Euthanasia, What?
by Becca Dunn
This year has seen some pretty heavily debated political topics, including
euthanasia, or medically-assisted suicide for a person
who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Some
believe that, for ethical or religious reasons, you should
die whenever you are meant to die. Others think that
people should have the right to choose. Hundreds of
people die every day. In a single minute 105 people die.
Why drive this number up?
Medically-assisted suicide gives terminally ill patients a
way out before they are too ill to make decisions. Letting
people decide when and how to end their life offers
control over what seems to be a hopeless situation. Many doctors agree that this is a
justifiable decision, and Colorado has just become the sixth state to legalize euthanasia
for adults who are suffering a terminal illness and have fewer than six months to live.
Euthanasia is barbaric, religiously and ethically. People should want to live.
People with religious backgrounds consider medically-assisted suicide to be a sin,
throwing away God’s gift like it is something unimportant. Patients could make a flawed
choice because they are overwhelmed with conflicting information. Yes, multiple doctors
have to agree, but the thing most people question is the morality behind the idea.
Giving someone the option to die and cut life short is a selfish decision that hurts
other people more than a natural death would. It ignores the family members who will
go through the grieving process before and after the person is gone.
Medically-assisted suicide dismisses the
possibility of a scientific development that might
end up offering some type of cure. Even without a
medical miracle, people have been diagnosed with
terminal illnesses and have survived. They didn’t
know whether they would live or die but gave it a
fighting chance.
People die every day and more than 100
people die in a minute. Driving this number up
through medically-assisted suicide is not the answer. It is always hard to say goodbye to
a loved one; don’t let them leave you. Let medical miracles happen. Let’s make people