Euthanasia

Euthanasia has been a well debated topic worldwide for centuries, I think it is time to settle the score. In the sense of the deliberate hastening of a persons death, it was supported by Plato, Seneca the Elder, and Socrates, but being such a controversial, topic it was and still is opposed by many considering it contradicts humans' natural survival instinct and other reasons dealing with religion. If the patient and/or family of a patient do not believe in euthanasia for whatever reason, they do have the option to not use the drug. The use of active euthanasia in hospitals is sometimes the moral option for a miserable patient, if used under the right circumstances it can prevent further suffering, stop the dissipation of necessary hospital resources and save monetary assets for patients' families. There are two classifications of euthanasia utilized in hospitals; voluntary and non-voluntary. The voluntary use of euthanasia is when there is consent from a patient for a physician to aid bringing about his or her own death. Assisted suicide is also a common sobriquet for voluntary euthanasia. This may be a very appealing possibility for many terminally ill patients or anyone who simply cannot stand living any longer on account of personal suffering. Imagine yourself, in a cold, paper lined, hospital bed with excruciating pain, unable to stand, hardly able to eat, incapable of thinking about anything else. You're left weak, powerless, for only your agony to consume you. There is no alternative to escape this torment but death, but you are forced to suffer through for years until you pass away because your body just couldn't take it anymore. Wouldn't it have been better to cease your distress' Surely any family member would sympathize and understand your decision, but the law obligated you to sit in a hospital bed,wasting away, only to pass a few years later. Along with pointless it is also cruel, but somehow assisted suicide is only legal in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Switzerland. 'Well what about those who are unable to speak for themselves by reason of a coma or illness for which they cannot communicate efficiently'' you might ask. In this case the use of euthanasia is termed non-voluntary. A family member or care-taker of the patient would have a part in the decision to put him or her to rest. Now, these situations are tricky. Sometimes the motives of a person can be distorted and questionable, and if a person does not seem to be improving and no longer has the funds to support their hospital stay, is it right to just off them' If the patient's supporter deems that to be unjust they can just as well resume treatment in out-patient. To be blunt, the out-patient alternative is still expensive, and our country in this recession cannot afford to pay for all of the resources the patient requires for sustaining life. As we all know, hospital stays are not only expensive for the government and the hospitals themselves, but for the patient and their family as well. Statistics show that in the state of California, in-patient treatment costs an average of $2,419 per day. These days only the wealthy can afford that over a certain amount of time. It is hard enough already to keep your family afloat but when you're spending thousands of dollars on your vegetable son every day for who knows how long, you'll end up bankrupt, living in a box, and eating with the 'freegans'. We cant always put our own concern about grieving and the loss of a great friend, sibling, offspring, or whoever, before their own suffering. As the remarkable philosopher Plato once said ”No one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.” An ill, miserable patient, who not to mention is costing thousands, might just be better off breaking free of the hell they are experiencing, or the purgatory that is a coma, by making use of the wonderful drug we know as euthanasia. I believe the use of active euthanasia in hospitals should be legalized throughout the united states of America and other countries as well. "If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character, would you slow down' Or speed up'"- chuck palahniuk