背景介绍：
随着英国社会日益自由化，公众对多元价值观的接受度显著提升，包括同性婚姻合法化及无过错离婚的实施。在此背景下，安乐死议题逐渐进入公众视野，并引发广泛讨论。超过三分之二的英国民众支持安乐死合法化，认为这是个人自由的重要体现。多个地区已着手制定相关法律，而工党领袖亦表态支持，预示着英国或将迎来安乐死法律改革的新篇章。
The rights and
wrongs of assisted dying
安乐死的是与非
Britain’s next
great social reform is coming. Here’s how it should work
英国下一场伟大的社会改革即将到来。以下是它的运作方式
Britain has become a much more liberal country in
recent decades. In 1981 only 12% of Britons thought that homosexuality was
justifiable, according to the World Values Survey; in 2022 the figure was 66%. 近几十年来，英国变得更加自由化。根据世界价值观调查，1981 年只有 12% 的英国人认为同性恋是合理的；而在 2022 年，这一数字变为了 66%。Over the same period the proportion of people who were accepting of divorce rose from 18% to 64%. Where the public has led, politicians have followed: same-sex marriages were legalised in 2013; no-fault divorces became possible in 2022. That pattern may well be about to repeat itself with assisted dying.同期，接受离婚的人数比例从 18% 上升至 64%。在公众引领下，政客们也纷纷效仿：同性婚姻于 2013 年合法化；2022 年，无过错离婚成为可能。这种模式很可能在安乐死问题上重现。Over two-thirds of Britons support changing the law to
let someone help in the suicide of a person with a terminal illness. Assisted
dying has a good chance of getting on the statute book in the near future. 超过三分之二的英国人支持修改法律，允许有人帮助身患绝症的人自杀。安乐死很有可能在不久的将来被写入法律条文。Bills are already in progress on the Isle of Man, in Jersey and in Scotland. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is sympathetic and has promised a free vote among MPs if his party wins the next general election.马恩岛、泽西岛和苏格兰的法案已经在制定中。工党领袖基尔·斯塔默爵士对此表示认同，并承诺如果他的政党在下次大选中获胜，将在议员中进行自由投票。If The Economist had a vote, it would be unequivocally in favour. The case for assisted dying is, at its core, one of individual
freedom. Britons have the right to marry whom they want. They have the right to
roam. Through an obscure medieval law, some even have the right to drive sheep
across London Bridge. 如果让本刊投票，我们会毫不犹豫地投赞成票。从本质上讲，支持安乐死的理由是个人自由。英国人有权与任何想结婚的人结婚。他们有权漫步。根据一项晦涩难懂的中世纪法律，人们甚至有权赶着羊群穿过伦敦桥。They should have the right to choose the manner and timing of their death. The more complex question is what form an assisted-dying regime should take. That is not just to ensure safeguards against abuses, though it must undoubtedly do that. It is also to make sure that the law is not drawn too tightly.他们应该有权选择自己的死亡方式和时间。更复杂的问题是安乐死制度应该采取什么形式。这不仅仅是为了确保防止滥用行为的保障措施，尽管这无疑是必要的。还要确保法律不会过于严格。Britain is in many ways late to the issue (as are
countries like Ireland and France; a bill was presented to the French
cabinet this week). Belgium, the Netherlands, Oregon and Switzerland have had
assisted-dying laws for decades. 因种种原因，英国对这个问题都反应迟钝（爱尔兰和法国等国家也是如此；本周向法国内阁提交了一项法案）。几十年来，比利时、荷兰、俄勒冈和瑞士一直都有安乐死法律。Seventeen jurisdictions have passed laws since we argued in favour of legalisation in 2015. Although opponents of assisted dying have deeply held beliefs, and raise legitimate concerns, the actual experience of these many jurisdictions strengthens the arguments in its favour.自 2015 年我们主张合法化以来，已有 17 个司法管辖区通过了相关法律。尽管安乐死的反对者有根深蒂固的信仰，并提出了合理的担忧，但这些众多司法管辖区的实际经验加强了支持它的论据。Take concerns about coercion. Critics argue that no
regime could ever fully protect the vulnerable from relatives looking to claim
an inheritance, or indeed from a state seeking to cut health-care costs. Yet
the evidence suggests that cases of coercion are extremely rare. 以强制执行的顾虑为例。批评者认为，任何制度都无法完全保护弱势群体免受亲属寻求继承权或国家寻求削减医疗保健成本的影响。然而，有证据表明，胁迫案件极为罕见。The state should do its best to help people live well, whether through social support or palliative care, but if it cannot, those who truly wish to die should not be obliged to suffer. 国家应尽力帮助人们过上美好的生活，无论是通过社会支持还是姑息治疗，但如果做不到这一点，那些真正希望死亡的人就没有义务受苦。In places where an assisted death remains illegal, only those with money have the option to take matters into their own hands—on average one Briton a week travels to Switzerland to end their life there. The rights of hypothetically vulnerable patients are taking precedence over the rights of those who are actually in anguish.在安乐死仍然非法的地区，只有有钱人才能选择将事情掌握在自己手中——平均每周有一个英国人前往瑞士结束生命。假想中的弱势患者的权利优先于实际处于痛苦中的人的权利。Some critics say that assisted dying is a “slippery
slope”. If this is the fundamental reason for your opposition, you are pretty
much conceding the principle that there are indeed instances when it would be
right to help someone die—it’s the scope that is the problem. 一些批评者说，安乐死是一个“滑坡谬误”。如果这是你反对的基本原因，那么你几乎是在承认确实有帮助某人死亡是正确的情况的原则——问题在于范围。In any case experience suggests that no such slope exists. Although eligibility criteria for an assisted death have expanded in Belgium and the Netherlands, they have never done so in jurisdictions whose initial laws were restricted to terminally ill adults. 无论如何，经验表明，不存在这样的滑坡。尽管比利时和荷兰的安乐死资格标准有所扩大，但在初始法律仅限于身患绝症的成年人的司法管辖区，这种情况从未发生过。Canada’s decision to postpone the extension of assisted-dying laws to the mentally ill until 2027 shows that it is possible to press “pause”. True, the numbers of people seeking assisted deaths is increasing: they now make up 4% of all deaths in Canada and 5% in the Netherlands. 加拿大决定推迟将安乐死法律扩大到精神病患者，直到 2027 年，这表明可以按下“暂停”键。确实，寻求安乐死的人数正在增加：他们现在占加拿大所有死亡人数的 4%，荷兰占 5%。Yet if those higher figures are an expression of people’s desire to make use of a new freedom, as is overwhelmingly likely, they are a reason to pass laws, not to block them.然而，如果这些更高的数字是人们希望利用新自由的愿望的体现，这是极有可能的，那么它们就是通过法律的理由，而不是阻止它们的理由。unequivocally [ˌʌnɪˈkwɪvəklɪ] adv. 清楚明确地；毫不含糊地obscure [əbˈskjʊr] adj. 模糊的；晦涩的v. 遮蔽；隐藏coercion [koʊˈɜːrʒn] n. 强迫；威压anguish [ˈæŋɡwɪʃ] n. 极度痛苦；心灵的苦楚 v. 苦恼![]()
苏格拉底有一句名言：我知我无知。说的是，当你认识到的东西越多就越发现自己无知。苏格拉底认为，人对于客观世界的认识是有限的，且不可能完全认识客观世界，并且不应对客观世界刨根究底。神对于世界的规划自有安排，若人一意孤行地探索世界和自然的奥秘，则最终将亵渎甚至触怒神明。正因为人对神所构建的世界不可能实现完全认知，因此那些宣称自己能够认识和改造世界的人，本身便是无知的代言。尽管苏格拉底的关于“ 我知我无知”的观念的解读，在现在看来有失客观科学。但至少苏格拉底告诫人们，人的认知是有限的，现有的知识甚至可能存在错误和疏漏。同样地，我们在求学之路上也要报以我知我不知的心态，才能走得更远。最后，祝愿莘莘学子都能终有所成！
