Existence has no sanctity?

I was struck yesterday by a woman on radio 4 who was campaigning for the right to die when she used the words “existence has no sanctity.” This of course flies in the face of Christian anthropology.

While this point was obvious to me yesterday, I was humbled when chatting with a friend today about a radio interview I had just done on Euthanasia. My arguments were essentially that Euthanasia was:

1. Unnecessary – given that the real reason (unbearable pain) was rarely a necessary are likely event for the person concerned

2. Dangerous – in that all the evidence points to a slippery slope type effect in the Netherlands and Oregon.

3. Unbiblical – We are made in the image of God and while not vitalists (wanting people to live forever no matter what) we do hold that it is not a human right to end life prematurely simply because their life is deemed to be not worth living.

Here’s the thing. Why was this argument number three? On what grounds do we make our arguments? In one sense, by majoring on the first two I am conceding that were it necessary and not dangerous it would be okay. This is of course not my intention, and in fact I think there is some necessary pre-suppositional work to be done whoever you are speaking to so that things are properly understood. But still….