Many people are living with disabilities and illnesses that affect their way of living. Illnesses and disabilities that stop them from being able to move around or carry out basic daily tasks that most people take for granted. There are people that can’t even breathe without the support of a machine. Some people have a quality of life that is so poor that euthanasia feels like the right type of escape they are looking for. How would you feel if you were living with disabilities that stopped you from doing everyday tasks like dressing or feeding yourself? Would you be able to live like that? Not only is it cruel for people to live in such a way it is inhumane to refuse someone’s wish for death. They should have the choice and be able to die on their terms to keep their pride and dignity intact.
Legalising euthanasia could save the lives, if you don’t believe that then let these facts speak for themselves. In the Netherlands they have legalised euthanasia, which is also known as assisted suicide, for almost 16 years now. In 2005 a study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 0.4 percent of all euthanasia procedures were carried out without the patient’s consent. Now you may think that 0.4% is too many deaths but a report written in 1991, a decade before euthanasia was legalised, had this figure at 0.8 percent. This means that before euthanasia was legalised the rate of deaths was 0.4 percent higher than it is now. These figures show that euthanasia has saved people dying unlawfully.
The word euthanasia in the Greek language means a good death, it is also known as mercy killing. This is the practice or the procedure to kill or assist them with dying with good intentions. Without euthanasia people are suffering, however, with euthanasia people would be able to stop the pain and suffering they are going through and be able to live their life the way they want to. Do you really think that we should allow people to suffer? Should they not be allowed a death that is dignified and humane?
Jack Kevorkian, is an American Pathologist who claimed to have assisted with at least 130 assisted suicides who stated that “dying is not a crime”. Why should euthanasia be illegal and a crime to have the option to cease suffering? It should be your choice if you want to die, nobody should be able to interfere with your life and the way you have chosen to live it out. Dying is inevitable but it shouldn’t be up to anyone else to tell you when and how you can die. Refusing the right to let someone die is inhumane and cruel at that. Why we should refuse someone’s death? We don’t think twice about putting down or “killing” animals when they are suffering, it’s odd isn’t it? Some may feel it strange to compare humans to animals but there is no difference is there? We put down animals when they are suffering and in pain if there is nothing that we can do to help them. Why is it illegal to do the same with humans? We put down dogs or cats when they get too old or when they are in too much pain. People think that putting them down is the right thing to do, so wouldn’t that mean that letting a human suffer or continue to suffer is the wrong thing to do? Don’t you think it be the right thing to do to euthanise these helpless, hurting human beings?
Not only is euthanasia humane, it can save the government and hospitals money. By euthanising people, we can save money, and use it on other patients and more medicines. It can cost approximately £2,000-£2,400 a day to keep a life support machine running. This can be being more expensive dependent on how critical the patient’s condition is. By legalising assisted suicide, we can spend more money on medical properties and medical centres as well as researching diseases or terminal illnesses like cancer. Not only will it save money it will create more bed space in hospitals for patients. Those who are being forced to live on life support will be given the right to die, creating additional beds and medical resources.
Some others believe that legalising euthanasia would lead to a world where everyone can die, and it would become a “murder happy world” where life is cheap and dying is easy as making toast but it’s not like that. An analysis of data collected shows that this is not the case. In the Netherlands there were at least 3000 Dutch people that requested to be euthanised but only 1.7 percent of the 3,000 people were euthanised. It is not as easy as everyone would think it is to be euthanised, in fact it is exceedingly hard to be euthanised. In the Netherlands approximately two thirds of patients that request to be euthanised were refused. It wouldn’t be a cheap option either as those being euthanised would have to pay costs associated with their will, funerals etc. Therefore, legalising euthanasia would not get out of hand and can be controlled very easily if effectively implemented.
Those who are against euthanasia do not know the individual circumstances of those who wish to die. Who gives them the right to take away a human’s choice when it comes to their suffering? Imagine if you had a terminal illness or if you couldn’t move a muscle in your body? Imagine if you had a child and had to watch them in pain and suffering every day? How would you feel? No one should be able to interfere with how or when those individuals want to die. It is wrong to take away their decision to die and refuse them the right when they are the ones suffering and there is nothing anyone can do to restore their health. Hopefully in the future people will be given the same rights and compassion as animals so that people will no longer have to continue to suffer in an inhumane manner.
Bibliography:
- https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/cannabis-the-facts/
- https://metro.co.uk/2015/04/20/11-good-reasons-weed-should-be-legalised-by-experts-5157982/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44531112
