The Value of Human Life a Divine Right in the Judicial European Space Pros and Cons of Euthanasia

• Author: Ana Alina Ionescu Dumitrache, Nelu Gheorghi??
• Position: Senior Lecturer, PhD, Faculty of Law, Danubius University of Galati, Romania/Student, 4th Year, Faculty of Law, Danubius University of Galati, Romania
• Pages: 382-392

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2020

382

The Value of Human Life a Divine Right in the

Judicial European Space Pros and Cons of Euthanasia

Ana Alina Ionescu Dumitrache1, Nelu Gheorghiță2

Abstract: Respect fullness for every person’s right to life and human dignity can be found in most of the

great religions and ideologies throughout the world. The right to life is a fundamental human right, for it

is a divine gift, which, by its importance, surpasses the sphere of personal interest, making it relevant for

the whole society. Euthanasia or the recognition of the right to death is considered a very delicate subject,

with many pros and cons opinions and which requires an approach on multiple directions: religious,

medical, social and judicial. Therefore, in this article I will try to show that life is of utmost importance to

humans and also why christianism saw d eath as a normality, like a part of life, that death represents a

moment and not a final stage. Moreover, we will assess th e position of a European legislator regarding

the right to die, knowing that the Romanian legislator is in the position of absolute rejection towards

euthanasia practices, and the new Criminal Code – Law nr. 287/2009 stipulates the act of murder upon

the victim’s request as a lesser form of murder, so resubmitting the tradition existing in our national law,

this conduct being criminalized by prior art. nr. 468 of the 1936 Criminal Code.

Keywords: human life; euthanasia; European Court of Human Rights; palliative care

1. The Human Life – Gift of God

The human life has an intrinsic value. The human was created in God’s image and as a result, human

life has dignity, sanctity and is inviolable.

Christian teaching and especially the orthodox one, defines the man as starting from the purpose for

which he was created by God, namely to reach the likeness of God, or more briefly deification.

(Losky, 1993, p. 95).

The human has a unique position in the Universe and sits between two worlds, the spiritual and

unbodied world on one side, and the material world of nature, on the other. But what makes the man

differ from those two is that he englobes both of them in himself. (Evdokimov, 1996, p. 89).

The human is a person, and when we say this, we refer to the fact that he is just a fragment of material,

an individual element of nature, like the individual elements of nature are, an atom, a wheat ear, a fly,

an elephant. The man is truly an animal and an individual, but not like the others. A man is an

individual who is guided by his own intelligence and will, through knowledge and through love. In

philosophical terms we can say that in the human flesh and bones there is a soul which is worth more

1 Senior Lecturer, PhD, Faculty of Law, Danubius University of Galati, Romania, Address: 3 Galati Blvd., Galati 800654,

Romania, Tel.: +40372361102, Corresponding author: soosalina@univ-danubius.ro.

2 Student, 4th Year, Faculty of Law, Danubius University of Galati, Romania, Address: 3 Galati Blvd., Galati 800654,

Romania, Tel.: +40372361102, E-mail: g_nelu1972@yahoo.com.