I believe you have the right to have a planned and peaceful death. If you are in pain because of a terminal illness or because of old age, you should be allowed to be euthanized. If you can plan your death, you can enjoy the time you have left and be able to say bye to relatives and family.
This topic is very controversial because it is hard to know where to draw the line. There are no answers and there are many unique cases. I am writing my opinion and of course you have the right to disagree. I don’t want to offend anyone especially if they have had a personal experience. Also, I know I have a lot more research to do. I want to know what you think about the topic!
Important definitions:
Euthanasia: the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering
Voluntary euthanasia: the practice of ending a life in a painless manner
Non-voluntary euthanasia: euthanasia conducted where the explicit consent of the individual concerned is unavailable
Passive euthanasia: treatment withheld or withdrawn, do not resuscitate order, disconnecting life support equipment, stopping any life-sustaining medical procedures
Active euthanasia: lethal dose of medication with patient’s consent
Assisted suicide: Physician-assisted suicide is only executed if the patient has a sound mind when requesting assisted suicide, and the patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness. It is assisted suicide if the person who dies performs the last act such as swallowing pills or if they push a switch to trigger a fatal injection.
Murder: unlawfully ending the life of a person who wished to be alive
●As of 2011, active euthanasia is only legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Washington, Oregon, and Montana.
●In the United States, patients retain the rights to refuse medical treatment and to receive appropriate management of pain at their request, even if the patient’s choices hasten their deaths.
●Active non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries in the world, although it is practiced in the Netherlands under an agreement between physicians and district attorneys
●Kevorkian assisted over 40 people in committing suicide. He crossed the line from assisting the patient to actively killing the patient himself. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and served 8 years.
The first step is to legalize assisted suicide in all states! The next step is to legalize active euthanasia. The reason why I believe active euthanasia should be legal is that not all patients have the ability to swallow medication or push a switch. People should not be forced to stay alive. Unbearable suffering of either a physical or mental nature should qualify for induced death. There are cases in which diseases and disabilities become so severe that life holds no promise of pleasure. Isn’t it compassionate to end suffering? Should people be forced to live like a vegetable on life support? How many people need to die degrading deaths before society learns a little humanity? Suicide is legal in many areas, however some people may be unable to physically carry out their choice because of their disability.
There are people that have diseases and disabilities that want to live. We should always listen to the person and if they want to live we should respect their wishes. Euthanasia should only be allowed if the person asks for it. I know that there are cases in which people are severely depressed because of an injury and may want to die. I don’t think euthanasia should be used in these cases because the patients can get better in a short amount of time.
The following are real cases. What would you do if the person was your husband, wife, sister, brother, mother, father, etc.? In certain cases, the person survived if they weren’t euthanized. Find out at the bottom what happened.
Case #1
Kate was in a vegetative state after suffering a stroke. For almost 70 days, she was totally unresponsive. Would you pull out her feeding tube?
This is an interesting case because she seemed like she was unconscious. There are some cases where people have come out of comas and have been fine. It’s hard to know what to do…I think that it is important to talk to family members and ask them what they would want you to do if this ever happened to them.
Case #2
Dax was very badly burnt after a gas explosion engulfed his car. He became blind and was not able to use his hands. He was in a lot of pain and asked doctors, family and friends to help him end his suffering.
I understand why he would want to die. The doctors knew he would get better, but they forcibly put him through 10 years of painful treatment. I would have helped him commit suicide. 10 years is too long to be in pain. I could understand not wanting to euthanize him if the treatment was a lot shorter.
Case #3
Annie was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. She was worried that her last days would be very painful. Her greatest fear was the prospect of suffocating or choking to death when breathing and swallowing became difficult. She also knew that she would not be able to speak.
This is an interesting case because she wasn’t currently in pain. She was dreading it. She was definitely going to suffer and I would have helped her end her life. She had lived a great life and to end your life in pain is horrific. You should have the right to choose to end your life before suffering occurs.
Case #1
Doctors pulled her feeding tube. Then Kate began responding on her own. She recovered and today she is back to normal! She was never in a vegetative state. She could hear and see what was going on around her. Having the feeding tube pulled out was a very painful process. Her full name is Kate Adamson.
Case #2
No one helped him commit suicide. He currently works as an attorney and is healthy even though he is still blind and cannot use his hands. He still believes it was wrong for doctors to deny his request for euthanasia. His full name is Dax Cowart.
Case #3
Doctors could legally administer life-shortening drugs for the relief of mental as well as physical distress. Before she died she was unable to stand and use her arms. She died without recourse to the treatment plan. Her name was Annie Lindsell.
I would like there to be a specific outline as to when to euthanize and not. I know that this is hard and may never be accepted. But, I will try anyway. Again, I want to say that I care about people and want to do the best thing for them. I think that it is very nice to put someone out of their misery. They would be extremely thankful as were Kevorkian’s patients to him.
1. No one should ever be deprived of food and starved to death. The feeding tube should never be pulled. If it is, a lethal injection should be given.
2. When someone is in a vegetative state or in a coma, the family will decide. Hopefully, they talked about it and know what to do. Families should decide on a timeline. For example, I would tell my husband that if I am in a vegetative state for more than 3 months and there is no progress, you can allow for a lethal injection.
3. If someone has been depressed for more than 10 years and has tried to commit suicide more than 4 times, they should be able to be euthanized.
4. Never euthanize someone who doesn’t give their consent!!!
5. If someone has been injured and has to go through painful treatment lasting longer than a year, they should be able to receive a lethal injection.
6. If someone has a terminal disease and knows what they will suffer through before death, they should be able to receive a lethal injection. These may include Lou Gehrig’s disease, pancreatic cancer, ebola hemorrhagic fever, lesch-nyhan syndrome, cancer, stroke, dementia, AIDS, acute cerebrovascular accident, Alzheimer’s, cardiac disease, heart disease, and so many more!
7. Blind people should not be euthanized if they say that being blind is the only thing that is not allowing them to have a quality life.
8. If there are two or more things that are hindering quality of life, they may receive a lethal injection. They must be without these two abilities for at least 1 year. These include deafness, blindness, unable to walk, unable to use hands and arms, inability to speak, severe memory loss, inability to clean themselves, and inability to go to the bathroom by themselves.
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