title: Right to die--a corollary to the right to live and the right to leave.
abstract: I am going to talk to you on a sinister subject: the question as to whether there is--or should be--a human right to die, which can be regarded as the corollary of the most essential human right: the right to life. Pain and suffering are most useful faculties. They help us to avoid dangers and to treat injuries. But you could get too much of it. There can be pain without cure and suffering without limit. If for good reasons people are finding life unbearable, are they not entitled to put an end to it? I am thinking here of individuals and their personal problems. I will not deal with suicidal missions in warfare or terror raids. The prime goal for society is--as I see it--the benefit of the individual. In other words, the fundamental aim of public affairs is the wellbeing of each individual person. There must of course be a balancing of conflicting interests, but we must never lose sight of the prime goal.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Hadding
mesh_terms: D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005065:Euthanasia; D028601:Euthanasia, Active; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D006806:Human Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012297:Right to Die / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D026712:Value of Life