Modern and Youth Issues

What is the Sikh attitude to Euthanasia?

Sikhs would not encourage euthanasia as it is God who gives and takes life.

ਜਾ ਆਏ ਤਾ ਤਿਨਹਿ ਪਠਾਏ ਚਾਲੇ ਤਿਨੈ ਬੁਲਾਇ ਲਇਆ ||

“They come when the Lord sends them; when the Lord calls them back, they go.”

(Ang 907)

Suffering is part of human life and has a place in God’s scheme. Sikhs pray for the grace, strength and courage to endure and accept pain. One should accept what God gives as an expression of the divine will, however if a person is in a permanent vegetative state then to stop giving life-prolonging drugs would be considered as acceptable by most.