Catholic Views On Euthanasia

Euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a painless way”. The topic is controversial and its legalisation has been a topic of debate for many years. This investigation will examine the views of the Catholic Church towards the legalisation of euthanasia and discuss the agreement and/or disparity between the religious view and the contemporary, Australian secular view.

The Catholic Church is against euthanasia for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the Catholic Church believes people receive the natural attributes of value and dignity, and so all humans are equally created. Therefore, the basis of someone's value is not on ability, intelligence or appearance, but rather on
It’s their belief that salvation is achieved through suffering . Salvation is “the act of saving someone from sin or evil”. When someone becomes ill, they face physical, emotional and spiritual challenges which make it difficult for them to persevere. From the Catholic view, through suffering, it is believed people are given the opportunity for growth and a chance to see God in a new light. When individuals suffer, an opportunity is given to participate in achieving salvation. When one commits sins, the belief is that individuals will not go to heaven. The Catholic Church believes that euthanasia is a sin as it goes against this value and belief. Therefore, those who commit euthanasia, may not go to heaven and reach salvation. As someone goes through chronic illness, they are likely to turn to God for hope and guidance. Individuals become closer to God as they understand that their illness is God’s will, correspondingly they must have faith, in order to not lose hope. As said by Marist Brother Gregory McCrystal, euthanasia goes against “The spiritual relationship each person has with his or her creator and their attempts to live as God wants them to live”. The Catholic Church believes that euthanasia breaks this connection and prevents that relationship with God from
One of the main arguments from the Australian secular view is that everybody has the right to autonomy to control their own body and life. Based on the secular belief, that a person has the right to make their own choice, as long as it doesn’t hurt another person. Also, that since it’s their individual body, they deserve the right to decide how and when they'll die. Denying someone the choice of what they do with their own lives, is essentially telling them that they don’t know what is best for themselves. Another factor for individuals is that they at least want the option of euthanasia. Dr. Philip Nitschke once said that there are a “very large number of people who get immense comfort from knowing they have a safety net in place”. The desire is the comfort of knowing that if something were to happen to themselves or loved ones, there is an option to end their