The right to die
Although euthanasia is not yet a national controversy, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) has come to realize that positive ideas are needed to resolve the issue. The complex problem will surely drag on from one discussion to another, because it can be seen from so many angles. It also involves all sectors of society.
Australia was embroiled in a heated debate on the matter last year, after its Northern Territory government passed the world's first euthanasia law which the Senate killed off nine months later.
In the United States, a federal court blocked a voluntary euthanasia law from taking effect in Oregon despite its approval in a 1995 referendum. Similar measures were defeated in Washington state in 1991 and a year later in California. Doctors in the Netherlands may perform mercy killings within strict legal guidelines, but euthanasia is technically illegal.
The ulemas council has predicted such a serious controversy unfolding here, and therefore one of its leading members presented some ideas Tuesday which can be used as a guide in stimulating national discussion on the issue.
In a seminar on ways to face and take care of those infected with HIV/AIDS, Islamic law professor K.H. Ibrahim Hosen said euthanasia for people infected with the HIV virus was justified on compassionate grounds under Islamic law. He said this would end their suffering and also curb the spread of the incurable disease.
It is true that euthanasia would end the untold misery of not only those infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus but also those suffering from rare forms of cancer and other diseases who have no chance of survival. While many people have questioned the purpose of euthanasia and the effect it could have on those left behind, others have raised the question of whether it is indeed not a good thing to peacefully end someone's suffering. For instance, should families -- many of whom are underprivileged members of society -- be left watching their relatives die slowly or be impoverished themselves because they have to shoulder the financial burden?
Answers to these questions must be sought and Prof. Hosen has opened a path toward discussion. The HIV/AIDS seminar recommended the council urge the government to sponsor an anti-adultery and antihomosexuality bill in order to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The seminar shows that the nation, particularly Moslem ulemas, is still resourceful when it comes to facing the complex issues surrounding modernization and is open to discussion on ways to end people's suffering.
We are still waiting for other sectors of society to offer their opinions on this issue. But amid the uproar of Australia's euthanasia dilemma last year, church leaders fiercely opposed the voluntary law and the Vatican condemned it as "a revolt against God, the author of life".