Euthanasia - is it a constitutional possibility in light of article 6 of the Namibian constitution?

Abstract

Abstract provided by author:

Having given a general introduction to the euthanasia debate, the paper proceeds into the legal aspects of euthanasia. This will entail an examination of the legal development of euthanasia in South Africa. It will provide the reader with an idea as to the law that is required to regulate euthanasia. Because of the legal history between South Africa and Namibia, the legal developments in South Africa are considered to have an impact on the law reform in Namibia, therefore the South African proposed bill on the legalization of euthanasia will be discussed

Since the South African law is merely a bill, it is considered imperative to look at a statute that is in operation. Thus, this paper will discuss the content of the statute that legalized euthanasia in the Netherlands. Furthermore, in order to determine whether the legalization of euthanasia is a discernable trend internationally, the regulation of euthanasia in other jurisdictions will be looked at, and these countries are the United States of America, Australia and Canada

Having looked at the regulation of euthanasia in other jurisdictions the paper will focus on the legal position of euthanasia in Namibia and examine whether it is a constitutional possibility in light of Article 6 of the Namibian Constitution. Constitutional interpretation will be used as an aid in determining whether euthanasia is unconstitutional or not

For comparative purposes, experiences in other countries with regard to the interpretation of the right to life will also be looked at, namely Canada and India, because of the similarity between the Canadian and Indian Bill of rights to that of Namibia

The paper will conclude by stating whether the legalization of euthanasia is a discernable trend internationally and furthermore whether euthanasia is a constitutional possibility in Namibia in light of Article 6 of the Namibian Constitution