Medical technology today has seen its fair share of dispute between the science/research industries and the Church. Objectively, one must consider posing the question "how far?" How far are we as humanity prepared to exhaust our God-given rights and manipulate our destiny? The answer to this question is quickly rebutted by some, namely scientists, as "we have the technology, why not use it". The problem is, however, that most of these scientists don't believe in God, and so the "God-given right" approach simply does not hit home. Considering 3 billion people in this world live on less than $2 a day thus don't care about genetics, a great social divide in 1st world countries is imminent: stick to the church, or take the risk of launching humanity into the future, an abyss of uncertainty, relying on a small group of scientists to decide the fate of the rest of us. .
Euthanasia is defined as "the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment." .
Although, technically not considered as a "medical technology" because it doesn't involve any sophisticated laboratory work and merely a simple lethal injection, euthanasia creates controversy because it is an act whereby one "artificially disrupts the natural course of his/her life" . The Vatican strongly condemns euthanasia as killing, a direct disobedience of The Lord's Fifth Commandment: "Thou Shalt Not Kill". This is taken further by hardline Christian fundamentalists: "Every human being has an "immortal" soul, the welfare of which is in the hands of God alone. No-one has the right to end another human being's life prematurely." .
Islamic beliefs are very similar to Christian. According to a translation of the Qu"ran provided by islamicmedicne.org, "It is not imperative on Muslims to seek remedy, except in life-saving situation, and where the illness is infectious and is going to affect the community e.