Even though intellectually we all realize that death is inevitable, instinctively we try our hardest to defer it as long as we could. Throughout the ages, scientists and physicians have made experiments and come up with better and more efficient therapies to strengthen our bodies and prolong our life’s expectation to the extent that man’s therapeutic tenacity renders our lives impossible either to recover or to die. In other words, the patients may continue to be alive artificially for quite some time without any quality of life.
Thai Lawyers differ in their opinions on the right to die. Whereas critics of euthanasia insist that any form of euthanasia is illegal because it is a crime and a breach to medical ethics, partisans of decriminalization of euthanasia always base their argument on the respect of “the right to die” as corollary to “the right to live” and “the right to dignity”. However, this “right to die with dignity” has not been debated enough in Thailand as it has been elsewhere.