Terence's

Hi guys, this is Terence. I will be talking about Euthanasia and my views on the topic itself for my review.

Euthanasia. Is it justified?


Euthanasia is the deliberate ending of a dependent human being's life. There have been many debates in the western countries these days, on whether it is morally correct to take a person's life in order to end his misery. Personally, I would feel that euthanasia, be it voluntary or non-voluntary, is definitely wrong. This is simply because life is something which every human on Earth must value and preserve.

Life is precious because opportunities abound and the numerous thrills and joys which we have yet to experience. It is an adventure in which every turn is a surprise. More importantly, life grants us time to savour the moments with our beloved family and friends. Due to the infinite reasons to live and it's value, it is never justified to end one's life. Voluntary euthanasia is no different from suicide. In my vantage point, people who intend to commit suicide are people who intend to escape the harsh reality of the world. Therefore, involuntary euthanasia is a sin which can never be forgiven.

One example of such atrocity:
During World War 2, the Nazis initiated a clandestine involuntary euthanasia program. The program massacred young children thought to be abnormal and were "life unworthy of life". Soon after, the age limit was increased to include even adults!

My views:
The children back then should have been given a choice whether to continue to live or not. We should not discriminate people just because they are different. Killing is already a grave sin, and yet they double that by taking away the lives of people who are already deprived of a normal life. Is there any grounds to consider what they have done right?

We humans have always been complacent of our superiority in knowledge. Therefore, we often think that we are always right about everything. However, time will eventually prove us wrong. We should not assume that we have got our facts right everytime. In some cases, our conjuncture about causes of diseases is still inaccurate even after much research over the years.

Lets take diabetes as an example:
In the past, doctors thought that the cure for diabetes was to increase the patient's sugar intake, when now we know that it will only exacerbate his condition. Now, isn't it curious that how many patients have been unintentionally killed by doctors this way?

Inspired by this example, it is possible that we have been ignorant about the all the facts of euthanasia all along. It is never certain to say that patients are doomed to die due to the rapid technological advances. Thus, we should never assume euthanasia be the only way to save a patient- from his/her excruciating pain. There could be hope some time after. I mean, who knows what miracles science can grant us right? Well, on second thought, the emotional stress of a dying patient could have been more torturous than the actual physical pain itself.

Therefore, as relatives/friends of a patient, we should not try to relieve him of his misery by executing the most extreme means of killing him. Instead, we should shower him with love, care, and emotional support as much as possible. Moreover, pain management technologies have been advancing rapidly over the years. Advanced pain relievers are always available nowadays in hospitals and clinics and we should definitely make full use of them. In fact, the mission of the medical profession itself is to protect life- not to end it.

If I am to be gravely sick some day in the future, I would definitely not go down without a fight. We as humans should try to preserve life and not give up even if the odds are against us.

-End-

This topic is inspired by a GP 'A' level Qns: "Euthanasia is murder. Discuss"
I have picked up some facts on Euthanasia from these sources:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia)(http://www.euthanasia.com/reasonsforeuthanasia.html)
(GP Essay Library by Redspot--Book) and have included them in my review. Feel free to take a look at these sources to know more about euthanasia.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my review. Thank you for your time!

-Terence