Euthanasia is the termination of a very sick person's life in order to relieve them of their suffering. A person who undergoes euthanasia usually has an incurable condition. But there are other instances where some people want their life to be ended.
In many cases, it is carried out at the person's request but there are times when they may be too ill and the decision is made by relatives, medics or, in some instances, the courts.
The term is derived from the Greek word euthanatos which means easy death.
Euthanasia is against the law in the UK where it is illegal to help anyone kill themselves. Voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide can lead to imprisonment of up to 14 years.
The issue has been at the centre of very heated debates for many years and is surrounded by religious, ethical and practical considerations.
Killing or letting die
Euthanasia can be carried out either by taking actions, including giving a lethal injection, or by not doing what is necessary to keep a person alive (such as failing to keep their feeding tube going).
Why people want euthanasia
Most people think unbearable pain is the main reason people seek euthanasia, but some surveys in the USA and the Netherlands showed that less than a third of requests for euthanasia were because of severe pain.
Terminally ill people can have their quality of life severely damaged by very uncomfortable physical conditions such as incontinence, nausea and vomiting, breathlessness, paralysis and difficulty in swallowing.
Psychological factors that cause people to think of euthanasia include depression, fearing loss of control or dignity, feeling a burden, or dislike of being dependent.
Voluntary euthanasia
This is where euthanasia is carried out at the request of the person who dies.
Changing attitudes
The Times (24 January 2007) reported that, according to the 2007 British Social Attitudes survey, 80% of the public said they wanted the law changed to give terminally ill patients the right to die with a doctor's help.
In the same survey, 45% supported giving patients with non-terminal illnesses the option of euthanasi
The Arguments Against Euthanasia
1. Many people believe that life is sacred - that is, that it is precious because it was given to us by God; therefore it is morally wrong to take another’s life, even if the person requests it.
Counterargument: While many people believe in God, it cannot be proven that He exists and so that argument is invalid. God’s law is something that only religious people believe in and may not actually be true. What is definitely true is the law of the courts, and the Suicide Act (1961) made it legal for people to take their own lives. This means that the courts recognise that a person has the right to die, and to choose their own death. Euthanasia is just the same, except that in the case where it is impossible for someone to take their own life, they must ask another person to do it for them (assisted suicide). If it is legal for an able-bodied person to take their own life, then it is reasonable to assume that it should be legal for a person who is not able bodied to take their own life, and to do so, they must have help from another person.
2. Some people believe that allowing euthanasia sends out the message that to be sick or disabled means your life is not worth living, that is, that your life is worthless unless you are fit and healthy. This might make other people believe that disabled or sick people are not ‘proper’ human beings while they are alive, i.e. it devalues human life.
Counterargument: This argument does not make sense because euthanasia does not stop disabled people being born and enjoying their lives, nor does it suggest that disabled people should not be born. Furthermore, euthanasia is intended for people who are actually dying, not those who are merely disabled. Nobody is asking for people to be killed against their wishes, whether they are disabled or not. It is possible that someone who has just become disabled may feel depressed enough to ask for death, which is why any proposed system of euthanasia must include psychological support and assessment before the patient's wish is granted.
3. It has been argued by those against making euthanasia legal that euthanasia would give doctors too much power. Since doctors give patients the information on which they will base their decisions about euthanasia, any laws on euthanasia, no matter how strictly controlled, puts doctors in an unacceptable position of power. Doctors have been shown to take these decisions improperly, defying the guidelines of the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the Royal College of Nursing.
Counterargument: Doctors already make decisions about when people die and when they live when giving treatment for terminal illnesses. As long as doctors recognise the seriousness of euthanasia and take decisions about it within a properly controlled structure and with proper safeguards, such decisions should be acceptable.
Besides, in most of these cases the decision will not be taken by the doctor, but by the patient. The doctor will provide information to the patient to help them make their decision.
4. With proper palliative care (care for the patient and family that is physical – painkillers – emotional and spiritual), patients will be able to spend longer, quality time with family and friends before they die. They can use this time to bring any unfinished business in their lives to a proper closure and to say their last goodbyes. This time is precious.
Counterargument: The above argument is void because patients who wish for euthanasia have almost always set their affairs in order because they are terminally ill and so have been ill for a long time. By the time it comes for them to want to die, they do not want any more time to live (that is the very point of euthanasia). It is unfair to force a dying person to suffer the indignity of dying in a manner which is humiliating, or to force a relative to watch a patient’s suffering, long, drawn out death when it is against the patient’s wishes. Many patients do not want their relatives to watch them slowly die because they do not want to cause pain and suffering to their relatives. A survey (USA 2001) showed that terminally ill patients actually spent the vast majority of their time on their own family members.
Furthermore, palliative care is not enough because:
- Some doctors estimate that about 5% of patients don't have their pain properly relieved during the terminal phase of their illness, despite good palliative and hospice care.
- Some patients may prefer death to dependency, because they hate relying on other people for all their bodily functions, and the consequent loss of privacy and dignity.
- Some people would prefer to die while they are fully alert and and able to say goodbye to their family; they fear that palliative care would involve a level of pain-killing drugs that would leave them semi-anaesthetised.
Other Arguments FOR Euthanasia
1. Human beings have the right to die when and how they want to
“In...cases where there are no dependants who might exert pressure one way or the other, the right of the individual to choose should be paramount. So long as the patient is lucid, and his or her intent is clear beyond doubt, there need be no further questions.”
The Independent, March 2002