Euthanasia can be defined as ‘the termination of a very sick person’s life in order to relieve them of their suffering’. Usually the person is in extreme pain, very ill or their quality of life is low due to certain severe physical disabilities for example being paralyzed from the neck and down. The debate about euthanasia, has become quite heated, certain groups fear that elderly or disabled people may begin to feel pressured to end their lives if euthanasia becomes legal. On one side of the debate, people see euthanasia as a compassionate act of mercy. On the other side, euthanasia is viewed as murder. For a person who does not have any disabilities or illnesses it may be difficult to imagine a scenario in which they would request death. Most people assume that severe pain is the main reason someone would seek euthanasia, but surveys in the USA and the Netherlands show that less than a third of requests for euthanasia were because of pain. There are also psychological factors that cause people to think of euthanasia, such as depression.
On the pro-euthanasia side of the debate, euthanasia is quite often referred to as ‘mercy killing’. Unfortunately, there are humans in this world, with horrible illnesses or disabilities, and sometimes these people have been battling their illness for years, and just want to experience the peace of ‘the afterlife’. In these cases, should the patient have the right to decide their own fate? In the end is it not our right, as humans, to rule our own life? The problem is, sometimes the patient is not conscious or coherent, and the decision to get euthanasia is in the hands of the relatives, medics or even court. However, it is problematic to give anyone the authority over life and death.
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