 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Some years ago, in the English House of Lords, a bill was introduced to legalize euthanasia in cases of painful and incurable disease. The patient's consent was to be necessary, as well as several medical certificates. To me, in my simplicity, it would seem natural to require the patient's consent, but the late Archbishop of Canterbury, the English official expert on Sin, explained the erroneousness of such a view.
The patient's consent turned euthanasia into suicide, and suicide is sin. Their Lordships listened to the voice of authority and rejected the bill.
Source: Bertrand Russell : Unpopular Essays, 1950, chaptre 7: An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish, p.87 (= Unwin Paperbacks)
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