Legalizing_Euthanasia

Legalizing Euthanasia Euthanasia can be defined as a mercy killing and the way to relieve an incurable suffering of death by terminating one’s life. It was one of the ways to ease the incurable patient although they are suffering from critical diseases. Euthanasia should be legalized for the right of individual to end their life, reduce the financial problems that arise and lessen the pain endured by the terminally ill patients. Firstly, individual has right to end their life. Other people should not interfere with a person’s personal decision. To maintain a person’s life without his or her consent is considered as unethical by law and we have violated the person’s freedom of choice. Article 28 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that, everyone has the right to live where their freedom and rights are all respected by everyone. If the patients choose to die, we should allow them to discontinue their medical treatment. In Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights conclude that any person have their own rights and own opinion; where they can act any way they want and no one should forbid them from doing so. As stated by John Griffith and Heleen Weyers (2008), the United States Supreme Court and American Medical Association believe that terminal sedation is an acceptable alternative since it does not lessen anyone’s freedom. For example in the case Rodriguez v. British Columbia Attorney General (1993), the appellant, Sue Rodriguez, a 42-year-old mother, suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis appealed to the court to end her life. From the above facts, a terminally ill patient should not be stopped from choosing to end their life as by doing so will violates their total right as a free individual, notwithstanding morally wrong. Next, the reason to legalize Euthanasia is to reduce the financial problems. Emanuel and Battin (1998) revealed that, “...one commentator observed: Managed care and managed death through physicians-assisted suicide are less expensive than fee-for-service care and extended survival. Less expensive is better.” (p. 167). A financial problem is something that everybody wants to limit or cut off. Obviously, Euthanasia is the only effective way to counter this problem as according to recent Medicare data, the medical cost for each patient who dies and do not use physician-assisted suicide is around $ 10,118 in 1995. And this amount will increase according to time. Smith (2009) stated that to sustain the terminally ill patient’s life and give them incentive care will cost a lot of money. Which, the cost will not only be beared by the family but also to the country’s economy. So, legalizing Euthanasia reduces the financial problem not only to the patient’s family but also to the country’s economy. The objective of Euthanasia is to lessen the pain endured by the terminally ill patients where the patient will die earlier and will not face the pain of death. Quill, Meier, Block, and Billings (1998) revealed that the procedures of euthanasia are where the life-sustaining therapy will be stopped after the patient is put to sleep with drugs. As a result, the patient will die slowly but painlessly. (p. 555). Generally, death is a painful nature process which everybody will faced and as for dying patient which already suffered from their sickness, Euthanasia is what they want as it is painless and slow. These will gave them a little times to spent wisely with their friends and family without feels the pain and they can go through this process peacefully. Clearly, Euthanasia is the answer to reduce the pain endured by these terminally ill patients. Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is morally wrong. The physician-assistance suicide should not comply with the request of the patient, as it clearly violates the medical ethics. Doctors should saves life, not ending it. Although everybody has their own rights to do whatever they want which they think is the best for them, committing Euthanasia is not the best way to solve their problems. These will lead to unbalanced ecosystem because dying is a natural process. Plus, there might be chance for the dying patient to survive, so they must not give up. Although the patients have been given the best medical care ever, there is still a small number of the patient who is suffering and their pain cannot be relieved. So they will request for physician-assisted suicide to hasten their death and ends their pain. Euthanasia is a must as it is the individual’s right to end their life, reduce the financial problems that arise and lessen the pain endured by the terminally ill patients. Therefore, by legalizing Euthanasia, the problems of the terminally ill patients will definitely solve.