Do persons have an inalienable right to hire another person (a doctor, or a non-doctor) to kill them? If Right is the correlative of duty and wherever one has a right due to him, some other must owe him a duty, then who is it who owes a duty to that person, and what is the duty?
If persons have an inalienable right to hire a contract killer for such purposes, is the contract assignable?
If the right is inalienable, do minors have the right to enter into such contracts?
Cordially,
Being of sound mind, and holding legal capacity to enter into legal contracts, Yes, they do.
If Right is the correlative of duty and wherever one has a right due to him, some other must owe him a duty, then who is it who owes a duty to that person, and what is the duty?
I don't accept the premise that a person's rights obligate a duty upon another person. One's right to take one's own life does not create an obligation for another person to kill him, any more than a person's right to own property obligates an individual to sell him a house.
Rights are action that when taken, do not infringe upon the rights of another. Killing oneself in no way infringes upon others rights.
Of course, two individuals can voluntarily enter a legal contract, obligating a physician to perform certain services (including euthanasia) in exchange for some consideration. There is no difference between this and any other contract, and I don't see any need to explain contract law here.
If persons have an inalienable right to hire a contract killer for such purposes, is the contract assignable?
IMO, only if specified in the original contract and agreed to in advance by both parties.
If the right is inalienable, do minors have the right to enter into such contracts?
No. Minors have unalienable rights, however they are held in proxy by their parent or guardian until the minor becomes of legal age to exercise them. Minors lack capacity to enter into contracts of any kind. A child's parents can exercise the child's rights, but only in their child's best interests. Should a child be terminally ill and needlessly suffering with no real hope of recovery or pain treatment, a parent who has consent from the child could theoretically assert the child's legal right to euthanasia. In such rare cases, great care and supervision should be exercised to ensure that the parent is acting in the best interests of the child.