A sad story in the LA Times yesterday about a severely disabled woman in China who is asserting a right to die:

Confined to a rusty wheelchair and unable to control her muscles below
her neck, Li Yan seemed destined for nothing more than a short life of
pain and hopelessness.

Instead, the 29-year-old with muscular
dystrophy has been catapulted into the center of an ethical debate. Li,
fearing that her disease eventually will leave her in a helpless state,
used her blog in March to ask the National People’s Congress to
legalize her right to die.

"I don’t want to live with my brothers and sisters-in-law after my
parents’ death, let alone go to an orphanage or welfare institute,"
wrote Li, a rosy-cheeked woman with plump lips who can’t keep from
breaking into a smile even when discussing her most morbid wishes.

     The article points out that public opinion in China seems to be overwhelmingly in favor of euthanasia in this sort of case, where an individual is making a well-informed and rational decision about her own life.  What is interesting to me is the lack of philosophical support for the pro-euthanasia position in the classical texts of Confucianism and Taoism.

     Confucianism would tolerate euthanasia, but the decision-making process would be of the utmost importance.  For a Confucian, individual preference would not be sufficient grounds for such an action.  That is, the afflicted individual would not be recognized as fully autonomous and independent to decide whether to live or die.  Such a decision would have to include those people closest to the person wanting to die.  Thus, if the parents of the individual opposed euthanasia, then an active move to assist in the death of that individual would not be allowed.  Siblings, spouses, children and perhaps other close acquaintances might also have a certain moral standing in the decision-making process.  We are, in a Confucian perspective, social beings and thus determinations about the beginning or end of our lives must be made in social settings.

     Taoism would be less tolerant of the idea of euthanasia.  The distinction of "letting die" and "causing death" is key here.  Taoism, with its "do nothing" sensibility, would have no trouble refusing medical care and thus letting an individual who had a terminal illness succumb and die.  But a more active intervention that would cause death before it was "naturally" present would be resisted by Taoists: too much "doing".    Indeed, the very end of the Times story has a Taoist ring to it: although the disabled woman suffers in certain ways, there is a broader meaning and significance to her life:

Despite the outpouring of support, Li still says she’ll dedicate what
time she has left with her faculties intact to gaining the right to end
her life.

On a recent afternoon, she signed on to her online
instant messaging service linking her to 300 friends. A month ago, she
had 15. Her sign-on name is a line from a Chinese poem:

"The fragrance of a plum flower is conceived in the bitter cold."

Its message: To suffer is to grow.

"I feel really close to this idea," Li said.

 That reminds me of a line from Confucius:

The Master said: "Only after the seasons turn cold can we truly know the resolve of pine and cypress." (9.28).

      That might not be sufficient solace for Li Yan, but it suggests that she has her place, as valuable as any other place, in Way.