Euthanasia: The Debate

It is often said that there are things worse than death. This presupposes that there are those who may prefer death over being alive, which in the first place should be the natural impulse of every living being. How can something be so terrible that some prefer to run counter to the natural impulse of life?

For those who may be suffering from tremendous pain caused perhaps by an incurable illness or accident and existing under such dependent, burdensome and unacceptable conditions, the only other acceptable decision is to die.

The term Euthanasia has been around for centuries but it has become especially relevant today because of its legal, moral and social implications. Greek in origin, the word literally means good death, which is exactly the kind of relief suffering individuals seek.

Historically, euthanasia has been in existence in some form or other in different cultures. In ancient Greece for example, it was not a questionable matter to assist the dying into the portals of death. In Germany, some form of euthanasia was also already in existence even before Hitler came to power. With the Nazi takeover, the practice became even more widespread as the government legalized assisting the deaths of countless disabled men, women and children. In recent years, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium have allowed some form of euthanasia. Although in the United States euthanasia has not yet been thoroughly legalized, the celebrated case of Terri Schiavo who had been in life support for ten years became a milestone when her husband was allowed to remove her feeding tube.

There are many kinds of euthanasia but the most argued about at present is voluntary euthanasia in which individuals may give informed competent consent to ending their lives. This is opposed to involuntary euthanasia which is a close approximation of murder since there is obviously no patient consent.

Voluntary euthanasia has often been deemed the more acceptable since it is the express will of the individual and not any other person's will to die. This however, does not mean that anyone can just express a wish to die and be allowed to. Supporters of voluntary euthanasia stress that guidelines should be set up. For example, aside from the voluntary wish to die, the wish should also be noted as persistent and expressed by a patient who is still fully competent to understand the implications of such a wish. It is also suggested that voluntary euthanasia be administered only to those who are so terminally ill that no amount of medication or treatment can be of use or to those who are in such tremendous and burdensome pain.

The strongest opponents of euthanasia are of course on the side of morality, believing that euthanasia is no different from murder or suicide. In many religions, especially those in the Christian tradition staunchly maintain that any form of human killing is against the law of God.

On the other side of the argument, it is simply just too impossible to imagine what individuals on their death-beds are going through. Those who oppose euthanasia have of course never been terminally ill. We can only imagine what it feels like to be alive but half dead with agony.