Euthanasia debate: Autonomy at all costs?

Kirsten Birkett  |  Comment
Date posted:  7 Sep 2025
Share Add       
Euthanasia debate: Autonomy at all costs?

Source: The Good Funeral Guide / Unsplash

The founder of the International Association for the Philosophy of Death and Dying has recently written on what he calls a new and different approach in the case for assisted dying. [1]

He says: “I believe that a type of freedom we can call freedom over death – that is, a freedom in which we shape the timing and circumstances of how we die – should be central to this conversation.”

He is pointing to what is indeed a more recent direction in the arguments for euthanasia laws. It used to be all about compassion – having compassion on those who are suffering in the painful process of dying from a terrible disease such as cancer.

Share
< Previous article| Comment| Next article >
Read more articles on:   assisted suicide
Read more articles by Kirsten Birkett >>
Comment
‘People are... difficult to live with and bothersome’

‘People are... difficult to live with and bothersome’

I have been watching videos by Cecilia Blomdahl, a woman who lives on Svalbard, a Norwegian island in the Arctic …

Comment
Connection and community for the lonely

Connection and community for the lonely

After seeing a poster recently about the problem of loneliness in aged people, I wondered how bad the problem actually …

New here?

Register and get three free articles each month!

Register

Subscribe

Enjoy our monthly paper and full online access for just £40/year

Find out more