EUTHANASIA AND MANAGEMENT OF HOPELESS PATIENTS.. Islamic review*

 

Layth Y.I. “Mula-Hussain”*

 

ABSTRACT

Objectives: *1. Clarifying the idea of Euthanasia, its forms, spread and application in addition to showing its philosophy and Islamic judgment. *2. Clarifying the physician’s attitude towards the cases that cannot be recovered according to His Almighty’s approaches in causes and consequences.

Methods: A theoretical study of some of the Western, Arabic and Islamic literatures relevant to the topic.

Presentation: Euthanasia came from a Greek words “Eu=good & thanatos=death”. and it was categorized into four main types: Active Euthanasia (and its three subtypes), Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), Active in the median term Euthanasia, & Passive Euthanasia.

After the term definition & forms, We have then demonstrated the way this idea was first developed in the western environment by depending on the philosophy of the school of the instrumental thought which views the evaluation of the ethics of any work to be in the light of its consequences not the means or the principles, and also in the light of the idea of self personality. Later on, Judgment of Islamic Sharee’a (Jurisprudence) concerning this new matter has been put forward by setting out basically from God’s rule in his creatures and by distinguishing between its forms & images, between what can be & what cannot be.

The subject concludes by highlighting the physician’s attitude towards the hopeless patients by setting out from the Islamic, humanitarian & medical principles.

Recommendations: (FAIR)

1. Full Refusal of Euthanasia Act, unless it is of the passive type (with these conditions: when there is no intension for killing the patient; & the physician continues on the usual nutrition and care of the patient, but he/she will not resuscitate the patient if the latter will pass into death).

2. Assistance, in financial, moral and medical care, to those sufferers, with painful hopeless diseases.

3. Instruction, by establishing medical committees of different specialties to decide the type of treatment for every case: from intensive to palliative. And through establishing different NGOs & social groups, that work to discourage euthanasia act, and support the patients; medically, psychologically, & financially.  

4. Renewed medical education to promote the medical profession to the highest possible levels, so as to uncover its unknowns & secrets.

 

 

 

*This material presented originally under name of “Rapid Remarks On Euthanasia And Management Of Hopeless Patients” in the “World Cancer Congress”, organized by UICC, Washington DC, USA, 8-12 July 2006 (the abstract presented as Poster presentation & published in WCC book, See

http://2006.confex.com/uicc/uicc/techprogram/P3060.HTM), here the material is re-reviewed & re-updated and edited for 1st International Oncology conference in Basrah.

**Senior Resident, Radiation Oncology Dept., King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan.

Correspondence: Radiation Oncology Dept., King Hussein Cancer Center, P.O.Box: 1269, Amman 11941, JORDAN. Tel: +962 796 817 813  Email: lmulahussain@aol.com