Is Euthanasia Ever Morally Justifiable? Euthanasia is still a controversial topic in 2018. This is because in most places it is still illegal to use euthanasia on severely sick or incurable people. In recent polls, according to the campaign that is ‘Dying with Dignity’, 82% of the Uk support and would like euthanasia to be legal. So why is it still banned even if the majority of the British population want it? I will be exploring two viewpoints, a Catholic’s and a Utilitarian’s to determine myself whether or not I think euthanasia can be morally justified. The Catholics viewpoint on euthanasia is overall negative. They believe in the sanctity of life they should not meddle with God’s plans as only he should be able to give life and take it away. Their morals are strictly influenced by the Bible which is another reason why they oppose euthanasia: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before your life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy 30:19-20” From this verse in the Bible we see how important life is to Catholic as God brought it to them and they are all there for a reason. Therefore, someone killing another human is murder, no matter what the situation, and the person must be under a demonic influence to commit such a crime. The Catholics alternative to euthanasia are groups called Hospices, people come here when they are terminally ill and wish to have a comfortable, more dignified, death. As Catholics believe that they should tend to the poorly. This is something a Christian may use in their argument for being against euthanasia as for them it is proven it is wrong by their God and never morally right. The Lusitanians viewpoint will differ depending on what Ultradian you are describing. For example, a Rule Utilitarian would only allow euthanasia if it is legal in the country when an Act Utilitarian would only support it if the patient has chosen to be euthanized. The reason why a Utilitarian would support euthanasia is because the amount of people and their families suffering would be shorted. They also don't want doctors to be prosecuted for murder as doctors are vital people in our societies. Utilitarian’s also believe that one has complete control over their body and any decisions to be made about their body are up to them and no other authority. If a person volunteers to die in their own will, then it is their right to make his decision and people, even the government, have no right to interfere. Peter Singer who is a moral philosopher said this about euthanasia: “Voluntary euthanasia occurs only when, to the best of medical knowledge, a person is suffering from an incurable and painful or extremely distressing condition. In these circumstances one cannot say that to choose to die quickly is obviously irrational.” This suggests that not giving euthanasia as an option to someone who isn't going to improve and has asked for it is inhumane and not reasonable. As a Utilitarian, not creating the greatest amount of happiness is against their moral code. Therefore, banning or keeping euthanasia banned is wrong and not justifiable. It is the person's life and body, they should be able to choose when they do not want their life to continue. Increasing the amount of happiness and also decreasing pain at the same time is definitely morally correct they could argue and morally justifiable. Just like most things, euthanasia has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, euthanasia gives people the chance to die with dignity, it ends suffering and and many argue it is the humane thing to do to help someone in pain die painlessly. Stephen Hawking’s said this to the BBC about assisted suicide: “I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their lives, and those who help them should be free from prosecution...There must be safeguards that the person concerned genuinely wants to end their life and are not being pressurized into it or have it done without their knowledge and consent as would have been the case with me.” Stephen Hawking’s was in a very good position to give his opinion about euthanasia because of his motor neuron disease. As we can gather from his statement, euthanasia should be allowed for certain circumstances as it is only fair on that individual and would make death a lot easier for them so one could argue this makes it justifiable. However, it goes against a physician's oath, it goes against ethics as no one’s should have the right to take anyone else's life, no matter the situation. Also, if the door for euthanasia is opened, society could take it too far and use it for survival able illnesses. This could also cause chaos as doctors would have to determine what's eligible for euthanasia and what isn't. Peter Singer said this about the consequence of allowing euthanasia: “Of all the arguments against voluntary euthanasia, the most influential is the 'slippery slope': once we allow doctors to kill patients, we will not be able to limit the killing to those who want to die.” Based on this quote, we are shown how bad society could get if euthanasia is legalised. The question that arises is how can someone determine what's eligible for euthanasia and what isn't. If worse came to worst, euthanasia would become very accessible and mortality rates would drop as humans have a tendency to over use available things. Furthermore, this disadvantage almost over powers the advantage as we cannot predict the future or how far people could take the opportunity of euthanasia, although it could end suffering for those who may truly deserve euthanasia, people who may not even have a terminal illness may die. In conclusion, there are many strong arguments that support or are against euthanasia. Euthanasia can be justified by Utilitarianism as more people would be happy from it and it is seen as the humane thing to do. On the other hand, Christians can justify not supporting euthanasia since it is written in their Bible to be against it and that would be going against their God. Therefore, the topic of euthanasia is up to personal opinions, experiences and perspectives. Even though I support the Christians view on the sanctity of life, I personally agree with what Stephen Hawking’s said about euthanasia. Meaning that I think that it should be available in certain extreme situations as I think that is morally justifiable as making someone suffer for the rest of their lives seems inhumane and cruel.