The Value of Human Life a Divine Right in the Judicial European Space Pros and Cons of Euthanasia
Keywords:
human life; euthanasia; European Court of Human Rights; palliative careAbstract
Respect fullness for every person’s right to life and human dignity can be found in most of the
great religions and ideologies throughout the world. The right to life is a fundamental human right, for it
is a divine gift, which, by its importance, surpasses the sphere of personal interest, making it relevant for
the whole society. Euthanasia or the recognition of the right to death is considered a very delicate subject,
with many pros and cons opinions and which requires an approach on multiple directions: religious,
medical, social and judicial. Therefore, in this article I will try to show that life is of utmost importance to
humans and also why christianism saw death as a normality, like a part of life, that death represents a
moment and not a final stage. Moreover, we will assess the position of a European legislator regarding
the right to die, knowing that the Romanian legislator is in the position of absolute rejection towards
euthanasia practices, and the new Criminal Code – Law nr. 287/2009 stipulates the act of murder upon
the victim’s request as a lesser form of murder, so resubmitting the tradition existing in our national law,
this conduct being criminalized by prior art. nr. 468 of the 1936 Criminal Code.
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