Just as the morning glory blooms briefly under the gentle morning sun and the brilliant blue sky, so a human being achieves his best under favorable conditions, for a short time, in the ever-changing world. However, imagine a callous human trampling on the delicate bloom and the fragility of human life in the onslaught of science and medicine becomes evident.

The value and quality of life is a controversial subject in modern times. On one hand, there is war where thousands are murdered or killed and on the other, doctors fight to save a single life. Even in science, nuclear weapons with devastating powers of destruction are being developed at the same time scientists are desperately trying to find a cure for deadly diseases like Aids and cancer. Human beings cannot seem to decide whether to save or to take a life.

Almost all orthodox religions hold life as sacred and holy, something to be treasured. For example, Christians are supposed to see all people as their brothers and sisters. Yet, conflicts have erupted into violence in the religiously fanatic Ireland. What is the use of religions extolling the sanctity of life when their teachings are so quickly forgotten in the heat of growing conflict?

War is perhaps the most unjustified reason among all the factors to take a life. Here, it is seen that the basic human right to decide on one's life course is rudely snatched away, leaving only unfulfilled dreams and mutilated bodies. War is the most evident example of the abuse of power by a state body, violating every basic human right. Not only does it cause immediate death to soldiers and victims; the long-term effects on the psychological mindsets of future generations are great. For example, imagine if Germany had triumphed in World War II. Would the world's feelings of indignation and horror at the mass killing of Jews in the Holocaust have been replaced by the righteous justification that a detested race should be exterminated? Taking a life would then not be a crime as it is today.

Having seen the merciless killing and violence caused by groups of people in power, an examination of an individual's reason for taking a life should be made. Murder, abortion, suicide, euthanasia and human experimentation are all examples of lives taken on individual whims. Committing murder is a personal violation of another's rights that is like a war on a one-to-one basis. Death is imposed on the victim by the will of the murderer. To take a life this way is definitely wrong, but the strength of the provocation must be carefully considered. In some cases, the killer can be pardoned. The manslaughter sentence thus comes in useful in these cases.

In the medical profession too, there is the same controversy over the justification of taking a life. Traditionally, the main function of doctors is to preserve life. However, some doctors are beginning to put more emphasis on another aspect of the Hippocratic Oath instead of that of preserving life. This formally insignificant point is the easing of pain. Thus arises the new forms and ideology of medicine of which abortion, euthanasia and human organ transplantation are some examples.

Abortion looks to the easing of the mental 'pain' of the patient of bearing an unwanted child and to a smaller extent, that of the unborn foetus of being born to an unloving family. The life of the foetus is determined by the mother and can be terminated at her will. The right of the foetus versus the mother's come into question in this issue. Many pro-life organizations have sprung up to protest against the legislation of this aspect of medical practice, however, considering the 'pain' of the mother, many states still legalized it. Despite mostly losing the fight against the legalization of abortion, these organizations do succeed in emphasizing and increasing society's awareness of the importance of life and human rights.

Euthanasia, another greatly argued issue everywhere, is the assisted death with or without the will of the individual. If euthanasia is applied at the will of the patient at the recommendation of the doctor to relieve the former of further pain and suffering, then it is justifiable. However, some groups of people like the Nazi party and German doctors before WWII , had committed unpardonable wrongs. They had singled out physically and mentally handicapped people as burdens to society to be exterminated to preserve the purity of the German race. The taking of a life perceived to be unworthy sees the abuse of trust and power by influential people. It also set a dangerous precedence of upsetting the delicate balance between human perception of life and death.

Human organ transplantation seems, on the surface to be pro-life. Yet, many times, the only ways of obtaining suitable organs is through the accident victims and illegal means. Sometimes, an accident victim is pronounced brain dead and the family asked for the donation of his organs. The patients in these cases are kept on life-support machines until the decision is made. This case is unique as it shows a possibility of the taking of life of one to give hope and life to another. Perhaps, if the victim is already brain-dead and can never wake up again, it might not be so wrong to end his life so as to give another a chance to live. The illegal transaction of organs however, is not acceptable. This is because often, these transactions are between the very poor and the very wealthy, and somehow reinforces the misguided notion that the rich have more rights, and this should not be so.

Society's perception of life and death has also been greatly influenced by political forces, besides the medical and scientific forces. For example, Japanese soldiers and civilians might have thought that the taking of life in the process of conquest is inevitable and not wrong. The indoctrination by the then government and military forces was so deeply ingrained that the line between life and death had become vague and judgement no longer sound or reasonable.

At the end, perhaps the only wrong thing about taking a life is whether the individual is a willing party. Otherwise, the violation of human rights in the forced taking of lives is definitely wrong.