Euthanasia Essay, Research Paper

It?s been years now since the hospital said that your dad had a terminal disease. The health administration hasn?t found a cure for it and probably won?t for years to come. You hate to see your dad like this. All he can do is lay in bed, useless to the world he once helped, and wait to die. This story is sadly what some people face today. There are people who get terminal illnesses but never get cured of them and never die of them. These people almost always live painful lives doing nothing, just waiting to die. Assisted suicide is a perfect solution to some people?s problems. The opposing view is that people have no right to end anyone?s life at any point in time throughout life. According to Jonathan Gould and Lord Craigmyle, ??euthanasia means the painless killing of men and women to end their sufferings?(15).

Why do so many people condone euthanasia when it is almost every mans dream? If you consider the facts, everybody would like a painless death. I don?t know many people that would like a long and painful death. People would like to die easily or in their sleep. People expect their doctor to relieve them of pain when they are sick. Infact, humans even feel that their animals should be put to death if they are suffering. This is clearly stated by Janelle Rohr when she said, ?A dying animal is quickly ?put out of its misery,? but no such consideration is offered to the terminally ill human?(136). ?Among certain primitive people, the killing or abandonment of aged or helpless members was an accepted practice?(Jonathan Gould and Craigmyle 20).

In America we perform abortions, execute murderers and draft young men so they may be slain for their country. But mention the subject of euthanasia and people start to get a little crazy. Having worked in a variety of medical settings, I have seen countless people suffer hideous deaths from illnesses like cancer, AIDS, cirrhosis and end-stage pulmonary disease. A dying animal is quickly ?put out of its misery,? but no such consideration is offered to the terminally ill human. Where there is life there may be hope. But where there is life there is also inevitable death. Doctors often act as if death were just another health problem that could be cured with enough effort. Perhaps it is time our society and its grandiose medical profession relieved themselves of the myth of immortality (Rohr 136).

Death is the choice of the person dying. Nobody should have the right to say that this person can?t die or go against that person?s right to die. I agree that god has a plan for everyone, but if someone is dying and they don?t want to be put on life support or have some kind of heroic medical proceedure put on them, then nobody should have the right to go against their word. Many doctors feel that they can and should save anyone?s life at anytime, even if they have any disease. This is false belief though. Doctors can save a life, but they shouldn?t always. If some one is so sick that they are experiencing pain twenty-four hours a day everyday of their life and their time finally comes who says that the doctor has the right to bring them back into that pain. I personally feel that the quality of life is more important than the quantity.

Think about it this way. You are eighty-seven years old; you have been suffering from a terminal illness since you were eighty-four years old. From this illness you get shooting pain up through your spine and into your head whenever you move your back, you can?t walk anymore, and you can hardly talk. This disease is slowly eating away at your brain cells. Doctors haven?t found a cure for your disease, infact half of them have never even heard of it. They predict that you will never die from it. You?ll just become brain dead. How would you feel? Would you consider euthanasia as one of your choices? How do you think your family would feel? These are all the things you should consider when thinking about euthanasia. If you are against euthanasia then you could be putting people throughout the world through pain and suffering that they do not deserve. If you cared about a family member enough would you let them chose euthanasia? If you said no, you are foolish. If you really cared about that family member and they were struggling so much that they wanted to end this suffering you would at least consider it. Not only is that persons life their own life, but it is also not your choice how they should live it.

How about this, you are having a baby, the baby is giving off early signs of brain damage. The doctor is telling you that this baby will not live a normal life if it is born. You will have to wait on this child all the time. He will be unable to care for himself even as an adult. What do you do in this situation? ? The article written by Peter Singer, concluded that some severely handicapped newborns had fewer human characteristics than some animals. (Rohr 89)?

What does this tell you? ?? infant euthanasia is justified for those infants who will never be able to live fully human lives because of their handicaps,? said Jenelle Rohr on page 89. If this was your child that what would you do?

In conclusion, euthanasia is a serious topic, and shouldn?t be dealed with lightly. Assisted suicide is a perfect solution to some people?s problems. Euthanasia is not for everyone, but for many it should be considered. People suffer hardships throughout life, but some of the few who get terminally ill shouldn?t have to suffer through sickness that could never end. It isn?t fair for others to judge when a person should die, but in some of these cases there really shouldn?t be much of a choice. Quality of life is more important that quantity. Doctors need to realize that and stop trying to save every single life that comes through a hospital. Euthanasia should always be a choice when life cannot be lived fully.