Exploring the Value of Life: Individual vs. Legal Perspectives

This essay critically examines the complex and highly debated issue of the value of life, exploring whether decisions regarding it should be made by individuals or by legal frameworks. It delves into various dimensions of this debate, including abortion, assisted dying (euthanasia), and the death penalty, presenting diverse perspectives and case studies. The essay contrasts viewpoints from different countries, religious backgrounds, and personal experiences, highlighting the legal and ethical implications of each scenario. It also explores the impact of laws and individual choices on individuals involved in these sensitive situations, such as those facing unwanted pregnancies, terminal illnesses, or criminal charges. Through analysis of different cases and legal frameworks, the essay aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding the value of life and the challenges in deciding who should hold the authority to make such critical decisions.

Module name: Study and Research Skills.
Project tittle/topic: Should the value of life be decided
by individual or law?

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.......................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................8
REFERENCE LIST:........................................................................................10

SHOULD THE VALUE OF LIFE BE DECIDED BY INDIVIDUAL OR LAW?
INTRODUCTION
The Value of life was and still is a highly discussed issue. It has numerous dimensions
and the opinions on them are quite controversial. It has a moral and a personal side, though.
Nowadays, there are different views on abortion, assisted dying, etc. First of all, what should
be taken into consideration is the human nature (Eekelaar, 2017). People shall act as morally
as they could.
Having in mind that, over the year’s different laws has been created. There are some
laws about the value of life connected with abortion, death penalty and assisted dying that
vary across the world depending to the country of residence or religious status, personal
issues, or social ones.
There are some people who believe that should be decided by individual
because everybody should have the right to decide about their own lives and how they would
like to live, they should feel free about the value of their lives and also they should take their
own decisions without any restriction (Paterson, 2017). Two women’s stories of abortion on
Youtube share their experience after abortion. The first of them-Bernadeth, tells that the
biggest regret of [her] life was making abortion (Two women's stories of abortion - BBC
Newsnight 2018, 00:00:33). The other one-Caryl, never had a moment of regret about
abortion Two women's stories of abortion - BBC Newsnight 2018, 00:00:35). So, there are
very different stories around the world and people feel and experience different things in this
process. However the value of life and the decision to be decided by law or individual varies
depending on what a person does or believes.
MAIN BODY
It is different either the abortion, assisted dying like euthanasia or if someone
commits a crime or tries to kill itself (suicide). So should be decided by law or individual
depending on the circumstances but in the case of death penalty always should not be decided
with the death, someone who commits a crime, like murder should be punished, but with the
imprisonment of life so in that case should be decided by law.
In the case of the abortion, one example is in Matters of Life and Death: Anna, she had an
abortion at the age of 17, and she believes everyone should have the right to choose if they
want to be a parent.

Anna don’t feel bad about it, it was just what she needed to do The decision to have
the abortion completely changed my life, she was able to go to the University and she could
learn everything that wanted to be learning (BBC TWO What are the rights and wrongs of
death penalty. 2014).
In the other hand there is another example of a woman called Marie, she is a mother
of a young daughter with Down’s syndrome and she believes that every unborn child has the
right to live (BBC TWO What are the rights and wrongs of abortion? 2014).
She said that 9 out of 10 women decided to have an abortion if they find out they are
having a child with Down’s Syndrome for her that would be a wrong thing to do, as come
from a Christian background and to me an abortion would be playing God (BBC TWO What
are the rights and wrongs of abortion? 2014).
She believes the life it is sacred and that everybody has the right to be here no matter
who they are. It is humane to take care of life (Bowen, 2018).
In UK according to the Act 1967 the abortion it’s legal from up to 28 weeks of
gestation, if the women suffer a violence attack, or for any physiological or healthy reasons.
However the Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Algeria, Morocco etc. they
believes that Allah have given all human life what is sacred to Muslims and Allah
determinates how long each people will live.
In Matters of Life and Death, according to Hasan an Islamic Law Consultant the
Islamic scriptures tell us that the soul is breathed into the fetus 6 weeks after conception and
then it becomes a living creature, it is a servant of God and to abort it is to murder it (BBC
TWO Matters of life and death. 2014).
Unwanted pregnancy is not actually accepted in Islam, because in this culture a
relationship is forbidden before marriage (Rothman, 2017).
Nowadays many countries contemplate abortion in their legislation under certain
circumstances, according to data from the United Nations Organization, there are five states
that do not endorse it in any context, and three of them are in Latin America.
El Salvador is one of the most stringent countries on the issue of abortion, with long
prison terms for women who submit to one. That was the recent case of Evelyn Hernández,

an 18 years old Salvadoran student who had a miscarriage after having been repeatedly raped
by a gang member. Even some time ago abortion was banned in California (Marshall, 2017).
The judge made the decision because Evelyn Hernandez did not seek prenatal care.
Before 1998, El Salvador allowed abortion when the pregnancy was the result of a
rape, if it was a baby with malformations or if the mother was at risk of death. In such cases
of malformation of the baby and some situations they may be a threat for the mother and the
baby, to a certain extent, abortion is necessary.
A new penal code and the subsequent reform of the Constitution complicated the
situation of thousands of Salvadoran women. The other two countries are Nicaragua and
Dominican Republic; each year approximately 6,700 young woman between the ages of 10
and 14 are victims of sexual violence and 1,300 become pregnant, according to the
Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey of 2011/12 (Head, 2018). In the rest of the
world only two countries outside of Latin America consider abortion illegal by law: Malta
and Vatican, and there are many people that believe this would have to change, be legalised
and decided by individual especially in the case of rape or healthy issues.
About the assisted dying many people also believe that should be decided by
individual, but just in case if a person suffers from a terminal illness. Assisted suicide is the
act of the deliberately assisting or encouraging another person to commit suicide according to
the Suicide Act 1961 in UK with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, also it is illegal
to attempt to assist or encourage another person to take their own life (Zelizer, 2017).
Moreover Crown Prosecution Service guidance allows prosecutors to use their
discretion and prosecutors are rare, numerous proposals to reform the act it has failed and the
last proposal was rejected by the House of Commons in September 2015 by 118 to 330 votes.
There is one example about the assisted dying of one gentleman who suffers a
terminal illness. According to TWO What are the rights and wrongs of death penalty, after a
very serious car accident 23 years ago in 1990 Paul was left almost completely paralysed,
suffering with physical and mental pain getting worse over the years, eating tablets and
having morphine injections to calm the pain, being fully assisted by doctors.
Paul believe that everyone should have the right of assisted suicide he just remember
the moment when wake up in intensive care and could not move any part of his body,
everything has to be done for me (Bickenbach, 2015). On the other hand in case of thoughts

about suicide many people believe that should be punished and decided by law, because that
thoughts are completely wrong.
A person in a certain moment of his life maybe is suffering from a depression or
feeling very weak but once that person gets up from his fall and recovers, he may regret the
bad thoughts that he had about the suicide.
That’s why many people believe that everything in this life has solution expect the death.
Nevertheless there is an opposite example of the assisted dying, a hospice doctor called
Charlotte: She looks after patients suffering from terminal illness and she thinks that
everybody should care for people until the end of their lives and that others should never be
put in a position of helping end someone else life (Spade, 2015).
Charlotte think when people say that’s the end of her life and should be freedom to
end it, they are forgetting that is not just about them, there is some people who is caring about
their illness and that is a big ethical dilemma for them (BBC TWO Matters of life and death,
2014)
There are some countries in the world where physicians are allowed to physically assist in
death of a patient if the person is with a terminal ill diagnose to live less than 6 month and ask
for the assistance.
One of them it’s in Holland, assisted suicide it is legal, 719 people where legally helped to
die between 2009-2012, also in Switzerland, Colombia, the Netherlands, Canada,
Luxemburg, German, Japan and Belgium. In USA some states allow the assisted dying like:
Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Montana, Washington DC and California.
Moreover there are two types of assisted dying like: Euthanasia, physical assisted
dying that is also classified as voluntary and non- voluntary. Voluntary euthanasia it is when
a person give his or her consent help dying to end their suffering, and non- voluntary
euthanasia is where the person cannot give any consent because the patient it is not able to
give any consent due to some physical condition, like in the case of the person in coma, but
someone else it is giving on the behalf of the patient as the ill person, previously expressed
the intention for their life to be ended in such circumstances.
On the other hand, there are instances when death penalty is a total mistake. Roy’s
story: A Death Penalty Mistake tells such story. This story narrated that Roy don’t think a life
should be in somebody’s hands or the government’s hands (Ray's Story: A Death Penalty
Mistake 920120, 2012). Ray was sentenced to death after being charged of the murder of a

person, but some years later it was revealed that the DNA that was found, matched somebody
else’s one and Ray was released of prison (Ray's Story: A Death Penalty Mistake 920120,
2012). So, his case shows us a case of a total and brutal mistake that could have lead to the
death of an innocent person.
In the case of the death penalty also called capital punishment, started in UK in the
18th century 1608. The capital punishment in UK it finished in 1964 with the last male
executed for murder called Peter Anthony Allan, also the last female it was Ruth Ellis in
1955, according to The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. It abolished the death
penalty for murder in Gran Britain; the Act replaced the death penalty with a mandatory
sentence of imprisonment for life.
Although otherwise some countries the death penalty continues to be exercised, like in some
of the States in America, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt etc.
There are many people that believe the death penalty should be decided by law and some
other people believe that should be decided by individual.
There is an example of a woman called Lynn, she was kidnapped, raped and brutally
murdered at the age of 17, in July 26, 1983 by a man named David Gore. Her murder was
sentenced to death and executed by States of Florida (USA).
Her cousin Tom believes the death penalty has brought justice for Lynn and closure for
himself and his family.
Tom included that if someone murder somebody he believe that person deserve to die. Being
in prison is not enough. The death penalty should be reserve for individuals that you are 100
per cent sure are guilty (BBC TWO What are the rights and wrongs of abortion? 2014).
The court ordered mental health examination of David Gore, and he confessed that he
murdered five other women. In Florida 82 people has been executed by either, lethal injection
or electrocution since 1976 and in the USA 32 States have the death penalty with more than
3.000 prisoners currently awaiting execution.
In the other hand there is an example of one gentleman called Joe, he was charged
with aggravated murder and sentenced to death in the States of Ohio, and after spending 22
years on death row his case was dismissed and he was exonerated.
Now he vigorously campaigns against the death penalty.

Joe once said that his case is an example against the death penalty he was innocent
and I had a punishment of death, this can happen to anyone, 143 people had been exonerated
and freed from death row since 1973, and this is unacceptable. Being in prison for all life is
more than enough punishment, they treat you like an animal (BBC TWO What are the rights
and wrongs of abortion? 2014). Joe believes that life in itself it is sacred and the people
should not decide about anyone else life just God has the right to decide about the end of a
human life. He lost the 80 per cent of his life in the prison and now every day is glossy to
him.
The value of life comes from within and should not be determined by social status,
material possessions or tittles, also does not have to be measured by any amount of money;
everybody should know that the life it is invaluable and nobody should let the world to add a
price tag in their lives. According to Myles Munroe, the value of life is not in its duration,
but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important
because of how effective you live (BBC TWO What are the rights and wrongs of abortion?
2014).
Ultimately, the value of life should be cherished by anyone. There are numerous
cases, as stated above that show the complications after abortion, and the consequences for
the families of the dead people after dead penalty. Nobody can decide whether somebody else
has to die or not, no matter what the circumstances are. There is always a way out of a bad
situation and this is not death. A person’s life should not be taken for granted because every
single day is valuable and everyone should appreciate it. All these stories show that
sometimes it is better not to rely on any laws or morality but to listen to humanity and too
rely on it because in this way us society will become better.
CONCLUSION
It could be summarised from the above essay that over the past years there are many
laws that have been made for assisted dying, abortion or death penalty in many of the
countries in world. So some of the people think that everyone in world is having their own
right and duties so they will be deciding over what should be done with their lives. All of
them are have right to live their own lives and taking any sort of decision without restriction.
There are certain laws which consider assisted dying as legal while other of them will be
considering it as illegal. It was also concluded that there is not one to decide over that
whether somebody else has to die or not.

REFERENCE LIST:
Books and Journals:
Bickenbach, J.E., 2015. Disability and life-ending decisions. In Physician Assisted
Suicide (pp. 123-132). Routledge.
Bowen, H., 2018. Investment in learning: The individual and social value of American higher
education. Routledge.
Eekelaar, J., 2017. Family law and personal life. Oxford University Press.
Head, L., 2018. Standing (Near) by Things Decided: The Rhetorical and Cultural
Identifications of Law. Legal Comm. & Rhetoric: JAWLD, 15, p.189.
Marshall, A.M., 2017. Confronting sexual harassment: The law and politics of everyday life.
Routledge.
Paterson, C., 2017. Assisted suicide and euthanasia: a natural law ethics approach.
Routledge.
Rothman, D.J., 2017. Strangers at the bedside: a history of how law and bioethics
transformed medical decision making. Routledge.
Spade, D., 2015. Normal life: Administrative violence, critical trans politics, and the limits of
law. Duke University Press.
Zelizer, V.A.R., 2017. Morals and markets: The development of life insurance in the United
States. Columbia University Press.
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