Abstract
At the mention of death an avalanche of human emotions are educed and the air of conservativeness surrounding death compels an instinctive reluctance to dwell on the subject. But to speak of death as ‘a right’ bespeaks an abnormality for which views of highly volatile and controversial nature have been expressed on the parlance of legal, ethical, religious and pragmatic considerations. The concept of death by consent has been viewed differently in various jurisdictions, but these views are informed by atypical contexts peculiar to each jurisdiction. What is clear is that most jurisdictions around the globe maintain a conservative standpoint on the question of the right to die. This work, through a doctrinal methodology, examined the concept of death by consent (euthanasia) and its historical antecedents. A deeper analysis of the Nigerian context was done and it was suggested that legalizing euthanasia in Nigeria will open a floodgate of significant unintended consequences for which it is considered imprudent to give constitutional backing to euthanasia in Nigeria.
Authors: Patricia Izuka Tom, Dauda Momodu
