Doctor-Assisted Suicide - Research Paper Example

Euthanasia means painless death but this has become a worldwide debate because doctors are helping people die rather than saving their lives, patients with chronic disorders are given pills and they die painlessly but is this justifiable? Doctors should not take lives; they are supposed to save lives. More will be presented in this paper about euthanasia. No religion in the world would vouch for assisted suicides as it is a huge sin to bring your life to an end and it is an even bigger sin to help someone die but in the case of terminally ill people it is a different story. There are several NGOs that have been established to help terminally ill people; Dying with dignity is one such NGO which is located in Canada. The members of the NGO have been trying hard to help terminally ill people, the NGO supports assisted suicide but at the same time they have been trying to ensure that the terminally ill patients die without any pain and they die with dignity. In some countries it is against the law to assist terminally ill patients to commit suicide. Final exit network is another NGO which helps terminally ill patients in assisted suicides. This NGO is known for accepting patients who are suffering from fatal diseases like cancer, heart failure, Parkinson’s disease and so on. Usually it is very difficult for such patients to be adopted by an NGO but Final exit is an exception and it accepts almost everyone. The near and dear ones of the terminally ill die each day, they suffer from physical and emotional trauma isn’t assisted suicide better than dying each day? It may not be the best option but when emotional pain and suffering supersedes everything, one is left with a handful of options. There are two ways in which euthanasia can be performed, the first one is when the doctor or the nurse gives a medicine which takes the life away of a terminally ill patient and the other is when the doctor or the nurse choose to ignore the patient and the patient dies upon not getting the proper medication. “Dr. Jack Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of a Colorado multiple sclerosis patient whose body was discovered in a motel room.” (Doctor-Assisted Suicide) The zillion dollar question is who should decide when a terminally ill patient should be assisted with suicide or not? This is one question which is extremely difficult to answer, most times it is the relatives of the terminally ill patient who take a call and the doctors go ahead with it in some countries where assisted suicide is allowed. Euthanasia groups appeared for the first time in England and America in the early 20th century. During the Second World War the Nazis in Germany had their own euthanasia program. They let people die who were not worthy and healthy enough to survive, especially children and older people. Many groups that promote the right to die have emerged in the second part of the 20th century. (Euthanasia) Not worthy to survive is an incomprehensible phrase, it is very debatable as to whether who is worthy of surviving and who is not? An individual who has been deemed unworthy will try and justify his worth sparking off a never ending debate, the same makes this issue all the more debatable. Euthanasia should be supported because we all have a right to decide what is good and what is bad for us, similarly it is important to assist the terminally ill when they know that their disease is incurable and they have to suffer and endure the pain, it is so much better to assist them rather than leaving them at the mercy of no one. Even the doctors start ignoring the patients who are incurable and the pain and suffering increases by several folds when this happens. Quality of life determines whether we are happy or sad, in the case of terminally ill patients the quality of life is more often than not miserable, they experience pain beyond imagination. The emotional trauma that they go through is unimaginable; this is why it is so much better to assist them with suicide. This will also reduce the pain and suffering of their near and dear ones. The population of the world is increasing with each passing day; the overcrowded hospitals are ill-equipped when it comes to taking care of terminally ill patients, would not it be so much better to save those who have chances of living rather than wasting time on those who cannot be cured? It sounds really harsh but it is practical and perfectly implementable. In many Asian countries the government hospitals are full of terminally ill patients who have given up all hope and nothing is being done about it because the laws do not permit assisted suicide in these countries. The patients have nowhere to go, some have no emotional support as their family has already left them knowing that they cannot be cured. This is much worse than dying, how can a relationship break when a human being is alive? This highlights the prevailing selfishness in our society. There are strong cases against euthanasia as well, doctors can never help in assisted suicide because all the doctors take an oath to save the lives of the people, how can they play a part in assisted suicides? Many a time a terminally ill patient recovers against all odds and starts living a perfectly normal life, this has happened in the past and may happen in the future as well. These possibilities are always there and several times it is very difficult to determine what a terminally ill patient really wants? In which case, assisted suicide should not even be thought about let alone doing it. Christianity defines assisted suicide as a crime and it is right in more ways than one, how can someone take the life of another person? Hindus also believe that this act is like interfering with the life and death cycle and we are no one to determine when a person should die. Islam is also deadly against assisted suicide. It is also believed that euthanasia devalues the life of a human being; morally assisting someone with suicide is considered a heinous act. How would one assess whether a disorder of mental nature qualifies mercy killing? What if the pain threshold is below optimum and the patient perceives the circumstances to be not worthy of living? How would one know whether the wish to die is the result of unbalanced thought process or a logical decision in mentally ill patients? What if the individual chooses assisted suicide as an option and the family wouldn’t agree?” (Pros and Cons of Euthanasia) To conclude it is very fair to say that euthanasia is a very debatable topic, different people are ought to have different views on this debatable topic. Some would say it is fine to assist terminally ill patients with suicide while some others would strongly oppose this. At the end of the day we have to practical and vouch for assisted suicide, there are several reasons which have been comprehensively discussed in the earlier parts of the paper. "We'll all die. But in an age of increased longevity and medical advances, death can be suspended, sometimes indefinitely, and no longer slips in according to its own immutable timetable.” (Euthanasia) Our population is perhaps the biggest reason, we are ill-equipped when it comes to dealing with terminally ill patients, we are emotionally not strong enough to see them suffer each day, the emotional trauma which this whole issue causes is beyond imagination for the near and dear ones of these terminally ill patients hence, it is in the best interest of everyone to assist terminally ill patients with suicide, some religions may strongly oppose this but we have to be practical and think about those who have bright chances of survival rather than focuses our energy and efforts on those who have bleak chances of living and overcoming their illnesses. Works Cited Doctor-Assisted Suicide (2011). Current Issues. n.p., Web. Retrieved from: http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48932772.html Euthanasia. Pros and Cons of Euthanasia. n.p., Web. Retrieved from: Euthanasia. Top 10 Pros and Cons. n.p., Web. Retrieved from: Pros and Cons of Euthanasia. Reasons against Euthanasia. n.p., Web. Retrieved from: Read More