Is it ever morally right to kill someone? Perhaps in self-defence, when there is an unwanted unborn child, in terms of euthanasia or is it simply NEVER right? Following on from a student based discussion where we asked our fellow peers if they think it is right or wrong to kill someone, I would like to get a wider opinion by asking you, our blogging audience, on your views. I would like to ask you whether you think it is right or wrong to kill someone based on what I have to say by commenting below the blog.
Should one have the right to decide on life and death? There
are a number of factors that people may think about when killing or attempting
to kill somebody, are they protecting themselves, will this be for the greater
good for everyone else, are they putting someone out of misery? But then again
they may not think, they may not think about the people whom they are hurting
by this action, what good could possibly come out of it, are they even in their
right state of mind? All these factors must come into consideration when
looking into if it is ever right to kill someone.
When an individual is put under pressure to protect themselves
or others, could this be under the right circumstance when killing someone is
right? When in a situation such as a violent attack, where the only chance of
survival is to kill the attacker, could killing be deemed as right? In an alarming
situation it would be ones initiative to put them self before anyone else and
save them self from death, but when all is said and done, the initial victim
whom has killed could be deemed as a murderer and face prosecution, so does
this seem ethically right?
What about the idea of the death penalty? The death penalty is
the execution of one’s life as a punishment for a crime they have committed. This
would prevent criminals reoffending and give justice for the crime they
committed, however will taking the criminals life really make up for action committed,
what if they got the wrong person, should the criminal have the right to redeem
themselves? Should the death penalty be introduced in the UK as a form of
justice for criminals, encouraging others not to make the same crimes? Is it
right to kill a killer? Do two wrongs make a right in this sense, or should
criminals be able to live a life in confinement?
Euthanasia, another form of killing someone, has been a
widely discussed subject for years; it is the ending of one’s life that is in
incredible amounts of pain that cannot bear to suffer any longer. Can euthanasia
be justified; if an individual is never going to get better should they be
allowed to end their life? Could it help or hinder those close to them to move
on and prevent them seeing that person in pain? An issue that arises in
euthanasia is if the person is in the right state of mind to make the important
decision of whether or not to end their life, but if not could they take
actions to end their own life anyway? Letting someone die in not as much pain
could be better for them and the people around them, but should they be allowed
to make the decision to be killed? Should euthanasia be allowed to help people,
or is it simply not right as a way of killing someone?
There are so many debates which stem the rightness or
wrongness of killing someone, but who makes the decisions on what is right or
wrong? If everyone has different opinions, then to each self we are all morally
right as we all have our own set of moral values, but how far is too far when
it comes to the decision making of whether its right or wrong to kill someone?
From the points I have made, and from others that you may
know of, do you think it is ever right to kill somebody?
Please leave your comments in response to this ethical
issue.
C
C
