How come we put animals to sleep when they are old or in pain, but not people?

Question

why is it murder to people, but not to animals...we kill criminals who are in jail, why isnt that consiered murder (or is it)

Answer 1

Because it would be assisted suicide, and doctors are not allowed to "do more harm" in other words kill people. Plus if we put people down, the race would not endure time because we would not be giving ourselves a chance to research the people with terminal diseases allowing us to find cures. But I agree that they should allow us to go with dignity and in comfort.

Answer 2

Wow...there are SOOOOOOOOO many things to consider with this question!

First of all, some of us do consider it murder when a criminal is killed. But, another way to look at it is...when a person is comdemned to die, they have behaved so horribly that they have given up their human 'rights.'

As much as we love our animals, they are not humans and most laws pertain to humans. So it is against the law to kill a human, no matter WHAT the circumstance. Even in Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal, it is still NOT legal in the USA.

Whether you want to admit it or not, this country was founded on religious beliefs and most of our laws reflect that. In Christianity, suicide is the ONE unforgivable sin -- because you are taking a life but you aren't alive to GET forgiveness. So suicide is against the law -- and yes, some people HAVE been arrested for attempted suicide. I'm not saying this is right, I'm just telling you how it is.

Another problem with putting a person 'to sleep' is WHO gets to decide? If the person is too ill to make his wishes known, who gets to decide to pull the plug? With pets, the owner decides -- hopefully no person has an owner. There is so much chance for abuse here... What if some horrible person decides to put their ill father to sleep so they can get the insurance money, even if the father might not WANT to die just yet?

I highly doubt if keeping a terminally ill patient alive actually makes money for the hospital. Many people don't have insurance and can't possibly pay the hospital bills -- so the hospitals just don't get paid. If anything, I think that hospitals would want to get RID of terminally ill patients -- which brings in another possibility for abuse.

It's an extremely complicated subject and there is no way in the near future that we will come up with an answer that satisfies us all. Just be glad that we CAN have mercy on our pets and help them leave their suffering bodies.

Answer 3

I think it is a combination of the medical profession's credo to "Do no harm" plus the fact that people don't usually stand to benefit from an animal's passing so they euthanize out of altruism; whereas with people there is the opportunity for financial gain.

Think of the "slippery slope" concept - when is it right to euthanize a human? When their money runs out? When they reach that point where someone has determined that their quality of life is gone? When their heirs decide they want to inherit the rest of the assets?

Or does the sick person get to call all the shots - and then it would be called "assisted suicide"? (something I believe in)

The biggest difference is that animals don't get a choice and typically just leave behind a human with a broken heart - whereas humans have an opportunity to exploit another human for personal gain. It is difficult to figure out where the boundaries should be, and when you factor in religious beliefs then you can see that no one will ever agree on this.

Answer 4

Personally, I think it all has to do with money. If you help someone to die, then the doctors, hospitals, and most of all, the drug companies can't make their ridiculous profits. In this case, the almighty dollar takes the place of compassion and moral values. Very sad that our country deals with helping someone to die in this way. Like I say though, the drug companies are the "top dogs" in this. They will NEVER allow the country to pass a law that allows this. They have too much financial influence on the government.

As with the death penalty, it is cheaper to kill someone in jail than to keep them alive year after year. It is not considered murder because they are being punished, and in many cases, the actual person who puts them to death is not known, as they use multiple people and fake buttons and such.

Answer 5

Great Question..Point for you!
But I have no real answer, other than many people don't think animals count as much as humans. Also, doctors and Hospitals want as much money as they can get to keep people alive. If we put people to "sleep" think of all the money that they would lose.

Answer 6

Because that's murder...unlike the death penalty, which is punishment...but killing an animal who is in pain or too old to function, is a mercy killing.

Yeah, it makes just as much sense, even when you spread it out like that.

Answer 7

Because there is far too much money to be made keeping people alive, not that they have a quality of life, thats why I left nursing and went to vet med

Answer 8

If the animal's owner is not willing to pay for treatment, what else would you do? Human society has not imposed any obligation to give medical treatment to animals.

Answer 9

I've always wondered the same thing. We do everything we can to try to keep them alive for our own sakes forgetting that they might actually want to just finally rest.

Answer 10

In my view I feel that we should be able to put dowt our loved ones just as we do our beloved pets....Either way one looks at it humane is humane......I don't feel that a human life is any better than a dog,cat,deer or what animal you choose....A life is a life, and I don't feel it is right to let anything suffer 4 no reason............................Unfortunatly societies masses dictates the desisions not the individual opinion.............................