14th Amendment Euthanasia Research Paper

804 Words4 Pages

The right to die is not embedded in the Constitution. Based on the first and fourteenth amendments euthanasia is not invested in the constitution. The first amendment expresses freedom of religion. The fourteenth amendment states you can’t deprive anyone from life.
There are many religions that are against euthanasia. Muslims believe that euthanasia is an act of killing, which is a sin and forbidden in Islam. (al-Qaradawi, 2005) The Holy Quran does not state a person has the right to die because Allah, God, decides how long people live. (Aramesh and Shadi, 2007) He is the one who gives and takes away life. They believe it is unlawful for the patient to kill him or herself or for someone to kill the, no matter how sick they are. (The European …show more content…

Although some Hindus say that by ending a person’s painful life they perform a good deed and fulfill their moral obligations, most Hindus believe that euthanasia causes the soul and body to be separated at an unnatural time. They also believe that it will damage the karma of both the doctor and the patient. ("Religion & Ethics - Hinduism: Euthanasia and Suicide", 2009) Hindus think a person must be left on long term life support until some natural event brings death. They also think that being killed through euthanasia disturbs timing of death, therefore the timing of future births would be drastically changed. ("Karma and Reincarnation", 2009) As a result, most Hindus are mainly against euthanasia because they believe someone should die by a natural cause and they do not want damaged karma. Another religious group against euthanasia are the …show more content…

First, the declaration of independence doesn’t state that the people have the right to pursue death. (Coburn, 1999) The right to assisted suicide is not a liberty interest protected by the due process clause. (US Supreme Court, 1997) We don’t have the right to control the timing and manner of death. (“When Death Is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical Context”, 1994) Essentially, we may have the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness but we do not have a right to pursue death written in the constitution nor the declaration of independence. The constitution also does not have a right written that states people can control their time of death and