Euthanasia: Suffering and Powerful Pain Relief
One of the reasons that some people believe that euthanasia is morally okay is that if people with a terminal illness want to die, you should let them. Others will argue that life is a gift from God and that another human shouldn’t interfere with God’s will even if they are begged to help. An example of this is in the Bible. Thou shalt not kill is one of the Ten Commandments so it is therefore a fundamental tenet of the Christian and Jewish religions, but is it really murder?
Euthanasia can help family members, relatives and carers to end the dreadful pain and suffering that their loved ones have to endure. It sometimes seems the kindest thing to do. However one could argue that with more powerful pain relief and dedicated hospices, pain should be controlled. Another reason against euthanasia is that in hospitals it could destroy the relationship and trust between the patient and the doctor. Also is it really fair to put the Doctor in the position of having to make such a key decision?
Surely if God gave life then only he can decide when to take it back. The major argument against euthanasia in my opinion is that if it is legal it could be subject to a great deal of abuse, such as relatives not wanting to bother anymore or getting their hands on someone’s will. Even Doctors could be tempted to hurry along a patient’s death in order to harvest their organs for a younger patient. It is a bit like the argument for Capital punishment, what if you hang the wrong man, similarly what if the man who has been in a coma for years suddenly awakes?
Life is precious and it should not be devalued and if taken to it’s extreme in the hands of a person such as Hitler, euthanasia could stop being a choice but something that is enforced. In conclusion I think euthanasia should be allowed as if people want to die and they cannot do it for themselves they should be given help to die with dignity, surrounded by their loved ones, in their own home, not in some impersonal clinic in Switzerland. At the end of the day I believe in freedom of choice.
