Right to Determine the Place and Time of Death

Running head: RIGHT TO DETERMINE THE PLACE AND TIME OF DEATH
Right to determine the place and time of death
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Author Note

: RIGHT TO DETERMINE THE PLACE AND TIME OF DEATH1
The decision of a person to live has been equated with the person’s wish to end his
life. Philosophers and social scientist argue that if right to life was to be confined within
parameters of the choice of living, then in that case it should have been named as duty to live
instead of right to life. The notion of continuing living a life that is not worth living, subject
to critical and extreme conditions, is implausible. However, the right of a person to end his
life needs clarity and in depth clarification. The right to die is not the right to be assisted to
end one’s life but it should be a right not to be restricted from asking for assistance to end
one’s life or taking the help of the ones who extends a helping hand to end one’s life which is
not worth living. Australia as a country does not observe human rights through legislative or
regulatory framework as it lacks a formal Bill of Rights, thereby defeating legal protection to
the basic needs of its citizen. Therefore, this paper would strive to discuss the right to
ascertain one’s place and time of death, in regard to terminal diseases that makes life not
worth living.
Right to die
The Right to die is the principle based on the popular opinion of the modern world
that talks about ending one’s life, especially in case of terminally illness patients who find it
difficult to live with extreme medical conditions. In this regard it is often argued that the right
to end one’s life would greatly benefit such kind of people as it would relieve them of their
hardship. Euthanasia or the right to choose to die was originated in Greece which signifies
good death, which is often associated with assisted suicide and mercy killing. Euthanasia and
assisted suicide has both been defined by the World Health Organisation. It held that assisted
suicide is the intentional act of killing oneself with the help of another who has the means to
help the victim; while, euthanasia is stated as the act by which a person wishes to put himself

: RIGHT TO DETERMINE THE PLACE AND TIME OF DEATH2
to death painlessly or escape the natural course of death due to terminal illness or any other
prolonged medical condition (Strinic, 2015).
The Australia law provides for a palliative care that doctors, medical
practitioners and carers are allowed to give to ease a patient’s suffering, even though it has
been evidenced that such care could fasten the patient’s death (Chapman & Leeder, 2014).
While, the law forbids the medical practitioners to entertain the request of the terminally ill
patients to help them end their life (ABC News, 2019). The only parameter of exercising
assisted suicide has been pointed out as and when a patient suffers from an incurable yet not a
life-threatening disease, except for a few exceptional cases.
Community support has been gathered in order to legalise the concept of medically
assisted suicide; however, it is yet to transform into a legislative framework by getting the
votes in the Parliament. Personal hardship of people could however change the intent of the
conservatives (Radbruch et al., 2016). Although positive outlook is growing in terms of
supportive approach towards Euthanasia and assisted suicide, yet the strategies as well as the
fear of the politicians for facing opposition from the conservative minorities and different
critical sources stops the government from reformation (Strinic, 2015). It could be derived
from different literatures that this kind of social change is hard to achieve and is extremely
sensitive and controversial, nevertheless the advanced medical science and technology is
making its progress in inventing ways to escape the clutch of tormenting life; the life not
worth living for the terminally ill victims. However, as of now, the medical science and social
scientists have come up with certain different care methods by which the patients seeking
assisted suicide could be consoled and comforted until he dies of natural death (Chapman &
Leeder, 2014).
Palliative care