Do you think Euthanasia should be legalised in the UK?

by rachel-123 (student)

AS and A Level Religious Studies & Philosophy

Euthanasia is the termination of a person’s life in order to relieve them of their suffering. In most cases the person has an incurable condition that inhibits their ability to carry out everyday activities. The law in England states that it is an offence to encourage or assist a suicide or a suicide attempt. However, Euthanasia is legal in other countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden. There are two types of euthanasia; voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia happens when a person asks someone to help them die such as giving them a lethal injection. Involuntary euthanasia is carried out without they patients consent, usually when the person is in vegetative state.

The first main argument which supports euthanasia is that people should have self control of how and when they die. People should be not be forced to face devastating illnesses which dehumanise them and rid them of their dignity. It is our basic human rights that we have control over events in our life and to take opportunities that make our lives less unpleasant, such as dying. I believe that killing humans that don’t want to live is not wrong. In addition, No one should be forced to suffer against their own will. If the only way to end their suffering is death we should allow them, especially as everybody will eventually die. Contrary to how it’s viewed in society death is not a bad thing, dying at the age of 52 or the age of 15 is primarily the same thing. Furthermore, the victim’s relatives should not have to watch their loved ones encounter unbearable suffering. Also, keeping terminally ill patients alive comes at a high cost which could be money better spent elsewhere onto patients who actually want to live.

One case study which supports this is the study of Diane pretty. Dianne Pretty was suffering from motor neurone disease and wanted to die. She and her husband asked the courts to give immunity from prosecution to her husband if he were to help her to kill herself. The court ruled that it was not acceptable, the disease took its inevitable course, and Dianne Pretty died in hospital under exactly the sort of conditions she had wanted to avoid. A documentary crew recorded the suffering and loss of dignity that Dianne Pretty endured, and this made her case very well ...

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The main argument against euthanasia states that we should not interfere with the natural process of death. Our fate has already been decided such as in some cases miracle recoveries could take place as well as incorrect diagnosis from the doctor. Also, how do we know if the patient definitely wants to terminate their life? Doctors could never be 100% certain of the patient’s motives as it’s very easy to lie. The patient may just be having a bad day where there mind is consumed by negative thoughts. Another view is that legalizing euthanasia will give doctors too much authority; if one doctor decides to misuse euthanasia and wrongly kill a patient who doesn’t wish to die he will have violated the patients’ rights. The result of this would be an uproar which could prevent some terminally ill patients from going to see the doctor in fear of being pressured to end their lives. Doctor’s jobs are to save lives; not end them. Finally, there are also other alternatives rather than euthanasia such as palliative care which aims to reduce the severity of the patients suffering.

To conclude, I believe that the law on euthanasia in England should be altered. I deem that voluntary euthanasia is acceptable however involuntary is not. The reason why I consider involuntary euthanasia as unacceptable is because whether a person will suffer endlessly until they die is questionable but ending someone’s life is absolute, it cannot be reversed. It’s also a substantial decision for a person to make and I believe would cause quite a lot of psychological problems in the future.