The moral significance of euthanasia is inevitably connected with the way that we understand the value of life and what it is to uphold and protect that value. As the argument unfolds I shall argue that on a particular understanding of the value of life, voluntary euthanasia as conventionally understood is morally and should be legally permissible. I shall end by suggesting that the real problem of euthanasia, its scale and also its real horror is not only misunderstood but largely ignored.

I shall concentrate on the moral arguments and I will largely ignore what I call practical questions. It is sometimes suggested that if voluntary euthanasia were to be legalised, this would inevitably lead to involuntary euthanasia. Similarly it has been said that the legal possibility of euthanasia will put pressure on those who are old or terminally ill to ‘opt’ for euthanasia and that the knowledge that doctors will perform euthanasia will undermine confidence in the medical profession. These questions are important but I have no space for them here. I believe, however, that if euthanasia is in principle morally acceptable, these practical questions are soluble with good will and care.