The right to die
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".