Jewish Approaches to Suicide, Martyrdom, and Euthanasia
edited by Kalman J. Kaplan and Matthew B. ShwartzIn Athens, suicidal men could ask for and receive hemlock. The Greek attitude towards fear of death was that it was a fear to be conquered- with suicide, if need be. Honor could necessitate suicide. The state's benefit from a man's life was the only reason he might be held accountable for his own murder. Under Jewish law, people's lives belong to God. You do not have the right to kill yourself, because you don't belong to yourself. Life is seen as a gift from God, and suicide is a rejection both of that gift and of God. Suicides are not buried in the cemetary with other people.
This book studies the Jewish approach to self inflicted death and compares it to numerous other approaches, among them the Greek approach and the Suicidology Association's approach. It tries to catagorize different sorts of self inflicted deaths- suicide is defined quite differently by different groups of people. And when suicide itself has been defined, different sorts of suicide remain to be catagorized.
Question: One of the authors of this book suggests that most people who request euthanasia fall into two catagories- those who were already depressed, and those who would not want to die if their pain were alleviated. If pain could be always be alleviated to low levels, would the demand for euthanasia be obliviated?
Educational reading.
