If you were terminally ill would you want to end your life? Euthanasia comes from a Greek meaning ‘pleasant death’ this is the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering. Euthanasia can be classified in different ways. Active Euthanasia is when a person deliberately ends someone’s life, for example by injecting them with a large dose of medication such as barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution. Passive euthanasia is where a person causes death withholding or with drawing treatment for instance antibiotics or chemotherapy.
Both Active Euthanasia and passive are illegal under the English Law. Euthanasia can be regarded as manslaughter or murder which is punishable and can have a maximum penalty up to a life imprisonment. Despite Euthanasia being illegal in most countries it is currently only legal in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. Laws in these countries are a persons life can be deliberately ended by their doctor or other health care professionals.
Euthanasia is against the law in the UK which means it is illegal to help anyone kill themselves. Although one in three doctors in the UK support a change in the law to legalise Euthanasia. Many people think Euthanasia is the right option to relieve them from suffering and everyone around them. An ethical argument that is supported by a lot of people is that human beings should have freedom of choice, which includes the right to control their own body and life. Nevertheless they should be able to choose when and how they die.
The concept ‘quality of life’ is important towards this argument it suggests that a life should only continue as long as a person feels their life is worth living. Author Terry Pratchett who was diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s, became a campaigner for assisted dying. “I would like to die peacefully with Thomas Tallis on my iPod before the disease takes me over and I hope that will not be for quite some time to come, because if I knew that | could die at any time I wanted, then suddenly every day would be as precious as a million pounds.
If I knew that I could die, I would live. My life, my death, my choice. ” By allowing people to choose how they die this guarantees they’ll live what remaining life they have to the fullest and most of all free from pain. Supporters of euthanasia believe that allowing people to ‘die with dignity’ is a kinder way than forcing them to continue their lives unhappy with suffering. There are many disturbing and upsetting things that can happen in your life. One that affects many people is watching family, loved ones and friends suffer.
Most people to this day would put down their pets if they knew their animal was suffering due to an injury or illness. Not that they wanted to but because their pet had no quality of life being in pain and it can be classed as the final act of kindness by a loving owner. Why should this be okay for animals but not humans? Watching a loved one in pain or horrifically suffering affects the person as well as family and friends. Sometimes the best thing for the person and people around them is to let them go. To stop the suffering.
Nevertheless if an owner can have the decision of ending an animal’s life then humans should have a right to ending their own life. There are many arguments against euthanasia. One of the big arguments against euthanasia is that it’s irreversible. Once the patient has passed away nobody will ever know if their unexpected recovery could have happened, or if they might have gone on to lead a good and happy life despite their illness. However if the person gives consent for euthanasia then they are ready to die. Why should a person have to wait to feel a little better?
They are still going to be ill, nevertheless they could possibly get worse and at some point they will die. Everyone dies. Which is why most people get euthanasia so they save there self a lot of pain, discomfort and most of all relieve there loved ones from seeing them unhappy. It as if they know when the timing is right. A man called Tony Nicolson who suffers from a ? locked in’ syndrome which left him paralyzed goes to court to try a see if he should be given the right to have someone help him to kill himself. This is his only hope.
His daughter Beth emotionally says ‘ripped the very core and essence out of him’: ‘He is forced to live an existence, trapped in a broken body, following someone else’s rules, rules that he cannot abide by ‘He is living a life he does not wish to live. This is pure torture for him. ‘ He has all the support from his family as this is what he wants. He cannot stand living in a body that does not work and having to get everything done for him and is stopping his loved ones from living there life as they have to look after him all the time. However, religious opponents have different opinions.
They believe that the right to decide when a person dies belongs to god. An opinion from Christians is ‘Everyone is created by God and offered salvation through Christ – killing is always wrong?. However an argument that disagrees with this is ‘God is love. Christianity is love and compassion. Keeping someone in pain and suffering is not loving, it is evil. Euthanasia can be the most loving action, and the best way of putting agape love into practice’. There are many different opinions from different people, different religions and different aspects of life.
