As Malta considers legalising euthanasia, I feel a duty to speak up – not just as a medical student but as a citizen concerned about where this decision could lead us as a nation. This is not just a medical or legal issue. It is a question that touches our values, our families and the very purpose of healthcare.
From the very beginning of medical training, doctors are taught to protect life. This is not just a personal opinion but a principle that goes back thousands of years.
The Hippocratic Oath, one of the oldest medical promises in history, clearly states:
“I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest such counsel.”
After the horrors of World War II, when medicine had been abused for terrible purposes, the World Medical Association reaffirmed this duty with the Declaration of Geneva. Doctors worldwide pledge to: “Maintain the utmost respect for human life” (World Medical Association, 2017).
Today, the World Medical Association strongly opposes euthanasia. It has declared it unethical, warning that doctors should never be involved in deliberately ending life. This is because medicine’s mission is to heal, comfort and care, not to kill.
Euthanasia involves intentionally ending a person’s life, usually through lethal medication, to supposedly relieve suffering. While this might sound like an act of kindness at first, the reality is much more complicated and dangerous.
Countries like Belgium and the Netherlands were among the first to legalise euthanasia.
What started as a ‘last resort’ for terminally ill patients quickly expanded far beyond that. Today, people in these countries can request euthanasia for psychiatric conditions such as depression, PTSD or anxiety. So can minors as young as 12, as well as adults who simply feel they have ‘nothing left to live for’, including loneliness or fear of being a burden.
Studies published in respected medical journals like JAMA Psychiatry have shown how these laws have expanded over time. Safeguards meant to protect the vulnerable have often been stretched or ignored.
When people face serious illness or disability, they often struggle emotionally. They may feel hopeless, scared, or believe their life no longer has value. In these moments of deep emotional pain, some might see death as the only way out.
But mental health experts tell us that these feelings can often be treated. When people receive counselling, social support and proper medical care, many change their minds about wanting to die. Ending their life during this vulnerable time risks making a permanent decision based on temporary emotions.
Another danger is family pressure. Some patients might feel guilty for “burdening” their loved ones – emotionally, physically or financially. They might choose euthanasia not because they truly want to die, but because they feel obligated to “get out of the way”.
This kind of pressure is subtle but very real. In societies that legalise euthanasia, people may start to feel like they have a “duty to die” once they become old, sick or dependent on others.
As pointed out in recent discussions in the UK, proving such coercion is incredibly difficult because it often depends not on what is said, but on what is left unsaid. British MP Diane Abbott reportedly described this challenge by asking: “How do you prove coercion – not by what you say but by what you don’t say?” This highlights the legal and ethical dilemma: How can lawmakers or doctors reliably detect silent emotional pressure or feelings of obligation that are never voiced?
Disability rights groups have strongly opposed euthanasia for this very reason. They warn that it sends a dangerous message – that life with disability is not worth living. In fact, many people with disabilities live full, meaningful lives with the right support. Legalising euthanasia risks pushing them toward death rather than investing in their care and dignity.
Let’s be honest, healthcare is expensive, especially for those who require long-term care. Euthanasia is far cheaper than providing months or years of medical, emotional and social support.
This raises a worrying question: Could euthanasia one day become a ‘cost-saving’ option in overstretched healthcare systems?
If that happens, the most vulnerable – those who need care the most – could be pressured into seeing death as their only choice. That is not the kind of society we should want to build.
Doctors and nurses enter healthcare to save lives, not to end them. Legalising euthanasia puts medical professionals in a deeply uncomfortable position. Some may feel forced to participate against their conscience, risking burnout, moral injury and loss of trust in their profession.
Patients might also start to doubt whether doctors really have their best interests at heart, especially if euthanasia becomes normalised.
Thankfully, there is a better, more ethical alternative –palliative care. This is a specialised form of medical care for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on relieving pain, managing symptoms and supporting emotional, social and spiritual well-being.
The World Health Organisation defines palliative care as an approach that “improves the quality of life” for patients and their families. It does not try to shorten life or prolong suffering, but helps people live with dignity until the natural end comes.
Malta should invest in making high-quality palliative care available to everyone – not only in hospitals but also in homes, communities and hospices. This is how we can truly support people through life’s hardest moments.
Malta has always stood for life, family and human dignity. We have a proud tradition of caring for the vulnerable and protecting human life from the very beginning to its natural end.
Legalising euthanasia would cross a dangerous line. It would send the wrong message – that some lives are no longer worth living and that ending life is a form of care. I believe Malta is better than that.
Hopefully, as a future doctor, I hope to stand beside my patients in their suffering, not give up on them. True compassion means offering hope, providing care and defending dignity – not offering death as the solution.
Life is precious. Let Malta continue to stand for life – not death.
Miguel VassalloMiguel Vassallo is a medical student.