Venice thrummed with life. But the issue on everyone's mind was death. The Room Next Door, the new film by celebrated Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, has poured fuel on a burning question: whether people should be allowed to end their lives via euthanasiaThe deliberate and painless ending of a life. .¹

Adapted from a novel by Sigrid Nunez, the film stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore as two old friends. Swinton's character Martha has terminal cancer. She asks Moore's Ingrid to be at her side as she takes a pill to end her life.

Critics have marvelled at the film's quiet beauty. The Guardian's Xan Brooks calls it "a lovely, mordant, tender affair", while The Times' Kevin Maher salutes its "intensely moving moments".

But the debate it ignites is more controversial. Euthanasia is an issue that divides countries, commentators and citizens. It is currently legal in 10 countries, but illegal almost everywhere else. In the UK, a doctor who administers a lethal injection can face 14 years in prison.²

Almodovar himself is a believer. He says that Martha's decision is "something we admire", and that "there should be the possibility to have euthanasia all over the world".³

Euthanasia supporters believe that those who face extreme pain should be able to end their suffering. They can face death with dignity, and spare family and friends the pain of witnessing a drawn-out end. Many also claim that our death belongs to us, and it should be our human right to end our life.

British TV personality and charity organiser Esther Rantzen has campaigned vigorously for a change in law. "What we terminally ill need," she said on Wednesday, "is to be allowed the hope that if life becomes intolerable, we can ask for help to leave it."

A majority in the UK agrees with her. A 2023 IpsosIpsos provides election research and forecasting services to help stakeholders navigate these events. poll found that 65% of respondents think assisted dying should be legal, with only 17% sure it should not. Meanwhile, 38% claim it is acceptable to break the law.

Yet not everyone is on board. Some doctors worry about the practicalities. Medic and peer Ilora Finlay says that legalising euthanasia could result in up to 58,000 assisted deaths a year. "Such demand would divert an already stretched workforce," she adds.

Others argue that euthanasia opens up a Pandora's box of ethical issues. Doctors in many countries currently swear a dedication, based on the Hippocratic OathAn ancient Greek ethical code for doctors still used by many medics today. In his new oath, Dr Jordan Shlain focuses on patient data and making medical language more accessible..⁴ This often asks them to respect human life and cause no harm to their patients.

Asking doctors to help people die could work against this. Hospitals are places, writes Dr Amy Profitt, "where lives are meant to be saved not ended ­prematurely". Doctors are not qualified to know whether people should die. Patients can make surprising recoveries.

Legal euthanasia also opens up the possibility that vulnerable people could be forced into ending their lives. It could be a slippery slope towards legal murder. People could coerce ill, older relatives to choose to die, in order to claim an inheritance. Governments could bring in policies that push certain groups, such as disabled people, to unwanted deaths.

One thing both sides agree on is that the current situation is ultimately unsustainable. It seems absurd that a British person cannot choose to die at home but can, if they have enough money, do so in Switzerland. But the solution to the problem could come through either more or fewer controls.

Should euthanasia be a human right?

Yes: It is ridiculous that our country can force people to stay alive against their wishes. The freedom to die is just as important to our dignity as humans as our freedom of speech and expression. Legalise it everywhere, now.

No: For something to be a human right, it has to be recognised around the world. But conversations around life and death are culturally specific. Not all societies are equipped to assess patients fairly or to offer painless deaths.

Or... People should control their deaths. Yet euthanasia gives doctors too much power over life and death. The sufferer should be in the driver's seat. A better approach would be to decriminalise those who assist with suicide.