Orrany+On+Kevorkian+and+Euthanasia

Contrary to its literal translation, euthanasia is no easy matter. The complex confliction, centered on morality and practicality, between the church, patient and doctor gives way to the floundering at the issue of assisted patient suicide. The key disagreements, in regards to various religious backgrounds and moral standards all loop around with no definite concrete answer to the grey issue. I have some thoughts about the controversial topic, but then again, I’m a 17 year old girl.

Those in opposition to active euthanasia would ultimately be the Catholic Church. According to an official declaration from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Franjo Seper asserted that “it is necessary to state firmly once more that nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying” for it is “the violation of the divine law, an offence against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life, and an attack on humanity.” The Catholic Church is very clear on the stance of pro life. They claim that assisted suicide is a violation of God’s will; doctors who actively “kill” their patients are playing god. But in retrospect, wouldn’t that same thought also be applied to the fact that doctors are artificially prolonging lives beyond normal human capacity. The new innovation of technology in the medical world has ironically brought along more suffering. Many patients are left to barely cling on that thread of life dependant with the support of breathing tubes and painkillers. Some patients seek to die before that zombie-like state of living; they would rather die with dignity. Humans are like time bombs. It is only a matter of time before they go off. Why prolong a life that’ll soon die?

But then, there is the issue of the handicapped. Alison Davis, who was born with myelomeningocele spina bifida, is a disabled person in opposition to the whole notion of euthanasia. She feels that although handicapped, she has had a normal life and in no way was it “no worthwhile quality of life.” It seems that when handicapped people undergo the needle, they think that their quality of life is not at worthwhile to a normal person’s. This kind of thinking will spread to more disabled people; they will then want to end their lives. The major argument to Davis is that she never knew what it felt to have something snatched away from you; a complete life change. Some people just can’t bear that sudden change in life. Take Daniel James for example. After a rugby injury, Daniel James was left quadriplegic; he literally was a head in a bed. Unable to adjust to a new life of not being able to move his body, be sought for help via assisted suicide.

This then leads to those in favor of euthanasia. Pieter Admiraal, a doctor in the Netherlands, interestingly stated that in a sense, “we are all terminally ill.” People are going to die anyways so we should “respect the patient’s autonomy” because there is a “clear moral and legal boundary [that] can be drawn around the notion of consent.” Patients just want to die a death before they get to the point of complete dependency. At this point, they’ve lost their pride in that sense of “living.” They are the ones who chose to die and that we should respect with their decision.

I know that I sound very biased towards the pro choice side, but I do understand the other stance. Human life is amazing; life is pretty awesome. Sure, I’m not a religious person at all, but I was raised in a Buddhist household, although I would at most consider myself agnostic. My morals are a bit unorthodox, and I have a realist approach to the matter. I know that losing a loved one is hard to overcome, but sometimes it’s just time to move on. People will die and I think that we should respect a dying person’s last wish. A doctor’s job is to treat the suffering of a patient. They should be able to actively lead a person to the next world for it is a medical practice. I believe that doctor assisted suicide should be legal. It seems very wrong for doctors to do this in the dark; they should come out. It is a person’s right to ask for a medical assisted suicide. If a person disagrees with this practice, they can just not allow it to happen to themselves. I believe that a person’s belief should not hinder everybody else and that this practice should no longer be in the dark; different strokes for different folks.