euthanasia

Cristal Loza
Mrs. Morehead
AP English 3
30 November 2014
Euthanasia
Death with dignity is not a threat to anybody, it is merely plead for help. Who are we to determine when it is appropriate for a human in pain to die? Sometimes, the doctor’s job is not only to prevent a patient from dying but also to improve their patient’s quality of life. Many times there is nothing a doctor can do to prevent a terminal illnesses to take their course. Therefore, euthanasia should be acceptable in order to relieve themselves from not only physical but also psychological pain and to die with dignity. First of all, deciding if the patient wants to be alive or not is a personal decision. Neither the doctors nor the government have the right to seclude the patient from making such an ultimatum. Since it is not their life, and they do not know what the patient is physically or mentally going through, they are unable to make a rational decision. It is reasonable if it is frowned upon to commit suicide without any strong reason, but if staying alive is literally wearing you down, there should be no problem on deciding to live or die. According to source F, “Note that pain is the least often given reason for wanting to hasten death.” There is medicine that can help tolerate the pain the patient is going through, but the doctors cannot control what is happening inside their patient’s body. It is impossible to decide on such a great issue because not all patients are the same, as in not all of them are going through the same physical or psychological pain. Source C states, “emotional and psychological pressure could become overpowering for depressed or dependent people,” to which Source D continues, “it would also be cruel and inhumane to keep them alive and suffering.” Euthanasia is the deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life so as to relieve intractable suffering. Additionally, the basic reason why euthanasia should be practiced is because it stops the person from having a bad quality of life. Dignity means everything when you are surrounded by loved ones who are watching you die, day after day. Having a patient suffering, even in front of their friends and family, is not giving them a better quality of life. Patients with terminal illnesses are already humble and disabled, they want at least to leave this world peacefully and die with dignity. Even criminals have a right for their last wish; frankly speaking, it is our duty to fulfill the last wish of a sick patient. Besides, if we deny their wish, they will most likely commit suicide—so, we would incite them to commit a great sin and crime. Also, dignity would mean to have the quality of having respect, but it’s surely noted that a sick relative who is just putting their family into extreme debt, does not feel qualified for respect. Michel de Montague states, in Source B, “suicide should be considered a matter of personal choice, a human right… Death is a remedy against all evils: It is a most assured haven… Life depends on the will of others, death on ours.” Essentially, euthanasia could be seen as a doctor killing, but in reality, it’s a doctor fulfilling a patient’s wish to die with ease and dignity. Euthanasia is a way of dying with dignity and without pain. It prevents physical and psychological suffering in the future, by exterminating one’s life at a designated point. Patients should not be held at gun point to stay alive even if they are in pain, life or death is the patient’s ultimatum. Don’t let them live with such misery.