Death. Everyone fears it, resent
the thought of it happening to them or to any of the people close to them. Most
of us probably don’t want to die, yet if you are given the opportunity to
choose death what would you do? Imagine yourself in a death threatening medical
condition and are suffering unbearable pain everyday. Would you still choose to
keep on living? Incurable, painful disease and irreversible coma are two ways
in which living can be worse than dying. In these cases, we might say life is
not worth living. The practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve
a pain and suffering is called Euthanasia. It has already been legalized in
countries such as Belgium , Luxemburg , Netherlands
and some parts in the United
States . Basically Euthanasia should be legalized
for the following reasons, Human beings have the right to die when and how they
want to, the never ending medical resources which are wasted on dying patients
and the concern for their quality of life while being in care.
First
of all, deciding if you want to be alive or not is a personal decision. Neither
the doctors nor the government has the power to decide if you should live or
not. Since it is not their life and they are not in your situation, they cannot
make that kind of decision for you. It might sound like suicide but again, that
is our problem and not theirs. They give us the liberty to decide our job, our
family, our religion, and even our sex preference. Why should they not give us
the right to decide if we want to live or not? It is not logical that we can
choose in all those other decisions if we cannot first choose to live or die. “In...cases where there are no dependants
who might exert pressure one way or the other, the right of the individual to
choose should be paramount. So long as the patient is lucid, and his or her
intent is clear beyond doubt, there need be no further questions” (The
Independent, March 2002). “Total
percentage of medical practitioners that support Euthanasia is 54% and Percentage
of public who support euthanasia for the terminally ill/on life support is 86%”(Gallup
Poll, Angelfire, Nightingale Alliance, 2012). Euthanasia is not about giving
rights to the person who dies but, instead, is about changing the law and
public policy so that doctors, relatives and others can directly and
intentionally end another person's life. People do have the power to commit
suicide. Suicide and attempted suicide are not criminalized. Suicide is a
tragic, individual act. Euthanasia is not about a private act. It's about
letting one person facilitate the death of another (International task force on
euthanasia, 2012).
Next
is the economic factor. “As soon as he
goes beyond 60-65 years of age man lives beyond his capacity to produce, and he
costs society a lot of money…euthanasia will be one of the essential instruments
of our future societies” (Attali, 2003). Many times people do not have
enough money to pay for the needed medical care not knowing if the patient is
going to get any better. In a way, they are just wasting time and money on a
situation that won’t get better. If the patient wants euthanasia, why not just do
it if they cannot end the huge amount of money wasted on a treatment which in
most cases prolongs their lifespan but still causes pain and suffering. Furthermore
in less developed countries there is a shortage of health resources. As a
result some people who are ill and could be cured are not able to get immediate
access to the facilities they need for treatment. At the same time health
resources are being used on people who cannot be cured and who, for their own
reasons would prefer not to continue living. Allowing such people to commit
euthanasia would not only let them have what they want, it would free valuable
resources to treat people who want to live. Today’s hospitals are overcrowded
and have too many patients. United
States alone has 124.9 million emergency
visits in 2008, Four out of five were treated and released, while 18.5% had
illnesses serious enough to warrant admission. About 93.7% of those released
were discharged home, the remainder left against medical advice, were
transferred to another acute care facility or went to another type of long-term
or immediate care facility. Some of these died, or were referred to home health
or psychiatric care. Some argue that they should let those die that do not have
a chance of living on. In that way there could be more room for patients with
diseases that can be cured (Clark , 2010).
Finally the basic reason why euthanasia should be practiced is because it stops the
person from having a bad quality of life. To begin with a familiar type of
situation, a patient who is dying of incurable cancer of the throat is in
terrible pain, which can no longer be cured. He is certain to die within a few
days, even if present treatment is continued, but he does not want to go on
living for those days since the pain is unbearable. So he asks the doctor for an
end to it, and his family joins in the request. What is wrong with that? His
suffering wouldn’t be prolonged needlessly and his agony would be erased along
with his family’s agony. Even if doctors could offer the patient any kind of
treatment or options, it is the patient who should decide how he wants to live
his life. The point is that the process of being "allowed to die" can
be relatively slow and painful, whereas being given a lethal injection is
relatively quick and painless. The doctors are paid so he can do the best he
can. Helping us in having a better quality of life is about giving the patient
what’s best for him as long as he wants it. The kind of quality of life is
defined by the patient, not the doctor or government. “Consequently when the
patient feels he is not getting the quality of life he wants, the least a
doctor can do is to grant him what he wants. If the patient’s decision is to
die, so be it” (Baack, 2010).
Now
there are many counter arguments for Euthanasia, involving religions, nation’s
laws, the immorality of killing another human being, etc. But actually
Euthanasia is not about murdering people or things alike, it’s giving people
and their families a choice. To shorten their suffering and pain while relieving
them from the thought of death and medical cost, or to prolong their sadness
with the inevitable outcome of death. In the end, it’s their choice.
References:
-
Rachels, J. (1975). Active and passive euthanasia. THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, 292, 78-80. Retrieved
from http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/pecorip/scccweb/etexts/deathanddying_text/Active
and Passive Euthanasia.pdf
-
Clark, C. (2010, 11 19). Soaring ed visits cause
hospital overcrowding. HealthLeaders Media Online, Retrieved from http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/QUA-259265/Soaring-ED-Visits-Cause-Hospital-Overcrowding
-
Poll, G., , A., & Alliance , N. (2012, 03 23). Euthanasia
statistics. Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/euthanasia-statistics/
- Pro euthanasia arguments. (2012, 02 14). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/infavour/infavour_1.shtml
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