Who's Life Is It Anyway?

Nadine Mather
The right to life is not a right simply to exist. Is there a duty to die?
When we start life in our mother’s womb, we have no choice in the decision regarding our right to live. Other people will debate our right to life depending upon their ethics, religion and economic circumstances and make the decision on our behalf. And so here we find ourselves in a world in which we played no part in the decision to be here or not. We are then allowed to formulate our own views as we become more adult entitled to freedom of thought and speech. So what if we decide that life isn’t that great after all and the decision made on our behalf years ago does not suit us anymore. Surely we then have the right to die if we choose to. We all die sometime, that is not up for debate. The question is when and how. Who is to say that we cannot choose to die when we want to? Your life insurance will not pay out but then again how does this affect you? The issue surrounding the right to die is one of the effects that it has on other people. You will be seen as selfish only thinking of yourself. But must you continue to live just to make other people happy. There is a duty for an individual to die, life is not a given right, it’s a privilege. Whose life is it anyway?