Does the Right to Life include the Right to Die?

Abstract

The right to life is a fundamental and absolute human right, which, through its importance, goes beyond the sphere of personal interest, having relevance for the whole society. In a generalized context, it includes in its structure all the other rights, but also duties recognized to man. The right to life is portrayed as having two dimensions: a minimum content and a maximum content. Stricto sensu, the right to life protects the human being against harm to his or her bodily integrity by another person, and is therefore primarily a prohibition on killing another being. Lato sensu, the right to life is an expression that designates the set of rights that are attributed to living beings in general and people in particular. It is important to determine when the protection of the right to life begins, which in various laws of the European States leads to the criminalization or noncriminalization of the act of abortion and also to the determination of the content of this right, in order to determine whether it includes the right to die. Marginally, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights has ruled on this alleged right, challenging its existence, but not unanimously. What are the limits of this right if it were recognized? Is there such a right or not, and if so, can it be accepted that death is only one side of the right to life? In the following analysis we will try to identify certain questions to which we should look for an answer, in order to reach a conclusion: Does the right to life include the right to die?