Euthanasia is the act of mercifully putting someone to death to end their suffering from an incapacitating physical disorder or from a terminal illness. Euthanasia could either be done by withholding treatment or injecting drugs that lead to a painless death. It has been a controversial concept from its initiation. It is a grey area in which one must weigh what is more important to his ethics before deciding his perspective on it. While euthanasia can be greatly abused, the liberty it provides in deciding your own fate places it on the positive list.
Euthanasia can be a personal choice due to the fact that the individual does not want to suffer any longer. These people do not see a light at the end of the tunnel, its complete darkness, they understand that the life they had before the terminal illness is not going to return. While this is extremely saddening, they do have the right to die in dignity. Patients often feel like they are placing a burden on their loved ones who are the caretakers, this is not the case at all however you cannot prevent a free willed person from thinking what he desires. Others never want people to remember them in any form except their healthiest and happiest. Euthanasia is more painful to the patient’s loved ones than to him, but patients have the right to be selfish, they have the right to choose to end their suffering in a world they feel betrayed them.
Euthanasia can also be decided on by family members if the patient is in an unconscious state. This is where euthanasia can be abused greatly. It can be abused by the family denying the patient the right to die in dignity. This usually happens for one of two reasons; first, the family is unable to let go of the patient and second, they believe it is unethical. For the first reason, I believe therapy would be a good step in the right direction, it is unfair that we prolong pain just for us to not deal with the inevitable pain of losing someone sooner. As for the second, it is simply biased judgement by putting the right to life over the right to death and free will. Obviously, the patient cannot decide for himself in this case, thus the family has to realize that the right to die is as important than the right to life and the patient is experiencing none of the joys of life when he is unconscious.
Family members and doctors can however abuse euthanasia in a much greater extent and there exists regulated laws to prevent that. Family members can approve and go through euthanasia in order to fasten the inheritance process. While this might sound absurd, money sometimes matters more to some than family. As for the doctors, some doctors do not remain loyal to their ethical vows and can abuse their power for organ donation which in this case would be harvesting. Medical mistakes happen often, thus the doctor can make it seem as if it is a medical mistake and use the healthy organs on another patient who could be offering money in return. This however must not be the reason behind criminalizing euthanasia, it should be a reason to take preventative measures to ensure such injustice does not occur.
Like every new concept, euthanasia has its supporters and its haters. Euthanasia provides relief for patients who have lived in darkness to the point where nothing is enough to make them want to live. If they do not have the option to die painlessly, I’m afraid they will opt for methods that are more painful to them and those around them. Most importantly, people should know that abusing euthanasia for selfish outcomes can be prevented and regulated by strict laws.
