Euthanasia. Pros And Cons? For Or Against?

[Necare]

So I was flicking through one of the Norwegian newspapers today, and in it was an article about a 70 year old man who, due to not being able to live anylonger with the constant pains and progressive corruption of cancer, decided to end his own life. Before this final act, he wrote a letter, adressing the issue of euthanasia. In the letter he made a very good point; why is it that whenever a dearly beloved pet suffers indescribably from an illness or injury, it is fully accepted to give it a lethal injection to end its misery, while whenever a human being suffers through the same, it is deemed to be a horrendous act in most countries, to medically assist someones death?

Of course, you could say, that unlike human beings, an animal isn`t endowed with the ability to express whether it want to die or not, and therefore it is up to us to make the hard decision to have them injected. You could say, that according to medical ethic, doctors are there to preserve life, and not take it away. But at what cost, I wonder? Is it really a good thing to stick so vehemently to the principle of "Life shall be preserved no matter what", when clearly it would be much more in accord with the caring nature of the medical profession, to help someone who is suffering from a life-debilitating disease( of course without any possibility for a cure), to end their life in a graceful manner?

Instead, what do we see? People like this man, having to shamefully( for let us not beat about the bush, suicide has always been taboo, and still is) sneak about the corners to do the deed, being found in a park or in a garage. In my opinion, the refusal to accept euthanasia as a viable option, does not amount to caring, on the contrary it is indirect sadism. So as you can see, I`m pro-euthanasia. What are you? For or against? Or in between? Start the debate!

[Necare]

Sorry to hear about the demise of your friend and cat! It is always hard to loose someone you have bonded with, be it animal or human. We had to take our dog of seventeen to the vet a little while ago, and not long ago a dear friend of mine committed suicide. Hard as hell.

I fully agree with what you said, the deeply intimate and personal decision to ends one life when caught in the clutches of life-debilitating illness, should not rest on the shoulders of people in office with a universal moral agenda. But unfortunately that is the sad, sad situation people in crippling pain are facing. Whatever happened to respect for personal choice, I wonder? What is most important here? To stick to your holier than thou and narrow guns of moralistic bureaucracy( ergo, arrogantly overriding the individual and multifaceted concern), or what seems to me to be the more logical alternative: To accept that the pleas of gravely ill people to die is really something to consider. And not, as you said, endlessly debating this topic to death.

It seems quite absurd to me that all those individuals begging for release actually get their pains multiplied and prolonged, while dry-mouthed and preaching politicians is standing there with mock concern, but with a clear No on their lips! Disgusting to say the least. I`m glad to see that at least three countries has grasped the vital importance of assisting people letting go, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland. These countries grasp the fact that care comes in many forms, that the best care is the rational awakening that sometimes death truly is better. Life with devouring, crippling, unending pain does not amount to vitality, life in this state, I imagine, is hell. And they continue to problematize this?!! Unbelievable, talk about trampling on the pleas of the weak and bedridden!

I wonder, what is behind this global vehemence against euthanasia? Personally, I think it comes down to this: In our day and age, we are no longer in contact with Death. I think that in our daily mindset, death truly has become a phantom, a fleeting and unreal presence. We all know in our hearts that our earthly existence is limited, we are all going to be food for worms, and the fact that we shall rot one day is just as natural as being born.

But what has happened, (as opposed to lets say the Middle Ages, where people could still enjoy life, but was always consciously aware and not afraid of of passing away. And who reminded themselves each day with the saying "Memento Mori", remember you shall die. And where they used to bury people under the ground of the lively marketplace) in our day and age, in our modernity? We panickly repress the idea of death, we hush it into a corner as it were an abomination, by using several clever and well-thought out strategies and methods.

We see the frantic, superficial desire for botox, for plastic surgery, for "age-reducing" creams and oils, as a result of the disequilibrium of a onesided focus on youth. No wonder this has become a fine and fluffy coping strategy against the inevitability of death, since the mere sight of wrinkles instantly reminds us of death. And of course you have the scientists searching after the golden formula that will halter the aging process, again, an inherent, but unfortunately not outspoken uneasiness about the fact of death. And whoever said, that if you rationally acknowledge the fact that we will one day die, you would naturally have to be a somber individual? Can you not be a happy one, without the need for plastic and repression? Well, I would rather be the somber one then.

[rickibrat2]

guess short and simple

if terminal you should have the right to be put to sleep and walk the bridges, we do it to animals all the time and we should have the same right for ourselfs