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Jul-Sep2004-12(3)
LETTER FROM MELBOURNE
Euthanasia: a worldwide
dilemma
Jagruti Waghela, Jameela George
Jagruti Waghela, Jameela George
In her book To die like a dog (1), Lesley Martin
admitted that she tried to kill her mother twice with an overdose of morphine
and then smothered her with a pillow. The book's publication reopened a
homicide investigation of Ms Martin's murder.
Ms Martin's 69-year-old mother had colon cancer and
was terminally ill. Martin was an intensive care nurse who cared for her mother
for the last five months of her life. It is said that what Martin did was based
on compassion and at her mother's request. A post-mortem stated that
Martin's mother had died of respiratory arrest, possibly due to morphine
poisoning or pneumonia.
Martin is a leading advocate for legalising
euthanasia in New Zealand. She helped find 'Exit New Zealand', a voluntary
euthanasia lobby group having links with 'Exit Australia', the group founded by
the Australian campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke. In 2003, New Zealand's Parliament
narrowly defeated a Death with Dignity Bill, which would have legalised a form
of euthanasia.
New Zealand's High Court Justice Wild gave Martin a
15-month sentence for attempted murder. Justice Wild condemned her for not
showing any remorse and for her arrogant attitude. He said that she gave the
impression that she was above the law. However, Martin was permitted to
apply for home detention, which she indicated that she would refuse. She said
that it made no sense for the court to convict her of a crime against her mother
but then detain her in her home with her loved ones. She refused to have her
home as her prison. Her husband Warren Fulljames wants her to consider the
option for his sake and their 10-year-old son.
Euthanasia has received a great deal of
attention in ethical, legal and medical circles. Ethically, the concern is
whether it is morally acceptable to have a right to die and whether it is
permissible for a third party, such as a physician, to end the life of a
terminally ill patient who is in intense pain.
Euthanasia-or a good death-may take several forms.
Some would agree to passive euthanasia in which life-sustaining treatment to the
patient is discontinued. Others would go further, arguing that the
healthcare worker can provide terminally ill patients with the means of taking
their own life. This is otherwise known as assisted suicide. A still more
controversial approach is active euthanasia in which the healthcare worker
administers a lethal dose of a drug. Voluntary euthanasia refers to mercy
killing with explicit and voluntary consent of the patient. Non-voluntary
euthanasia refers to the mercy killing of patients who are unconscious, comatose
or otherwise unable to make their decision known.
Mahatma Gandhi said, 'Death is our friend, the
truest of friends. He delivers us from agony. I do not want to die of a creeping
paralysis of my faculties-a defeated man.'
Those who are in favour of legalising euthanasia
are of the opinion that a person has a right to choose to die and that
healthcare providers should assist those who want to die and actively perform
euthanasia to relieve the pain and suffering of the terminally ill and enable
them to die with dignity. Others are of the opinion that legalisation would lead
to its misuse and coerced euthanasia as there is a lot of power in the hands of
the medical professional. They feel that life has intrinsic value and so it
should not be taken lightly. In addition, healthcare professionals whose
responsibility is to restore one's health should not be asked to perform active
euthanasia.
Worldwide only two European countries, Netherlands
and Belgium, have legalised euthanasia. In the US, the State of Oregon has
legalised physician-assisted suicide. In the context of Lesley Martin's case,
the people of New Zealand are divided in their opinion about legalising
euthanasia and so is the rest of the world.
References
1. Martin L. To die like a dog: the personal face of the euthanasia debate. New Plymouth, New Zealand: M-Press, 2002.
2. NZ Euthanasia Champion Martin given light sentence for attempted murder. Life Site-your life, family and culture. Available from URL:http://www.lifesite.net/1dn/2004/apr/04043011.html(accessedon June 3, 2004).
3. Campbell CS. Euthanasia and Religion. Available from URL:http://www.unesco.org/courier/2000-01/wk/ethique/txt1.htm(accessed on June 3, 2004).
1. Martin L. To die like a dog: the personal face of the euthanasia debate. New Plymouth, New Zealand: M-Press, 2002.
2. NZ Euthanasia Champion Martin given light sentence for attempted murder. Life Site-your life, family and culture. Available from URL:http://www.lifesite.net/1dn/2004/apr/04043011.html(accessedon June 3, 2004).
3. Campbell CS. Euthanasia and Religion. Available from URL:http://www.unesco.org/courier/2000-01/wk/ethique/txt1.htm(accessed on June 3, 2004).
JAGRUTI WAGHELA*, JAMEELA GEORGE** *Associate
Professor, Dept of General Surgery, LTM Medical College and General Hospital,
Sion, Mumbai 400022, India. e-mail:Jameela.George@med.monash.edu.au
**Director, SHARE and Bhawan Community Health & Development Projects,
Emmaneul Hospital Association, Mussoorie, India. e-mail:Jagruti.Waghela@med.monash.edu.auStudents of the Masters in International Research Bioethics, Dept of
Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne,
Australia.