Many people say that Euthanasia is never the right option, because there’s always a small possibility of a miracle recovery. Euthanasia is always the last option, if there is any chance a person may recover to lead a normal life of course it isn’t the suitable choice. However we argue that in the case of someone having no prospect of recovery, and wanting to be allowed a dignified and legitimate death it is important that they’re wishes are respected. We agree that it is not in our place to say who has the right to live or die, but it is in each individual’s right. We believe in the basic principle of the autonomy of the individual, who is deemed to possess an absolute right to dispose of his or her own life. Everyone should be allowed to decide their own future, and if Euthanasia is someone’s decision who are the courts to rule against it?
Britain is an animal loving country and where pets are concerned, we are most compassionate. If our pets have an illness, which cannot be cured, it is considered the humane option for the animal to be put down via lethal injection. So why is this so different when it comes to humans? If it is kinder for a pet to be put down, sparing them the misery of a slow, agonizing death, how is it more compassionate not to do the same concerning humans? We spare our animals pain and yet because of our own weakness’ we can’t bring ourselves to do the same for a human being. It is only right for us to do what is best for the person who will suffer rather than what we feel will be less distressing for us. If someone you loved deeply was dying, gradually weakening with each day and they asked you to do the right thing and let them be in peace what would you do? We have to put aside our natural desire to spend as long as possible with our loved ones and consider how they feel and the pain they are enduring.
For centuries, people have fought to have freedom of belief, choices throughout life. Should this not be extended to death? It is not illegal for us to commit suicide, this is perfectly lawful, and yet if someone wants to die but cannot do it him or herself, it is prohibited for someone to help them end their suffering. The fact that it can be referred to as assisted suicide shows that Euthanasia is not murder, but a form of suicide. We, as a country, pride ourselves on freedom of speech and equal opportunities, with this in mind explain how euthanasia can be a negative thing. Freedom of choice and belief are imperative in our lives and this freedom must be extended to death, because if it is not, how can we claim to be a liberated country?
In response to the opinion that Euthanasia is fundamentally wrong as it goes against the belief that God decides the time at which we die, we refer to the Ten Commandments. The fifth of which reads ‘Honour your father and your mother’. Does this not mean do as they instruct? In essence God tells us to do as our parents would wish, so if one of our parents asked us to assist them in bringing an end to their life surely it would be against God’s will to refuse? And therefore, those who believe in God must bare in mind their religious obligation to perform Euthanasia if so asked by a parent. As we have stated we by no means believe that anyone has the right to say who should live and who should die, but each individual does have a say over their own life. If someone is incapable of committing suicide (a lawful act), they should be entitled to solicit assistance from another. If a man wishes to die but is not physically capable of acting on this desire himself, is it not merely obeying his wish to aid him in his own death? Is it really wrong to do the compassionate thing and let him die in relative peace?
These are not theoretical questions I’ve had to face them personally when my father was dying from cancer. As medical science continues to improve its life-saving and life-maintaining capabilities, more and more people will routinely face such decisions. The issue is so big, and its implications so far-reaching, we should begin now to prepare for these decisions. We need not and should not wait to wrestle with these issues when we come under the confusion and duress of the crisis. In some cases, Euthanasia is the right thing to do and in our opinion sometimes the least distressing option, the law must be changed to allow people in severe pain, the right to die. Everyone deserves the chance to determine their own future and sometimes Euthanasia is the only way in which people can die in peace. Our research and experiences have served to convince us that euthanasia, for the right reasons, is a positive thing and we are now staunchly for it on moral, intellectual and spiritual grounds.
