Disabled Peoples’ Right to Life: Dispute over a Fate Worse than Death

Disability is at the heart of discussions about right to life. Many disability advocacy Groups have adopted positions against the legal acceptance of right to life on the grounds that persons with disabilities constitute a vulnerable population who suffer from lack of access to resources and health care, are encouraged to think of themselves as a burden to society, and are often pressured to choose death even when not mentally competent to do so. But the authors of the present article believe that the vulnerability argument dismissed the degree of actual suffering tolerated by individuals who would seriously pursue legal grounds of right to life to end their unbearable pain. It is condemning the most suffering, to exist in their misery with no escape. This writing reviews some of the challenging medico-legal issues and concerns in legalizing right to life for the disabled afflicted with terminal illness. Islamic viewpoints, medico-legal decision makings, failure in health care systems in this regard are all discussed. Finally, the authors posed some suggestions for the process of decision making to be legally valid.