Why Euthanasia Should Be Legal: Analysis of Arguments and Counterarguments

Introduction

Euthanasia, the act of providing individuals with the right to choose to end their suffering caused by terminal illnesses or debilitating conditions, has been a subject of intense political and ethical debate. People's perspectives differ on whether euthanasia constitutes murder or a compassionate choice. Presently, government laws prevent access to euthanasia for those in dire need, forcing them to endure a life of pain and suffering. This highlights the importance of considering why euthanasia should be legal in this essay. Granting patients the autonomy to make this decision would honor their right to choose how they wish to approach their final moments and put an end to their unbearable suffering. Moreover, legalizing euthanasia could ease the burden on families by reducing the financial strain of prolonged hospital care and medical treatments. Embracing the legalization of euthanasia would signify a step towards acknowledging the dignity of individuals facing insurmountable pain and the importance of respecting their wishes during such challenging times.

Background

While euthanasia has recently received media coverage, euthanasia has been going on back to the early times. In reality, the ancient Greeks believed that there should be no reason for someone to keep on living when they do not want to be alive in the first place. Euthanasia, meaning “good death” in Greek, is an easy and peaceful way to depart from living. There are many different types of euthanasia, for example, passive, active, voluntary, non-voluntary, and involuntary. Passive euthanasia is when a person withdraws treatment to maintain life, causing them to die. Active euthanasia is when someone uses lethal substances to end the life of a patient. Voluntary is the practice of ending life in a painless manner. Involuntary is illegal and is considered murder since it is performed on a patient that did not have consent or did not want to die in the first place. In Texas, “mercy killing, or euthanasia is not condoned or authorized by Texas law, nor is any act or omission other than to allow the natural process of dying” (Euthanasia Laws). In any other countries like Australia and the United Kingdom, euthanasia is considered illegal and people will face jail sentences if committed euthanasia.

Fortunately, there are countries that have euthanasia legal, for example, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, and some states in the United States. In fact, the Netherlands was the first country to legalize euthanasia in 2002. Now, “a Dutch organization that carries out euthanasia received 3,122 requests last year, a 22% increase from the year before” (Corder). When the Netherlands legalized euthanasia, other countries soon followed making people who are suffering from terminal conditions wanting to get euthanized. For one to be able to get the procedure, they must be 18 years old of age, be a resident of a state where euthanasia is legal, and most importantly have two doctors determine whether the patient is capable of getting the euthanasia. Minors that are from the age 16 to 17 can request euthanasia only if it was their only decision but the parent’s must be informed about it. As for the patient’s right, they have the right to refuse treatment and no doctor, government, or person is allowed to force the patient to do the procedure.

Why Euthanasia Should Be Legal

Reason 1

When someone is in a critical state, having the right to choose to die gives them a sense of control. People make their own decision on deciding if they want to be alive or not and doing it if it is what they think is best for them. In life, people are able to decide on what they want to do for their careers, believe in their own religion, have families, and make choices about their lives by their own expectations, values and emotions. It is their own responsibility that will lead their actions. In that case, a person that is not capable of doing things by themselves like eating or using the restroom, can be degrading and with having the opportunity of dying is the only option that they can make on their own. Kevin Davis, a 60-year-old man who suffered from terminal renal cancer, “was angry that he could not choose a dignified death once his suffering became too much to bear” (Davis). Due to Kevin having cancer, he could not use his legs and could only crawl at his house. Two years before Kevin’s diagnosed with terminal cancer, his mother died from cancer, which made Kevin choose to have the right to die enable for him to not die the same way his mother did. Unfortunately, in the United Kingdom, where Kevin lived, he was not given an opportunity to get euthanasia. Since Kevin was not able to get euthanasia, he took matter into his own hands, committing suicide. If only euthanasia was an option, Kevin would have been able to die peacefully in bed with his family beside him, not in a pile of blood. With what happened to Kevin Davis, should not happen to anybody else. Anybody should be allowed to have the right to choose what will happen to them. Of course, everybody would like to live as long as possible, but that can change when someone is diagnosed with an uncurable illness, leaving options, such as death to have a sense of control.

Reason 2

Being in pain every day is very heartbreaking and with euthanasia, it can end their suffering. Doctors try to find cures and save people lives but there are sometimes where they cannot do nothing when a patient has a terminal disease. The patient has to go to a constant struggle that can easily end with euthanasia. Nowadays, medical technology has been improving, making people to live longer and help improve the management of health conditions. However, the use of medical technology with someone that has a terminal illness, makes them be in pain and have them suffering every day. For example, as Ronald Dworkin recounts, “Lillian Boyes, an English woman who was suffering from a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis, begged her doctor to assist her to die because she could no longer stand the pain” (De La Torre). Another example can also be a terminal illness like cancer where a patient receives chemotherapy, radioactive medicine that poisons the body. Chemotherapy has side effects such as vomiting, hair loss, headaches, stomach and muscle pain, etc. where one can barely handle the pain. Without euthanasia, a terminally ill patient will have to keep on taking drugs for an illness doctors can not cure. The suffering is there for them every second, and legally it cannot stop. As the illness and medical state are worsening, these people struggle are not only physically but emotionally, and they have little interest in life, except to die. In this state of condition, the illness is viewed socially as deterioration, and these people are likely to have their family and friends to sustain positive memories of them and to be seen as a healthy person in better shape, living a good life. Moreover, euthanasia is not necessarily used for humans, but is used in a veterinarian clinic where animals are being put down, with the consent of the families. Animals being put down is seen as relieving pain, in which is not a much difference of human euthanasia. In that case, ill patients should have euthanasia because it is what is best for them to ease the pain and make them no longer to suffer from a painful treatment that was most likely not going to cure them from the beginning.

Reason 3

Hospital and medicine bills are increasing and is making it very expensive for many families to pay back the money the owe. Most of the time, families are left in debt, leaving them have to worry and be in stress on figuring out a way to give back the money they owe. Families are not the only one’s who are worrying but the patient as well and every day they are alive, the hospital costs are going through the roof. In the article, Right to Assisted Suicide, it mentions that “The cost of maintaining [a dying person]. . . has been estimated as ranging from about two thousand to ten thousand dollars a month” (De La Torre). The life of a human being is worth many dollars, and very little people are able to afford it. In the United States, Americans have severe healthcare problems, and the easiest way to save money is to euthanasia. There is no doubt that patients with terminal illness are financial traps for society, and do not have the ability to give back economically. Dying patients are extremely important to family relatives and friends, however from an economic point of view, they are seen as a cost. Because of financial problems, certain patients cannot continue to pay the costly medical expenses, not knowing whether the patient can get better. In a different perspective, it looks like people are paying to make the dying patient live a longer painful life. With that in mind, euthanasia is a ticket way out to ensure families and people with terminal illnesses to not get drained out by financial debt and skip the struggle of pain they will feel because of it. Care for those who are ill are very expensive and is wasteful on those who desired to die.

Counterarguments

CA 1: Opponents argue that euthanasia is murder because it is an act that has two or more people, leaving one dead. They also believe that euthanasia is still murder with or without the consent. However, euthanasia is not murder because the person who is ill and wants to die gave permission and their consent to be killed. Murder is a sudden act where one did not know they were going to be killed and is usually pursued on those who are angry to one another.

CA 2: Opponents also argue that euthanasia gives doctors too much power and could abuse euthanasia if legalized. There are strict guidelines in place to make sure that there would not be any problems.

Conclusion

In the end, after examining both sides of the problem, Euthanasia should be seen as an option for dying patients because they should have the right to choose, end their suffering of living, and it will save them money on medical costs. For a long time, there was always a debate for the right to life vs the right to die. Some people oppose on the idea of euthanasia thinking that it is not ethical in being involved in a person’s death, however, they do not take into consideration on the way the patients are living a terrible life. No matter what, everybody will have their own different opinion in what they believe in, whether they are right or wrong.

Works Cited

1. Corder, Mike. “Dutch Euthanasia Center Sees 22% Rise in Requests in 2019.” WAVY.com, 7 Feb. 2020, www.wavy.com/news/health/dutch-euthanasia-center-sees-22-rise-in-requests-in-2019/. Accessed 10 March 2020.
2. Davis, Jacky. “Kevin Davis Deserved Choice.” Dignity in Dying, www.dignityindying.org.uk/story/kevin-davis/. Accessed 13 March 2020.
3. De La Torre, Esther B. The Right to Assisted Suicide, www.lonestar.edu/rightto-assist-suicide.htm. Accessed 19 March 2020.
4. “Euthanasia Laws - Information on the Law about Euthanasia.” Information on the Law about Euthanasia - Suicide, Life, Act, and Mercy - JRank Articles, law.jrank.org/pages/11858/Euthanasia.html. Accessed 10 March 2020.