Who believes Euthanasia should be legalised?

Question

I believe euthanasia should be legalised! I think it is immoral to allow people to suffer their last days/weeks in pain. At least euthanasia will allow people to die in dignity! And also think about the family - I would imagine it is not pleasant to watch a loved one die whilst they are clearly suffering (e.g. AIDS).

We do not think twice or think it is immoral when a pet has to be put down, yet when it comes to human life (which some would argue is more important than other animals life (I don't)) we allow them to die, in my opinion, in an inhumane way!

I would like to hear other people's views on this matter! Please bear in mind I have also considered reasons as to why it should not be legalised, and although I agree with some of the considerations, I feel the pro's outweigh the con's.

I can understand people's views that we should not be allowed to choose who lives and dies. So in this case should we withdraw all lifesaving treatment to save someone's life because we do not have the right to decide who lives, and should we ban IVF treatment because we should not be allowed to bring life in this world, all because it is God's decision??

Answer 1

I think it should be legalised. I have often thought about myself and I know I would prefer a big dose of morphine and then fall gently asleep than to live on in pain and frustration and helplessness. But it really has to be only for those whose existence has become torture or who are being kept alive on support systems, contrary to Nature.
That kind of sickness is so hard on the patient and even harder on their family.
My grandmother was praying to God to let her die. She was in great pain, and 99 years old and had had enough of it. The strain of caring for her for so long also cost my Mother her health. At 79 she is now in hospital due to fluid in the lung which damaged her heart and caused a massive stroke. My sister and I are with her every day. She might get better or she might not, so we are not even remotely considering euthanising her, even if we could! We did however wish it had been possible for Gran. And we loved her so much; she raised all of us - my Mum, my sister and me. My point is that devoted care is really, really hard and draining, but has its rewards if the person has a chance to recover. If they feel they are ready to go in peace, their wish ought to be respected.
In such cases, loved ones just know when life has become too intolerable and someone is ready to go and cannot fight any longer.
I myself had cancer (Non-Hodgkins lymphoma) 5 years ago. My life is very different now to what it was prior to that. But I still have things to do. I am weak and fragile, but basically healthy. It always reassurred me that if my suffering somehow got to the stage where I couldn't bear it, I would beg, steal or borrow a shot of morphine to just die in dignity. If it recurrs, this thought keeps me positive - it is a choice when there are almost none left. (And believe me, even though it is illegal, I will get that shot of morphine somehow if I feel it is the best way out, not only for me but for my family too.)
As for animals, for me, and I am a great animal lover, euthansia for a loved pet is much harder than for a human. Because they can't tell you if they are ready or not. Sometimes it is easy to see and it is the only compassionate way out. But in other cases, there is still something in your pet's eyes that seems to say they have a little bit more unfinished business to do, and they need to do it despite pain and inconvenience to themselves and to their owners. Again, anyone with a strong bond and understanding with their pet will recognise this and put off the euthanasia until the pet seems ready. Or allow them to die naturally.
Everything is at such a fast pace these days. We need to slow down. There is a vast difference between euthanasia for those who still need more time, and those who are ready to go. The former is immoral and a crime, whether it be a pet or a human. The latter is the ultimate act of love.

Answer 2

Nobody should have to suffer a long painfull death and I believe we should be allowed to choose if we want to die or not.There must be some way of making a legal living will to stop treatment or to end suffering in cases were people have been seriously injured or have a degenerative illness.In the case of many cancer deaths the person dies in agony and there can be no dignity in that ..what is wrong with letting them slip away peacefully with the help of morphine.I watched my grandmother die a shadow of her former self.and she just wanted it to end...If a pet was suffering we would think ourselves cruel to keep it alive so I don't understand why we have to watch people suffer.

Answer 3

i think that it should be legalised. It is so unethical to put people through pain and suffering to the point where they do not have a life because they are to ill to communicate etc. i watched my nana die slowly and very painfully from cancer. she was very brave and did not once moan but to watch her go through what she did was awful.
I think that if somebody is diagnosed with a terminal illness then they should be given the option when they are still of sound mind of what they would like to happen to them once they reach the stage where they no longer have a reasonable quality of life. Why should other people be the ones to make the decision?!! I dont think that it should be down to family to make the decision however.
I totally agree with what you have said about how we let animals die with more dignity (not that they shouldnt die with dignity).

Answer 4

As long as the individual has asked not to suffer whilst in a healthy frame of mind, then YES, it should be made legal.
Perhaps some kind of legal form should be designed for people to fill in- if it is their wish to die peacefully after an accident or if suffering from a terminal illness. This could be left with a solicitor and used if needed.

Answer 5

I am against. Pope John Paul II suffered till the end and although he had best health care ever, he suffered lotsa and didn't complain about it. He showed people that suffering make us 'holy' and fully 'human' as humanity consists of happy and good times, health and sickness.. If we are touched by some illness, we have to bare it with dignity.
Animals are put down to death when they suffer because they don't have any understanding of it whatsoever. This is mercy killing. People however are higher than that and they can show to the rest of the world that suffering, which is an integral part of humanity, can be meaningful.

Answer 6

If there is a prior (legal) agreement to carry out this act between two parties who trust each other, and if there is unbearable, irreversable suffering, how can this be wrong ?

Conversely... many years ago I had this conversation with a nurse who informed me that more people than we know are helped to die a painless death .... Whether it be by withholding treatment, or via other routes; a subject upon which she declined to comment.

Personally, I would rather the first option than leave it to the experts....

Answer 7

I think it should be legalized. Someone who tries to kill themselves and fail is considered a criminal... what else does this depressed individual need? If people want to die, they should be free to do so. I actually believe the human race to be a bit crazy for spending so many resources on aiding the existence of people who need the assistance to survive. I think it is great if someone in a wheelchair can make a living on their own, but if they can't, i don't really see why they should be given help. if they want to die, let them, why take more freedom from people, they then have to do illegal things, and these may be people who really don't like doing illegal things. I really think that laws should be lessoned by a great deal in my USA home. I see the cons too, but like you the pros outweigh.

Answer 8

I agree that it should be legalized also. I have watched people suffer for years and years with absolutely no quality of life. Who wants to live in or on diapers, cathethers, feeding tubes, ventilators? We are more humane to our pets because I think religious fear does not apply. Most educated people agree on this, research shows.
Until the time comes for this, people who do not want to live this way need to fill out advance directives so people cannot make these decisions for you and you can die without whistles, sirens, and invasion.

Answer 9

I fully agree with you ... if i was told i was going to die of a horrific thing which would make my family suffer then i would want to go with dignity and i believe we should have the right to make that choice in the form of a living will i will not be a burden to my family and lie in a vegative state for months no way .We should have the right as it is our body and when the time comes for me i will travel aboard and do it

Answer 10

I think that euthanasia should be legalised so that people can choose to die with dignity. It is merely a Christian stigma against killing oneself that has entrenched the 'keep them alive at all costs' belief in our culture. In many other cultures it is honourable to choose when and how you get to die.

All this business about it being 'God's right' to choose who lives and dies is total rubbish, by that notion Christians wouldn't back the death penalty (which many do) and they wouldn't approve of life-saving treatments at all, as that would interfere with God's will.

Clearly we don't want people to feel under pressure to kill themselves so that they won't be a burden on their families and we don't want depressed or mentally ill people being allowed to kill themselves, so there need to be safe guards agaisn't these abuses.

I know I would hate to have to keep living in severe pain if the remainder of my life would be spent in a hospital ward. I would rather move on.