Euthanasia

Introduction

I believe in the practice of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition. Arguments against euthanasia include that people believe it is morally wrong to practice assisted suicide. They believe that if we are sanctioned to kill terminally ill or dying patients, nothing stops us from killing other social burdens: defective, deformed, retarded, insane, etc. There are at least three points that support euthanasia. (Borry, 240)

Euthanasia

First of all, the matter of dying is an individual's own decision. Second, dying with dignity has become an issue for many people across the world. Finally, there has been growing support in the community for euthanasia. When deciding on when to end your own life, different factors must be considered. If your illness has no possibility to be cured, euthanasia may be the answer. On the other hand, your family may be punished if they helped you, but they can always fight the courts (Barnard, 24). People should not be obliged to live unwillingly. This is especially true when it is for an indefinite period. Also it is not right for the person to be in a state, which is a travesty of humanity. It should be up to an individual to make their own decision regarding their death. Lael Wertenbaker, a physicist, said, “The individual is the best judge of how long his death should be held back (Borry, 240).” If we are unhappy, we are the first ones to know it. Other people are not in your shoes and do not know what you are going through.

Dying with dignity has become a major controversy concerning the general public. A leading number of officials have commented on euthanasia. Sir George Thomson, a Nobel Laureate in physics, spoke about euthanasia in New York. He stated that people generally agreed that doctors could use enough drugs to deaden pain, even though it would hurry death (Mannes, 94-95). This basically means that rushing death is okay, as long as people no longer feel the pain. That is not true for a majority of the people. At a conference, Governor McCall of Oregon argued that dying with dignity was a conscious decision to not be put on life-support and to not take medicine that prolongs suffering (Borry, 240).

Euthanasia has gained encouragement recently. Surveys conducted by the Hemlock Society have been showing more and more support for euthanasia, especially in Michigan, Washington, and Colorado (Hemlock Society, 1). Apparently not only has the public been leaning towards euthanasia, but doctors have as well. “By a 43 to 29 percent margin, physicians do not feel the medical profession does an adequate job of treating pain (Hemlock Society, 2).” To add to that, a poll done by the American Medical Association showed that in physicians under the age of 45, more than half endorsed doctor assisted-dying (Barnard, 1). “Death is life's only certainty, whether it comes sooner or later, slowly or in the wink of an eye (Barnard, ...