Editing Assisted suicide (section)

====Religious stances in opposition ====
=====Catholicism=====
The [[Catholic Church]] acknowledges the fact that moral decisions regarding a person's life must be made according to one's own conscience and faith.<ref name=pmid11655313>{{cite journal | vauthors = Donovan GK | title = Decisions at the end of life: Catholic tradition | journal = Christian Bioethics | volume = 3 | issue = 3 | pages = 188–203 | date = December 1997 | pmid = 11655313 | doi = 10.1093/cb/3.3.188 }}</ref> Catholic tradition has said that one's concern for the suffering of another is not a sufficient reason to decide whether it is appropriate to act upon voluntary euthanasia. According to the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]], "God is the creator and author of all life." In this belief system God created human life, therefore God is the judge of when to end life.<ref name=pmid11655313/> From the Catholic Church's perspective, deliberately ending one's life or the life of another is morally wrong and defies the Catholic doctrine. Furthermore, ending one's life deprives that person and his or her loved ones of the time left in life and causes grief and sorrow for those left behind.<ref name=Harvey2016>{{cite journal |vauthors=Harvey K |title=Mercy and Physician-Assisted Suicide |journal=Ethics & Medics |year=2016 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.5840/em201641611}}</ref>

[[Pope Francis]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349|title=Pope Francis Biography|date=20 April 2021|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403101052/https://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349|url-status=live}}</ref>  affirms that death is a glorious event and should not be decided for by anyone other than God. Pope Francis insinuates that defending life means defending its sacredness.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cherry MJ |title=Pope Francis, Weak Theology, and the Subtle Transformation of Roman Catholic Bioethics |journal=Christian Bioethics |date=6 February 2015 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=84–88 |doi=10.1093/cb/cbu045 }}</ref> The Catholic Church teaches its followers that the act of euthanasia is unacceptable because it is perceived as a sin, as it goes against one of the Ten Commandments. As implied by the [[Ten Commandments in Catholic theology#Fifth commandment|fifth commandment]], "Thou shalt not kill (You shall not kill)", the act of assisted suicide contradicts the dignity of human life as well as the respect one has for God.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism|title=Roman Catholicism|newspaper=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417093924/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Harvey2016/> Additionally, the Catholic Church recommends that terminally ill patients should receive palliative care, which deals with physical pain while treating psychological and spiritual suffering as well, instead of physician-assisted suicide.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yao T |title=Can We Limit a Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide? |journal=The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly |date=2016 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=385–392 |doi=10.5840/ncbq201616336 }}</ref>

===== Hinduism =====
In Hinduism, suicide is viewed as a serious act because it conflicts with core principles like [[Dharma|Dharma (duty)]], [[Karma]] (actions and their consequences), and [[Ahimsa]] (non-violence).<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Religions - Hinduism: Euthanasia, assisted dying and Suicide |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/hinduethics/euthanasia.shtml |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> While there is no definitive teaching on suicide and assisted suicide within Hinduism, prematurely ending one's life or assisting in such an act can adversely affect the karma of both the person who dies and the one who aids in the act. Deepak Sarma, a professor of South Asian religions and philosophy at [[Case Western Reserve University]] in [[Cleveland]], explains, "If you circumvent [[Karma in Hinduism|karma]] by taking some action to stop suffering, you will pay for it later.".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liu |first=Joseph |date=2013-11-21 |title=Religious Groups' Views on End-of-Life Issues |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/11/21/religious-groups-views-on-end-of-life-issues/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> Hinduism upholds the principle of "''Ahimsa Paramo Dharma''", meaning "Ahimsa (non-violence) is the highest form of dharma (virtue)".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book 13: Chapter 117 |url=https://sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs13117.htm |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=sacred-texts.com}}</ref>  Although, Hindus are not meant to be indifferent to the sufferings of others. One should avoid committing acts of violence in thought, word, or deed against any living creature. Therefore, the practice of euthanasia would be seen as breaching the teachings of ahimsa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nimbalkar |first=Namita |date=2007 |title=Euthanasia: The Hindu Perspective |url=https://vpmthane.org/Publications/Bio-Ethics/Namita%20Nimbalkar.pdf |journal=}}</ref>

=====Judaism=====
While preservation of life is one of the greatest values in Judaism, there are instances of suicide and assisted suicide appearing in the Bible and [[Rabbinic literature]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Samuel 1:31:4–5, Daat Zekeinim Baalei Hatosfot Genesis 9:5}}</ref> The medieval authorities debate the legitimacy of those measures and in what limited circumstances they might apply. The conclusion of the majority of later rabbinic authorities, and accepted normative practice within Judaism, is that suicide and assisted suicide can not be sanctioned even for a terminal patient in intractable pain.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Steinberg A |title=Encyclopedia Hilchatit Refuit|date=1988|publisher=Shaarei Zedek Hospital|location=Jerusalem| volume = 1 | page = 15 }}</ref>

=====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints=====
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) is against assisted suicide and euthanasia, and anyone who takes part in either is regarded as having violated the commandments of God.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/handbook-2-administering-the-church/selected-church-policies-and-guidelines/selected-church-policies|title=Handbook 2: Administering the Church – 21.3 Medical and Health Policies|publisher=Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021203917/https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/selected-church-policies|url-status=live}}</ref> However the church recognizes that when a person is in the final stages of terminal illness there may be difficult decisions to be taken. The church states that "When dying becomes inevitable, death should be looked upon as a blessing and a purposeful part of an eternal existence. Members should not feel obligated to extend mortal life by means that are unreasonable".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/euthanasia-and-prolonging-life|title=Euthanasia and Prolonging Life|work=LDS News|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-date=27 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627231146/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/euthanasia-and-prolonging-life|url-status=live}}</ref>

=====Islam=====
According to a rigid approach, the Muslim doctor should not intervene directly to voluntarily take the life of the patient, not even out of pity (Islamic Code of Medical Ethics, Kuwait 1981); he must see whether the patient is curable or not, not whether he must continue to live. Similarly, he must not administer drugs that accelerate death, even after an explicit request by relatives; acceleration of this kind would correspond to murder. Quran 3.145 states: "Nor can a soul die except by God's leave, the term being fixed as by writing"; Quran 3.156 continues "It is God that gives Life and Death, and God sees well all that ye do", resulting that God has fixed the length of each life, but leaves room for human efforts to save it when some hope exists. The patient's request for his life to be ended has in part been evaluated by juridical doctrine in some aspects. The four "canonical" Sunnite juridical schools (Hanafi te, Malikite, Shafi 'ite and Hanbalite) were not unanimous in their pronouncements. For all, the request or permission to be killed does not make the action, which remains a murder, lawful; however, the disagreement concerns the possibility of applying punishments to those that cause death: the Hanafi tes are in favour; the Hanbalites, the Shafi 'ites and the Malikites are partly in favour and partly contrary to penal sanctions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nohra |first=Fouad |date=1 December 2014 |title=Pouvoir politique, droits fondamentaux et droit à la révolte : la doctrine religieuse face aux processus révolutionnaires dans le monde arabe |url=http://journals.openedition.org/revdh/922 |journal=Revue des droits de l'homme |issue=6 |doi=10.4000/revdh.922 |issn=2264-119X |doi-access=free |access-date=13 October 2023 |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006041230/http://journals.openedition.org/revdh/922 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 1995 the Muslim Medical Doctors Conference in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) reasserted that euthanasia (not better defined) goes against the principles of Islam; this is also valid in the military context, prohibiting a seriously wounded soldier from committing suicide or asking other soldiers to kill him out of pity or to avoid falling into enemy hands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gurcum |first1=Banu Hatice |last2=Ozcan |first2=Nazan |title=Searching for Form in Textile Art with Traditional Cit Weaving |date=31 August 2016 |journal=Idil Journal of Art and Language |volume=5 |issue=24 |doi=10.7816/idil-05-24-10 |issn=2146-9903|doi-access=free }}</ref>