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  • Essay / The Christian Position on Euthanasia - 2441

    This essay has chosen to study the attitude of the largest Christian denomination toward euthanasia, in order to determine the basic Christian position in the current euthanasia debate . It is interesting to note that, even within a Christian Church like this, there are a multitude of considerations on the issue of euthanasia. Human rights and values ​​today occupy an important place among the issues debated throughout the world. In this regard, the largest Christian denomination, the Catholic Church, has solemnly reaffirmed the high dignity of the human person and, in particular, their right to life. The Second Vatican Council therefore condemned crimes against life “such as any type of assassination, genocide, abortion, euthanasia or voluntary suicide” (Pastoral). Advances in medical science in recent years have brought to light new aspects of the question of euthanasia. , and these aspects, in the eyes of the Church, require greater elucidation on an ethical level. In modern society, where even the fundamental values ​​of human life are often questioned, cultural change influences the way we view suffering and death; Furthermore, medicine has increased its ability to cure and prolong life in particular circumstances, which sometimes give rise to moral problems. Thus, people living in this situation experience some anxiety about the meaning of advanced old age and death. They also begin to wonder if they have the right to obtain for themselves or for their fellow human beings an “easy death”, which would shorten suffering and which seems to them to be more consistent with human dignity. The considerations set out here concern first and foremost all those who place their faith and hope in Christ who, through his life, death and resurrection, gave new meaning to the existence and in particular to the death of the Christian, as St. Paul says: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord” (Rom. 14:8; cf. Phil. 1:20). As for those who profess other religions, many will agree with us that faith in God the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of life – if they share this belief – confers high dignity on every human person and guarantees their respect. Human life is the basis of all goods, and is the source and necessary condition of all human activity and society...