To Be, or Not to Be, - that is the Question ~ Euthanasia and Voluntary Assisted Dying

As Hamlet wrestled with this question of ‘to be or not to be’ (Act 3 scene 1), he was debating, in his own mind, whether to commit suicide or not. What were the pros and cons of killing himself, remembering that in Shakespeare’s day attempting to commit suicide (called ‘self-murder’ in those days) was declared illegal by the State and regarded as a mortal sin by the Church? This question, therefore, had serious moral implications, not only for Hamlet himself but also for Shakespeare’s sensitive Elizabethan audiences. Still today, one of the ongoing debates in societies around the world, is whether laws should be passed, or existing laws changed, to make euthanasia and voluntary assisted dying legal. The language has changed, but not the issues.