Abstract
The debate over death penalty, euthanasia and abortion reached a climax during the second half of the twentieth century. It brings into focus the underlying contrasting currents of right to life and right to dispose of life. The pluralistic Indian context in its turn can add to the ambivalent relationship between religion and the (non-)disposability of life. Hence, the question that we address in this paper concerns the role religions play in soliciting and legitimizing the (non-)disposability of life. Our empirical research, among 1215 Christian, Muslim and Hindu college students in Tamil Nadu, focuses on the possible impact of personal religious attitude, contextual religious attitude, and the value of human dignity, on the perception of right to life in the face of death penalty, euthanasia, and abortion. Overall, we find that the three religious groups manifest opposition to disposal of life by death penalty, and an uncertain openness to disposal of life by euthanasia and abortion for victim’s sake. However, as regards euthanasia, while Christians and Hindus tend to be open to disposal of life, Muslims tend to be uncertain. As regards abortion for psycho-economic reasons, the tendency among Christians is non-disposal of life and the tendency among Hindus and Muslims is an uncertain openness to disposal of life. In dealing with the complex issue of (non-)disposal of life, our findings related to personal and contextual religious attitude suggest that religions can provide a meta-ethical basis for both ‘sacredness’ and ‘quality’ human life.
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- 1.
In defining the term ‘euthanasia’ a number of facets need to be taken into account: the motive and the method of treatment, the will of the patient, and the role of the physician. (a) In the first place, considering the motive and the method of treatment, distinction is generally made between active, direct, or positive euthanasia and passive, indirect, or negative euthanasia. In the former case, the treatment of the physician, which aims at eliminating unbearable suffering, causes the death of the patient, and in the latter, the medical professional deliberately withholds or withdraws the medical treatment, thus indirectly causing death. The latter, namely, the passive euthanasia, has to be distinguished from ‘refusal of therapeutic obstinacy’, i.e., not insisting on useless and ineffective therapy in the absence of alternatives, with the mere possibility of prolonging the end of life. (b) Secondly, taking into account the will of the patient, distinction has to be made between voluntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia. The former occurs when the patient consciously chooses to end his/her life; the latter when the patient cannot yet or cannot anymore consciously choose to end his/her life – although anticipating it in a ‘biological testament’. When the patient is capable of making a choice but is not consulted or has expressed himself/herself contrary to euthanasia, if it is practiced in the interest of the patient, to terminate unbearable suffering, this would be termed involuntary euthanasia. (c) Considering the role of the physician, euthanasia has to be distinguished from physician-assisted suicide (PAS): in the case of euthanasia, it is physician who administers the means of death, and in the case of assisted suicide it is the patient’s self-administration of drugs supplied by a physician that brings about death (Magni 2011, 83; Kelly 1994, 348; Merlo 2009, 339–348).
- 2.
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- 4.
The 1992 edition of the CCC does not contain this view. According to Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, chairman of the commission that wrote and revised the CCC, there are substantial changes in the section on punishment, particularly in n. 2265–2267. The expression “not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty” is omitted in 1997 editio tipica (Brugger 2014, xiii, 22).
- 5.
Address of Pope Francis to participants in the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council for promoting the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/speeches/2017/october.index.html (accessed on 27 October 2017).
- 6.
When dealing with “culture of death”, while abortion and euthanasia are mentioned by the pope, death penalty is bracketed out.
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- 8.
http://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/bareacts/indianpenalcode/index.php?Title=Indian%20Penal%20Code,%201860 (accessed on 14 September 2017).
- 9.
The last execution to take place in India was the July 30, 2015 hanging of Yakub Memon, convicted of financing the 1993 Mumbai bombings. The three executions prior this were: the February 8, 2013 hanging of Muhammad Afzal, convicted of plotting the 2001 attack on India’s Parliament; the hanging of 2008 Mumbai attack gunman Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab on November 21, 2012; and the hanging of Dhananjoy Chatterjee in 2004 for the murder and rape of a 14-year old girl: https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=India (accessed on 14 September 2017).
- 10.
- 11.
Further amendments were made: The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, No. 34 of 1971, as amended by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, No. 64 of 2002. The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, No. 57 of 1994, and the Pre-natal Diagnostic Technologies (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002, No. 14 of 2003 (see discussion in Crawford 1996, 234–237).
- 12.
For further documentation, see http://www.rp.theologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/research/religion_and_human_rights_2012_2019/ (accessed 14 September 2017). This research project builds on the previous one: Religion and Human Rights (1997–2011). For findings referring to Tamil Nadu, see Van der Ven and Anthony (2008) and Anthony (2013).
- 13.
Factor analysis brought the two items representing spiritual experience (i.e., people say that they have had an experience of profound inner peace; that they have had an experience of oneness with all things) and the two representing faith experience (i.e., people say that their faith has often helped them not to lose courage in particular situations; that their religion gives them a certainty in life that they otherwise would not have) into one meaningful and reliable factor ‘religious experience’ (Cronbach’s alpha.72).
- 14.
In the factor analysis of eight items, factors representing two meaningful functions of religion emerged: integral transformative function (Cronbach’s alpha.69) and cultural conformity function (Cronbach’s alpha.39). The integral transformative function included six items: religions should try to influence public opinion on social problems; should publicly stand up for the underclass; should take a joint responsibility with the State for the national culture; should take public responsibility for the societal development; should take responsibility for their members’ spiritual growth; and should create places for deep spiritual experiences. The cultural conformity function instead included two items: religions should always keep up with current social trends; and should go along with changing ideas in society.
- 15.
Drutchas (1998) is of the opinion that for a fruitful dialogue in a pluralistic world the notion of ‘respect for human life’ is more useful than the principle of ‘sanctity or sacredness of life’.
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Anthony, FV., Sterkens, C. (2019). Religion and the Right to (Dispose of) Life: A Study of the Attitude of Christian, Muslim and Hindu Students in India Concerning Death Penalty, Euthanasia and Abortion. In: Ziebertz, HG., Zaccaria, F. (eds) Euthanasia, Abortion, Death Penalty and Religion – The Right to Life and its Limitations. Religion and Human Rights, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98773-6_2
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