of highly specialized procedures, and considerably limited access of all citizens to the latest forms of therapy. Making a choice by the physi- cian, which patient should receive an expensive treatment, which is often

104 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009 the only salvation for the patient, is an extremely difficult moral and ethi- cal problem affecting the health system employees. Also, the church speaks on persistent medical treatment. Therapy reduction problem is an issue constantly present in the medical community, and associated with morality, economics and law. Medicine, due to its great abilities draws attention to the suitable pa- tient's life quality, valuing it into better or worse ones. The concept of life quality appeared in the second half of the twentieth century as a determi- nation of a measure, which was never fully defined, indicating whether an existence it is worth continuing or not. The concept of life quality includes the ability of being a complete social and psychological entity, able to fulfil specific social roles, to keep presence of mind, good comfort and to maintain relationships with others. Everyone has the right to live a life at a quality suitable to him, which implies a legislative obligation, and every- one must have a legal opportunity to make a choice whether to continue treatment or to abandon it and die with dignity, living the last moments in accordance with own standards of quality. Rating the quality is always individualized and subjective. The Church also speaks on the so-called “persistent medical treat- ment”. It is worth to emphasising that "passive" euthanasia includes "ther- apy reduction" and is subject to certain conditions. Speaking on the topic, pope Pius XII said: "in the event of serious illness, the use of the ordinary means necessary to life and health is an obligation that is derived from an orderly self-love, obedience to the Creator, social , as well as showing favours to your nearest and dearest. Usually, however, it requires the use of (corresponding with the circumstances of time, place and culture) ordinary means, that is, such that do not constitute excessive overburden for the pa- tient and others. A strict obligation in this case would be too difficult for most people ”14 . It should be noted that the principle of Pius XII can be abused, because the term "ordinary means" remains an open concept. 15 . Cessation of medical procedures, expensive and dangerous, extraordi- nary or disproportional to the expected outcome can be legitimate. John Paul II talked about this, teaching that "it is the resignation from certain medical procedures which no longer correspond to the real situation of the patient, because they are no longer commensurate with the results that one would expect, or are too troublesome for the patient and his family. In such situations, when death is near by and inevitable, one can, in harmony with his ,

14 Pius XII, Przemówienie w sprawie sztucznego utrzymania życia pacjenta (24.11.1957). „Wiadomości Diecezjalne”, Katowice 1959 p. 1-6; E. Kucharska, R. Nęcek, Eutanazja – odniesienie do perspektywy klinicznej i etycznej, p. 97-98. 15 Cf. A. Laun, Contemporary issues of moral theology, Kraków 2002, p. 311-312.

105 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009 impermanent and painful prolongation of life, yet one you should not in- terrupt normal therapies required by the sick person in such cases> ”16 . Church's social teaching emphasizes that life should be protected from conception to natural death, and euthanasia is not a natural death. There- fore, the Catechism of the clearly states that the sick or handicapped should be supported so that they can live, to the extent that is possible, a normal life. It was further stated that the direct euthanasia, whatever its motives and means, consists in putting an end to the lives of the handicapped, sick, or dying. It is morally unacceptable. In this way, an act or negligence to act, which causes death in itself or by in order to eliminate pain, is murder. Error of assessment which may occur in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be condemned and excluded.

8. Euthanasia in and around the world The issue of euthanasia is not taking into account only a single unit suffering, but also the opinion of the whole society. The differences of opinion result from a variety of conditions. In countries where the opin- ions are firmly anchored on the Christian ground, the euthanasia issue raises a lot of controversy every time it is discussed by politicians and the media. In no country in the world the physician has been allowed to kill people asking for death. An example would be the case the Dutch women Karla diagnosed with cancer, or many others persons. Public practice of euthanasia has its origins in 1971, when a paralyzed, deaf and ailing woman wanted to die. Her daughter, who was a physician, decided to help her. This gave rise to a huge debate in a public forum dividing the Dutch society into euthanasia allies and opponents. Finally, in 1993, legis- lation was enacted, which defined principles for informing the supervision organs and courts by doctors of euthanasia decisions. In the Netherlands, euthanasia was legalized on November 28 th , 2000, and passed by the tri- bunal in April 2001. The Dutch decision is still discussed in public. Be- sides the Netherlands, euthanasia is permitted in 2 U.S. states: and , and it was passed in 1994 and 1976. California Law allows each patient to sign a directive known as the testament of life in which citizens express their opinions on their own death. In order to make this document the person must be at least 18 years, to be healthy in mind and act according to their own will. Its valid- ity requires the presence of 2 witnesses and the directive is valid for a period of 5 years. In the case of a woman its effect is suspended for the pregnancy period. A copy of the above document is kept by the attending

16 John Paul II, , encyclical, no 65.

106 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009 physician. In Oregon, the right for euthanasia was introduced by a refer- endum in 1994 and confirmed in 1997. Great Britain is a country which accepts the right to resign from treatment, and at least to discontinue use- ful treatments. Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands (2002), Bel- gium and (including sick children), Albania, , and the U.S. states of Texas and Oregon. A particular form of lawful euthanasia is in , where you can prescribe a lethal dose of sleeping pills, but the patient has to take it yourself. In other countries, euthanasia is illegal and punishable as simple murder or in more lenient way. In Poland, where the crisis in health care is clearly visible, as well as lack of funds in the State budget to refund specialist procedures and pharmacotherapy, along with an aging population, the debate on euthanasia is expanding far and wide, not only among health professionals. The number of chronically and terminally ill patients requiring constant care of third parties and as- suring them a lifetime care increases. Still insufficient room in centres for the chronically ill, and the lack of space in hospices and palliative care centres indicates that the problem is still unresolved. In the days of con- stant change and progress of civilization, the Hippocratic Oath is still valid. Despite the transformation that has taken place in the health sector, the main task of the physician is to ensure the longest life of the patient, if possible. The task of every physician is applying measures and therapies designed to soften the ailment and keeping patient alive in proper com- fort. In order to obtain the effect the patient needs to trust the physician. Each physician should treat the patient in a holistic way, treating not only his body but also the soul. The primary role, particularly in the case of pain and suffering of the patient, is played by trust to the physician on the part of the patient. In most countries, active euthanasia is not accepted by either the society, or by legislation. And passive euthanasia is considered as an ethical behaviour, because most of the society believe that you can not torment the patient by therapies that do not create an opportunity to extend his life or improve the prognosis. Church's social teaching emphasizes that life should be protected from conception to natural death, and euthanasia is not a natural death. There- fore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that the sick or handicapped should be supported so that they can live, to the extent that is possible, a normal life. It was further stated that direct euthanasia, what- ever its motives and means, consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying. It is morally unacceptable. In this way, an act or negligence to act which causes death by itself or by intention in order to eliminate pain, is murder. Error of assessment which occurs in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be condemned and excluded. The use of analgesic to ease the of the dying person, even at the risk of shortening their days may be

107 E-Theologos, Vol. 4, No. 1 DOI 10.2478/etheo-2013-0009 moral in according to human dignity, if death is not intended as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable.

9. Conclusion In the medical world, there are numerous opinions votes that eutha- nasia is murder. Also among physicians with many years of experience there is a that life is above all a gift of God. Every person de- serves respect, and respect for life is associated with the defence of any life, also, and perhaps above all, of the sick and the weak. Euthanasia dealings is a sign of dehumanization of human life, which is increasingly seen as a product of medical technology. It is initiated, maintained and annihilated by independent decisions of man. Euthanasia is murder, and it is not a matter for discussion. Therefore, the inadmissibility of legal eutha- nasia should be based on the principle of the primacy of the person over a society which does not allow to destroy human life under any circum- stances.

References

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH. Declaration of euthanasia „Iura et bona”. In: W trosce o życie. Chosen documents of the Holy See. Ed. K. Szczygieł. Tarnów 1998. KIENIEWICZ, P., Eutanazja. In: Jan Paweł II. Encyklopedia nauczania moralnego. Ed. J. Nagórny, K. Jeżyna. Radom 2005 p. 195. JOHN PAUL II, Evangelium vitae, encyclical. KAPELLARI, E., Ars moriendi, Kraków 2006. KUCHARSKA, E., NĘCEK, R., Eutanazja – odniesienie do perspektywy klinicznej i etycznej . „Praca socjalna” 1(2012) p. 91-94. LAUN, A., Contemporary issues of moral theology, Kraków 2002. NĘCEK, R., Z prasy wzięte , Kraków 2010. PIUS XII, Przemówienie w sprawie sztucznego utrzymania życia pacjenta (24.11.1957). „Wiadomości Diecezjalne”, Katowice 1959. RATZINGER, J., Czas przemian w Europie. Miejsce Kościoła i świata, Kraków 2005. SEROCZYŃSKA, M., Eutanazja i wspomagane samobójstwo na świecie, KRAKÓW 2004. SINGER, P., Etyka praktyczna, Warszawa 2007.

108