Discussion of Whether Assisted Suicide is Morally Acceptable

The doctor walks into the waiting room with a gloomy look on his face. “I’m sorry, your son only has 2 months to live, cancer is growing faster than we can treat.” This boy has fought for his life for over a year thinking he would live, but now he is dying. His parents are devastated. Should he have a choice to end his pain and suffering earlier than God chose for him? People every day are choosing euthanasia to end suffering that contradicts religious views and morals, hurts families involved, and starts uprising in other countries. As a result, many people in the United States and other countries are in huge debates over what is correct. Euthanasia contradicts religious view and people’s moral beliefs. Euthanasia is causing families/friends to be put in hurtful situations. Euthanasia has brought uprisings to start in other countries. Therefore, Euthanasia is wrong, and not morally acceptable. 

Euthanasia is defined as: “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy”. It is often given negative connotations, being described as an “assisted suicide”. Euthanasia has been up for moral debate for many years, but has become more accepted in the United States today. If people are not accepting suicide, then why is society becoming more accepting to euthanasia? Although these two are in completely different aspects of life, euthanasia still involves taking one’s life. Euthanasia being an “assisted suicide” is why it is up for such huge debate. When one “unplugs the cord” or loses a family member through euthanasia, like the boy who had two months to live, the family loses time that they could have had. Time given by God that should not be taken for granted.

In Christianity, suicide is something that is not accepted. As pointed about by research, euthanasia is a form of assisted-suicide. This, of course, is why euthanasia is such a huge debate within different religions. Christians believe that life is God-given, and that no one person has the authority to take the life of someone even if they want to die. Birth and death were both given by God, so they should be equally respected. These beliefs show that life is given by God and it should not end earlier than God gave them. People are said to be “made in God’s image” so how can someone end their lives when God particularly made them to live a certain amount of time. Some Christians propose that if people choose euthanasia for an individual or themselves, than they are basically saying that their lives are not worthwhile. Any life given by God should not be taken earlier than he chose for that person. In the Bible, one of the Ten Commandments says, thou shalt not kill. Euthanasia is killing. Doctors are beginning to see how euthanasia should not really be an option.

Doctors are becoming more sympathetic towards giving people the choices of assisted-suicide. A chairman of the Medical Ethics Commission of the Christian Medical and Dental Society, Dr. Thomas Beam, points out that, “While the act of physician-assisted suicide seems compassionate on the surface, it is often the abandonment of the patient in their most needy time. Instead of support, the patient may only find confirmation of the hopelessness of their condition and physician-assisted suicide is legitimized as the only ‘way’. This shows that even doctors see that patients even may think that euthanasia is the only way, when a miracle or something great could have happened. If one has any morals, then they will see that euthanasia should not be an option.

Euthanasia is up for not only different religious debates, but also for moral debates. Morals are usually gained based off of religious beliefs, but even non-religious people are debating over if it should be something available. Some people say that each person has a right to choose when they die, but how can people who have moral beliefs against suicide think that it is okay? In a recent survey on moral attitudes, 18 percent of people who responded said that suicide was “morally acceptable,” and 53 percent said they accepted “doctor-assisted suicide”. The main question of this survey was why did people think regular suicide was wrong, but not as many thought doctor-assisted suicide was wrong? Many think that doctor-assisted suicide, or euthanasia is not self-murder. Autonomy does not give anyone the right to take their own life, or allow others to make that decision for them. In other countries, some people do not even have the option to choose euthanasia.

All across the world, people suffer from terminal illnesses. Euthanasia is not an option for many people. In many countries euthanasia is illegal. Many leaders of other countries really believe euthanasia is taking one’s life, in a sense of suicide. In Belgium, it is legal for consenting adults, but kids with terminal illnesses are not allowed to have the option. Adults can only decide for themselves, the decision cannot be made by a second person. Children in Belgium do not have the option, which causes huge debates.

Children today are a lot smarter than in past years, but no child would ever just say, “I want to die.” The legislature in Belgium is trying to pass a law where a child can end their lives by euthanasia with a parent’s consent, or that parent could make the decision for the child. No child wants to suffer, but how can a parent choose to pull the plug on their child that could make it to adulthood? Parents want their children to live long and healthy lives, so why would they chance getting to have that? Just like parents would not want to see their children die, people with animals do not want to put down their animals.

Euthanasia also involves “putting down” animals and people if they are not believed to make it. People have certain emotional attachments to animals just like they do to other people. When they have these attachments and they “have to” put their dog or other animal down, then they end up suffering. This suffering could have been delayed. Animals are put down for various reasons. Some of those reasons being that an animal is an a shelter and cannot be taken care of, and another being that an animal has a certain illness that will not give them much more time in their lives. PETA, an organization that is supposed to help homeless animals, has recently been discovered to have killed over 36,000 animals since 1998. Killing animals should not be done in the first place, let alone any animal who is homeless. The Virginia state inspector compared PETA’s shelter to a euthanasia clinic. How terrible is that? Dogs and Cats are being killed because PETA does not “have room” or they do not want to take care of these animals. It is absolutely unethical. The cost of killing animals should also play a factor in why it should not be done.

People are paying to put down their animals, when they could have more time with them and not have to go to the vet and see their dog die. Death is a part of nature. When God wants someone or something to die, it does. It is something that happens every day. Death should not occur any sooner than God wants it to. Assisted-suicide or suicide is never the answer.

Euthanasia can have some advantages. Some of those advantages being to end suffering in pain, but overall people should not be able to take their own lives. When people with cancer or another terminal illness start to come to the end of their life, they suffer a lot. Some people will begin to think, “Why would it not be okay to end their lives earlier?” It is not morally correct. Miracles do happen. People are given different amounts of time for their lives. Some people only live a few days, while others live many healthy years. People today have premature children and some have the choice to end their lives. Many do not. Some premature babies live long lives, while others live a few days, months, or just a few short years. Time is precious. It should not be ended earlier than what was planned.

Doctors are taught to fight diseases until the very end, they are not taught to just give up on a patient. Although it ends suffering, it should not be something that is used when someone just wants to end their life earlier than God decided for that person. Some doctors are going against laws set forth by different countries and ending people’s lives. If it is illegal and doctors have to go totally out of their way to do it, then it should not be done.

All of this research shows that people should not just get a way out of their lives. Euthanasia is not morally correct, and when people come to realize this then they will have longer lives that God has planned for them. Who knows, someone could meet the love of their life or meet someone that tells them about God that lets them go peacefully without medical euthanasia. One’s life could be impacted by so many factors, in both positive and negative ways. These people could also impact others in a huge way. If they survive, they can help other people who have illnesses to have faith that they can make it through. Miracles do happen, and they are God given. Euthanasia is ethically and morally proven to be something that is wrong, and when people see this, then they will live better and longer lives because of it.