www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

   

In defense of individual's right to die

By Liu Shinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-21 11:19

Sometimes, cherishing life can be cruel.

Denying the right to suicide, for instance.

Earlier this month, a girl suffering from terminal cancer appealed to the National People's Congress (NPC) for legislation on euthanasia. The girl said she didn't want to live in misery because she is paralyzed, only able to move her head and fingers.

Her mother feeds her three meals a day, carries her to the toilet, and helps her turn over a dozen times every night.

The appeal came too late to be taken up at this year's NPC session but it aroused extensive concern from the public after it was reported by the media last week.

A media survey found that 90 percent of those surveyed sympathized with the girl and supported legalizing euthanasia but only 26 percent would help her terminate her life if they were the girl's relatives.

The paradox mirrors most people's feelings about mercy killing.

Netizens' remarks posted on Internet bulletin boards in the past week indicate that most people regard a peaceful death as a better choice for the girl than letting her continue to suffer but they are all afraid of being called heartless if they helped her die. Such scruples stem from rising public concern about the value of life.

In recent years, Chinese have become increasingly aware of the importance of protecting lives from avoidable harm, thanks to the introduction of concepts about the value of life from the outside world. They are no longer apathetic about deaths caused by abuse of power by law enforcement officials or disasters caused by negligence.

Scholars have been advocating such new concepts, and the acceptance of these noble thoughts is considered progress in civilization.

However, some people, especially some academicians, are so obsessed with being seen as noble that their concepts about life become distorted. For instance, they argue against euthanasia, alleging that people have no right to terminate their lives because life is the most treasured thing in the world.

One academician said in a discussion hosted by Sina.com that anyone who hopes to end his or her agony through euthanasia should consider the "will of society".

These arguments are questionable. The poetic phrase "Life is the most treasured thing" does not constitute a serious argument. It does not disallow all attempts at ending life. For example, could it become an argument against the 1948 hanging of Hideki Tojo, the notorious Japanese war criminal?

The above-mentioned academician who talked about the "will of society" did not elaborate. I guess he refered to the feelings of people around the person requesting euthanasia. Does this mean that the person has to endure suffering to satisfy the feelings of others?

Nobody would ask for euthanasia if it were not for suffering unbearable agony with absolutely no hope of a remedy. Isn't it cruel to ask the person to endure anguish only to satisfy other people's "noble" thoughts about the value of life? If this is noble, I would rather be called ignoble or immoral.

As for the argument that legalizing euthanasia would create opportunities for murder under the name of mercy killing, this is far-fetched to say the least.

If we treasure life, we should respect people's right to die so long as they regard death as less agonizing than living on.

Email: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/21/2007 page10)



Hot Talks
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
主站蜘蛛池模板: 97视频在线观看免费播放 | 日韩免费观看一级毛片看看 | 日韩三级在线观看视频 | 99精品视频在线视频免费观看 | 亚洲片在线观看 | 在线观看人成午夜影片 | 免看一级a一片成人123 | 久久视频精品53在线观看 | 国产日本三级 | 伊人久久免费 | 性刺激久久久久久久久 | 色日韩在线 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区三区视频在线 | 欧美一级特黄aaa大片 | 成人免费一级毛片在线播放视频 | 全部免费的毛片视频观看 | 久久精品一区二区三区日韩 | 亚洲免费小视频 | 97超频国产在线公开免费视频 | 欧美日本一区视频免费 | 一区二区三区 日韩 | 成人99国产精品 | 日本乱人伦片中文三区 | 男女午夜24式免费视频 | 美女视频免费黄的 | 99香蕉网 | 久久久久国产视频 | 国产日产久久高清欧美一区 | 国产精品亚洲精品久久成人 | 国产亚洲人成在线影院 | 综合久久久 | 亚洲国产成人久久综合区 | 另类欧美日韩 | 亚洲视频黄 | 美女视频网站永久免费观看软件 | 国产自精品在线 | 日本大臿亚洲香蕉大片 | 国产1000部成人免费视频 | 亚洲天堂免费 | 亚洲国产日韩欧美高清片a 亚洲国产日韩欧美在线 | 欧美激情欧美狂野欧美精品免费 |