Should Voluntary Euthanasia be allowed in the U.K.?

by vdshjffjdhgdfh (student)

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Should Voluntary Euthanasia be allowed,

by law, in the U.K?

Assisted Suicide, also called Voluntary Euthanasia, is currently a contentious issue in many countries. The question in the debate is this: if a terminally ill person decides that they wish to end their life, is it acceptable for others to assist them? This would normally take the form of a doctor administering a lethal injection, which would end their life painlessly. A clear distinction must be made with involuntary euthanasia, by which someone is ‘put down’ against their wishes, and which is simply murder by another name.

To this date, voluntary euthanasia is not allowed in the U.K. Most people, if determined to end their lives go to Dignitas. Dignitas is a Swiss euthanasia group that helps those with incurable physical and mental illnesses to die. The problem is families are scared that if they take their son or daughter to Dignitas, they might be arrested upon re-entering the country. The family of Dan James, a famous rugby player are being investigated after flying with to their son to Switzerland where he ended his life. Dan James had a promising rugby career ahead of him until he had an accident in a scrum where he dislocated his spine. Even after many operations, he was left unable to move his body other than his fingers’.

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As with every debate, there are pros and cons for both sides of the argument. One of the arguments against euthanasia is that some people get better. This was certainly the case with Ms Alison Dais. She had several severe disabilities and used a wheelchair full time. She was taking morphine, a powerful pain relief drug for her severe spinal pain. She objects to euthanasia because, had it been available when she wanted to die, 19 years ago, when doctors wrongly believed she was terminally ill, than she would have been robbed of some of the best years of her life. She thinks that if euthanasia were legal, doctors would take people like her, who would qualify for euthanasia, at their word, who say they want to die. Also some people think that, several years down the line, that it would be a situation where other people could also make the decision about whether someone lives or dies.

The Religious view is that ‘only God can give and take away life’ and ‘any action which is intended to cause death as a relief from suffering is “a grave violation of the law of God”.

Dame Cicely Saunders devoted her life to caring of the terminally ill. While she was working at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, she met a Polish Jew called David Tasma who had terminal cancer. She followed up his case and visited him 25 times in the two months he took to die. She retrained as a doctor and became a pioneer in palliative care. The first hospice, St Christopher’s, was opened in 1967 in London. She said its aim was ‘to recognise and treat both the needs of the patient as a whole person and the needs of the family’. She is against euthanasia because she thinks that society should not give up on any person and should be put in a hospice where he or she could be cared for until their dying day.

There are also many arguments for voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia provides a painless dignified death and also means you can die with your family around them in a loving atmosphere. It would also spare families the agony of watching someone they love die a slow painful death

In my opinion, I do not think that euthanasia should be allowed in the U.K. as I think it would put the elderly population of our country at risk from being force into euthanasia. However, if someone was in incredible pain and wanted to end their life they should be able to know that by going to Dignitas or any other euthanasia clinic, that their relatives will not be prosecuted for ‘assisting’ them.