Voluntary Euthanasia and the Inalienable Right to Life

A definition of "the right to life" is followed by explanations of the distinctions between discretionary & mandatory rights, indefeasible & inalienable rights, & waiving & relinquishing rights. An argument is presented in support of the thesis that the right to life, properly interpreted, is an inalienable discretionary right. When one chooses to die, one is not renouncing or alienating one's right to life; rather one is acting on that right by exercising it in one way rather than another. The right to die, in short, can be reconciled with the inalienability of the right to live. AA.