By: Annum Shehryar
Euthanasia is an act or a practice where someone is painlessly put to death to stop their suffering from painful, incurable diseases or incapacitating physical disorder. This practice is undertaken by an authoritative person like doctors or a physician. They usually withhold treatment or withdraw artificial life support measures according to the patient’s own consent. This is also known as a form of ``Mercy killing’’ as it relieves a person from excess prolonged pain and allows them to die with ``dignity’’.
[ TRIGGER WARNINGS, mentions of su*cide, death]
Euthanasia is a controversial and complicated topic with various moral and legal facets and is a widely debated issue. Since there is no specific provision for it in many legal systems, it is either regarded as Suicide if the person committed it themselves or murder if someone else did it. There are generally 5 types of Euthanasia;
Active: An act of commission where the doctor prescribes fatal amounts of drugs to a patient which kills them painlessly without any injury.
Passive: An act of omission where the doctor does not kill anyone, but rather withhold treatment which is necessary to maintain life.
Voluntary: When a doctor puts a person to death on their order. Anyone who is exposed to unbearable or intractable pain or is suffering from terminal illness applies for voluntary euthanasia.
Involuntary: Ending a person’s life without a personal request. The motive is to end their suffering. This is the most unethical type and is mostly looked down upon.
Nonvoluntary: The patient does not give any prior guidance in this regard. This involves situations where the person is in a coma, too young, is seriously mentally impaired, severely damaged to the brain, or is mentally unstable in such a way that they cannot make such a decision.
To date, Euthanasia has been legalized by the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Dutch and Luxembourg laws fit as well. The states of Oregon and Washington approved passes in the United States in 1997 and 1999 respectively, but euthanasia still remains illegal in many other countries. In the US, the consideration has been euthanizing terminally ill people, who cannot bear to live with their conditions. Euthanasia is often mistaken as ‘’Assisted suicide’’. Assisted suicide is when someone helps a person commit suicide deliberately by supplying medications for self-administration upon the voluntary and knowledgeable request of that person. Assisted dying can be used to mean both Euthanasia and assisted suicide, however, it is usually used in terms of assisted suicide of terminally ill people. There are many factors and beliefs which influence people into categorizing Euthanasia as illegal and unethical, even if the practice has been consented by the patient and they were fully informed. There are moral and Religious arguments on how different faiths see this practice as a sin since suicide is forbidden in many Religions and on how it is immoral and would weaken society’s respect for the sanctity of life.
Arguments against euthanasia being legalized suggest that it is not justified under any circumstances, or that it is justified for animals but not humans. Many believe that it can only be used when the person is terminally ill. There are many diseases that are still incurable and medical workers and scientists are trying their best to find a cure. If Euthanasia gets legalized, then people will lose hope in the medical field. It would be difficult to find new remedies. Euthanasia can also give doctors a position of authority and power that they can misuse. Unfortunately, this practice is cost-effective and to save money, there is internalized guilt that exists within the patient that their treatment would be a financial burden on their family as maybe their peers have pressurized them into feeling such guilt. Charities have been held to prevent suicide and many believe that suicidal people should be provided with the therapy and healthcare that they need. Euthanasia paves the way for depressed and suicidal people to consider the option. Euthanasia can also be seen as a violation of human rights as each person’s life is a gifted blessing and that they should have the right to cherish and maintain their wellbeing.
For those who argue that it should be legalized, they believe that physicians have been trained to be experts in the knowledge relating to the human body. They have the right to assist people to end their lives painlessly. A person’s life is their own and they should have free will in making their own decisions without anyone else dictating whether they should live or not. Euthanasia is also cost-effective and there would be no financial burden in providing the treatment and equipment for the patient. It is also a painless passage and relieves the patient from living their lives full of discomfort and pain.
In my opinion, outright legalization would definitely lead to misuse. I believe that every person should be able to make a case for themselves when it comes to terminal illness or other diseases where death is imminent.
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