“How can we justify euthanasia?”
Yes, this is a question that has been brought up now again among heavy-hearted debaters. Both sides, for and against euthanasia have various points that they can touch on, morality arguably the most reclaimed. I think that it should be legalized in Canada.
The “Small history lesson” that started Uzma’s blog post consisted of the description of a small horror –on a scale of the Nazi’s crimes throughout World War 2- that stunned people worldwide. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that what the Nazi’s did was wrong, however “Nazi physicians kill[ing] thousands of sick people” is very different than assisting someone to kill themselves. Across the world there are the sickly and ill who wish to die, and who are we to deny them the right? I am not ignoring the “Moral issues associated with assisted death”, I simply believe in an individual mind.
Morally, there are many decisions to consider when one thinks of assisting someone to die. Whether you should help them die? Whether you should be there with them? Whether you support their decision? However, when talking about the moral values that are associated with those who wish to die, shouldn’t we leave that up to them? If they do believe in a God, or a deity of any sort, shouldn’t the moral conflict remain between those who wish to die and their deity? It should not be the public’s conflict, but a conflict for the individuals.
“If euthanasia is legalized on the reference of one individual’s case or situation, it will lead to abuse, and ultimately result in actively killing people against their wills in similar situations.”
This quote is the perfect example of what is referred to as a slippery slope. We cannot assume that just because euthanasia is legalized that we are going to turn into homicidal maniacs and blood-thirsty killers. Now yes, I am exaggerating what she has said, but how can we give so little hope to the human race? There will always be those evil people in the world who wish harm upon others, but not all are evil. In some cases such as Action T-4, the extremes were taken and “evil” was done.
When talking about euthanasia we must remember that it won’t always mean “losing faith in medicine”, for age is a huge killer of the human race. There will be cases when certain medicines can or will hopefully help cure an individual, but lots of the time nothing can be done.You don’t know what it’s been like to live with a failing, incapable or diseased body. Then again, neither do I. And that is why we must let them decide for themselves what life –or death- has in store for them.
If people don’t trust the decision of the terminal or ill, and we ignore or deny their request to die, then what are we but just another Nazi group, making them live in what they probably consider hell. It’s not forcing death upon them like Action T-4 did, but we are forcing life. We might not trust or want to trust their decisions to die but they trust themselves. And in the end, everyone should feel a little warmth in their heart when someone they loved or knew, gets to leave behind what trapped them for so very long. History is not written by being afraid of the past, but accepting the present. My points weighed and presented;Canada should legalize euthanasia.
Holding On taken by Manuel (marrngtn)
Why my headline is SEO optimized:
My headline “Assisted Suicide: Legal In Canada?” expresses a question which many people have had around Canada. “Assisted Suicide” was much more searched than both “Euthanasia” and “Mercy Kill”. “Legal” was also searched plenty more than the word “Legalized”. It is simple, straight forward and gets the point across clearly.
nathan.wiebe 