What do you think about euthanasia and abortion?

Answer 1

You mean ethnic cleansing. i hate it

Answer 2

Euthanasia: I watched my mother die slowly from a terminal disease (at a fairly young age) I can not count the number of times I thought, "if I could just help her not hurt anymore".

Abortion: I have mixed feelings on this issue. I do not think abortion should be an out for a woman who wants to sleep around and not pay the consequences. You hear of women who have had multiple abortions and that is wrong.
On the other hand I took several Social Work classes and I've seen what some "so called parents" do to unwanted children. Better they had been aborted than to live their life that way. You would not believe the horrendous things these children live through.

I believe abortion is wrong and I would never have considered it in my life but there are exceptions. Euthanasia and abortion are complete opposites IMO.

Answer 3

My stepdaughter and I had this conversation a few weeks back and I changed my view on abortion. I now believe that the latest stage at which pregnancy can be terminated is too late. A foetus is a viable life at 24 weeks, which is to say that it can support itself with help, which is what a full-term baby can do. The latest point that medicos can say it could not support itself independently, even with help, is 10 weeks. I believe that ten weeks should therefore be the legal limit at which a termination should be available.

Euthenasia: I subscribe to the "my body, my choice" lobby. I would like to see it legalised with strict safeguards in place, one of which should be a Living Will, to be certified by two or more qualified doctors of medicine that the holder was fully capable of making such a decision when the document was drawn up. In the event of a person being under the age of 18, should the question of whether or not to euthenase arise, the parents should be the ones to make the decision on behalf of their child after full disclosure to them of the prognosis.

Answer 4

I agree with Arbys answer i personally wouldn`t consider abortion but i should be a personal choice but with strict regulation over the age of the foetus
I can only speak about England concerning euthanasia .and all i can say is between euthanasia and the barbaric practices that are allowed i would choose euthanasia every time its against the law here for a hospital to administer anything to a patient that will lead to their death ,however its not against the law to withhold what will keep them alive .
in practice this means that what happens is if the hospital and family agree that the persons expected quality of life doesn`t
justify sustaining it (mainly old people who have had strokes and are unable to communicate )
What happens is medication and food are stopped.
so in reality they are starved to death this can easily ,depending on the individual take up to 2 months before they die

Answer 5

thats a ridiculously borad question,
Euthanasia is legal in some European countries, Im not sre about the rest of the world, it gives someone the right to die with dignity rather than be kept alive on machines if they dont want to. In principal I feel its quite right as long as the person has not got a mind degenerative disease, or if they have that they decided it in a will before they got sick.
In terms of abortion I believe catergorically its the womans right to choose, if she wants an abortion then let her, I would rather a woman had an abortion than yet another child was abandoned and had to be looked after by the state, the figures of crimials who started off life in a care home is enormous.

Answer 6

Like other posters here, I think that the issues are extremely complex and emotionally loaded, but I'm going to give you a serious answer to your questions.

I think suicide is almost always a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but if by euthanasia you mean assisted suicide of a person of sound mind who is terminally ill or in untreatable pain, then I think the choice should be with the individual. If the individual had the foresight to set up legal representation before becoming incapacitated (living will, medical power of attorney, what-have-you) and the representative really knows what was in the individual's mind , then again, it's private. If you mean by euthanasia the taking of a a life not your own without the consent of that person or those directly responsible for that person because you personally have determined they do not meet a "quality of life" standard, then euthanasia is code for murder. The argument over Terri Shivo was that her husband, legally responsible, said he knew what was in her mind before her illness, and her parents said he did not.

I think abortion is a terrible alternative to contraception, and should be used as infrequently as possible, but I also believe it is a medical decision to be made between a woman and her medical adviser, not some guy in a gray suit who doesn't know her, her circumstances, or her ability to raise the child that would result from a pregnancy left intact.

In my personal opinion, one who is unable or unwilling to raise the child in question should not be making the choice of whether to carry a pregnancy to term. Likewise, anyone who does not personally have the tools to come to the aid of the persons who have to cope 24-7 with terminal illness and unbearable pain have no business messing with the choices available to that individual.

Bottom line message to anyone who thinks my life is theirs to do with as they see fit: keep you hands off my body, your taps off my phone, your nose out of my bedroom, your taxes off my Internet connection, and your limits off my choices.

Answer 7

Regarding euthanasia, I can't really say until I get old myself but I know I would want it once things got unbearable. I'm not letting the religious squad dictate how I end my life.

Abortion is legal - it has been for 40 years in this country. Making it illegal would push it underground and bring back the coat hanger and the crochet hook.

Answer 8

Wow... quite the question here... this question requires quite the response...

First off, abortion... abortion is for most people a question of rights. Who has the higher claim, an unborn fetus' right to live, or the mother's right to do with her body what she chooses. Who has the higher claim. Traditionally this has been the argument... and generally on this ground I feel that the unborn fetus has the higher claim... because to deprive the fetus of life is to deprive them of everything... while a mother at the least is deprived of certain usage of her body for about 9 months... however, I must take a utalitarian point of view about abortion.

As much as it appals me to say it, I don't think it is a good idea to criminalize abortion. Why? Because even if it is criminalized it will still occur. It's sort of the same argument against drug prohabition... when it's criminalized it dosn't go away, it simply goes underground, and becomes even worse than legal abortion. When abortions are legal it is clean, cheap, and less damaging to the mother... when it's illegal it's usually dirty, expensive, and many women are killed by the process. Not to mention there will be much fraud, and suffering that goes along with the procedure... abortions rather than taking place in doctor's clinics, will take place in back alleys, and abandoned buildings, by people without medical knowledge, with coat hangers, and other implements. Many abortions will be unsuccessful, and result in the birth of physically and mentally damaged infants, and many mothers will die because of unsanitary procedures. Add to that the fact that abortion is already an emotionally devistating event.. making it illegal makes it difficult for a woman who has had an abortion to get proper counciling or emotional support for fear of being imprissoned for having an abortion. Does it really make sense to send scared 15 year old girls to prison because they got an aborton because they were too scared to give up their lives to take care of a child... or too scared to tell their parents they've been having sex, and got pregnant?

Legal abortion is bad, but criminalizing it only makes it that much worse... so as much as I hate to say it... it should remain legal. (Though I do feel that Roe v. Wade was an abomination on the grounds that it distroyed states rights)

But much could be done to reduce the number of abortions that take place. The best place to start would be with the system for adoptions in this country. Currently it is a pain in the *** to adopt a child in America. Not only do you have to go through reams of paperwork, tons of money in fees and lawyers, are required to open up your life to government agents, and you have to wait forever to get your child... Furthermore there is always the fear that several years later the birth parents may come back into your child's life and want the child back. Since the courts have been more and more siding with biological parents, and taking away children from adopted parents, is it any wonder that more and more perspective adoptive parents are going to Korea and China to adopt children, where it costs less, and there is almost no chance the biological parents are going to come looking for their kid in 5 years! If the adoption process was made easier I am guessing that far fewer parents would opt for abortion, because they know that their child could have the option for a better life than in an orphanage or with foster parents...

As for euthanasia... here's another difficult question. I strongly believe that only you own your own life. Therefore, should you decide to end your own life, that is your decision, and yours alone!

However, anti-euthanasia activists have a point... often times as parents get older and require more assistance from their children, they begin to feel like a buredon on their families. Sometimes unscrupulous people do not feel above convincing their parents that this belief is correct, and that the best thing to do would be to end their own life, espically when there is a large inherentance to be had once their parent is out of the way. The government and society has the responsibility to prevent the use of force or fraud against others... and for a child, or any other person, to exploit an older persons depression, and feelings of worthlessness for material gain is fraud... and therefore the argument can be made to make euthanasia illegal....

I believe, however, the right of ownership of one's own live trumps the previous concern. It is your own life, you have the right to live your life any way you want. If you decide that you no longer want to live at any time, for any reason, you have the right to end your own life. Therefore, if a person suffering wishes to end their own life, they are well within their right to do so. So no, euthanasia should not be illegal.

This becomes a much more difficult question when dealing with people who have become invalids... such as Terry Shivo... and in that case, I have to side with the closest living and competant relative... if (and only if) there is no living will or other such document to trump such relationships...

Answer 9

All for both of them. Euthanasia I believe is a choice, and that there should be steps taken before it is administered, and I believe that abortion is a person's choice.

Answer 10

every woman should have the right to a safe legal abortion but in this day and age with such effective birth control it shouldn't really be needed.

euthanasia - tricky one this - if it is genuinely the wish of the participant -IE - a terminally ill person requests a life ending drug to enable them to pass away peacefully and without pain - well i would want this for myself. it should be my choice and mine alone however .
i would hate to think that someone died because it was requested by children or partners that were just sick of the burden of care.
if the option was available it should be discussed with the individuals GP with a second GP as a safeguard from the likes of Harold Shipman who was bumping off his patients.

Answer 11

euthanasia... well its the persons choice.. its their life and their decision.... no-one can force someone to live...why exist in a world where for example you couldnt move a muscle and caused more and more pain to yourself and your family....

abortion.. well thats the womans choice.. her body and her life... its up to her... if she is ready and willing to raise a child then good but if not its better to have an abortion than bring an unloved and unwanted child into the world.