Euthanasia

EUTHANASIA TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 POINT OF VIEW----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 SPECIAL POPULATION AND EUTHANASIA---------------------------------------------- 4 EUTHANASIA IN THE UNITED STATES---------------------------------------------------- 5 INTRODUCTION For many years now, euthanasia has been an undying societal issue which calls for the attention of the many, especially of the church, taking into consideration the impact on morality of such act. The term “euthanasia” originally came from a Greek word which means gentle and easy death[1]. Other definitions of euthanasia could include medical implication which involves the lives of the patients being shortened as advised by the doctors and the relatives of the patient because of existing medical conditions. It operates under the belief that the death would be beneficial for the patient, therefore it is better to put the patient into death. Moreover, on a moral note, euthanasia is also defined as active and intentional termination of an individual’s life especially if the person around the patient thinks that death is the best solution[2]. This definition and practice raised major concerns from the moral sector of the society for it has raised ethical issues which will be discussed further in the course of this paper. POINT OF VIEW As a citizen of this society, I do not take the idea of euthanasia as acceptable for me as an individual. I do believe in the sanctity of life and how it was given to us to be taken very well care of. We all undergo problems in which we experience physical and emotional pain. It is even more painful for us to see our loved ones who we know are in pain every time we see their medical condition. But, I believe, it pains the more if we know that we, without any conscience, allowed that loved one to die in front of us through mercy killing. It pains the more because we know that we are responsible for that, we know that we condone that act, and we know that we are to be blamed with what has happened. We did not create our lives. Our life was given to us by someone else from up above to be cherished and for us to live it to the best that we can. The pain and sufferings I believe are all part of being able to live. With that, we do not have the right to take it away. Time will come that it will be taken away, and only Him knows, not us personally. The moment we consider the practice of euthanasia, we put the decision to end someone’s life in our hands – a power which is not vested upon us and a decision which shall never be ours. SPECIAL POPULATION AND EUTHANASIA In order to understand better the principle which underlies the concept of euthanasia, it is also very important that we take a look at its effect on the so-called “special populations or special groups”. The special population includes those members of the society who are disabled, elderly, poor, minority, female, and the infant. Some cases of euthanasia and special population will be considered and presented and the researcher will analyze beliefs on euthanasia on a case to case basis. The elderly population is often one of the hottest topics or issues of concern when it comes to euthanasia. The belief that they are already old, they have had too much of the pain and suffering of life, has always been pin-pointed as one of the reasons why euthanasia has been considered as an option. For instance, when Pope John Paul II was still living, he had Parkinson’s disease but then he condemned people who considered the elderly as a burden to the society instead of them being a valuable resource[3]. The researcher supports this idea holding that what is actually needed is a faithful care to the elderly and not ending their life like throwing them away as if they have no more value and importance to the world. The occurrence of old age which weakens the human body should not be enough and valuable reason to put someone to death only because of the belief that such will be for the better of the said person. Aside from the elderly, another special group which calls the attention of the many when talking about euthanasia is the poor. This part of the population particularly includes those earning not enough money to sustain their everyday living, that when they are in medical pain all they think of is that dying is a better option for such will save them from pain and from expenses as well. There are members of the society who do not have any medical plans, in some parts of the world; they do not have access to better health care facilities and highly effective medicines. This is primarily one of the reasons why when they are in pain, they just feel like there’s no else to go but to die to end their own burden and the burden of the people they will leave behind. At the worst cases, there are medical institutions which believe that the practice of euthanasia is just because it helps them to save and cut down on costs especially with regards to the healthcare provision to the dying patient[4]. Such issues are always centered towards the poor and the minority and how financial problems would most likely put them to death, with their consent. EUTHANASIA IN THE UNITED STATES The United States is one of the countries in the world in which euthanasia is a big issue. The practice of this is legal in Oregon. Despite its legality, many associations and concerned groups are still questioning its legalization and how it deteriorates the quality of human life not only in Oregon but in the whole world. In Oregon, the death with dignity act was enacted on October 27, 1997 allowing terminally-ill Oregonians to voluntary administer self-medications prescribed by the physician with the purpose of ending the patient’s suffering and putting that individual into death[5]. The legalization of the practice of euthanasia in Oregon was done through ballot measures. Moreover, other states in the United States have their own laws and policies regarding the presence of euthanasia in the society. For example for both New York and New Jersey, laws prohibit the execution of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide no matter what are the reasons that may be presented. Aside from that, the prohibitions are also stated and included under the general homicide laws of both states[6]. It must be noted that euthanasia violates the dignity of the human person; it opposes life itself for it is putting an end to it. There are places which have legalized the practice of euthanasia, yet in the course of time, morality issues still abound its practice and such will not be into a halt unless the practice itself can be stopped. The Second Vatican Council declares that the human life is a gift from God over which human have stewardship but no absolute dominion[7]. We, being creatures of God, were given the right to nourish and nurture life but we were never inherent with the right to decide to end it the way we want it and the time we wanted to do so. The sanctity of the human life should be put at the top of the concerns when we consider and start questioning the practice of euthanasia and its ethical implications. ----------------------- [1] The New Shorter Oxford Dictionary; [2] Keown, John; Euthanasia, Ethics, and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legislation; Cambridge University Press; 2005 [3] Ertelt, Steven; Pope Condemns Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide; 2005 [4] Goyal, Nikhil, Easwaran, Raju; Spandan Coverstory on Euthanasia; Accessed on March 18, 2010 from http://www.spandan.com/edb/articles/euth/faq.php [5] Oregon Department of Human Services; 2008 [6] Legal Status of Assisted Suicide/ Euthanasia in The United States [7] Baird, Robert M., Rosenbaum, Stuart E.; Euthanasia: The Moral Issues; Prometheus Books