Should Euthanasia Be Allowed - 1675 Words

When euthanasia comes to mind, what do you think of? Do you think of people hurting, do you think of it as suicide, do you think of sick people? The big question is†¦ do you think it’s wrong? Many questions, concerns, and issues have come up with this topic in the past, because there are so many factors that go into deciding when euthanasia should be allowed, if at all. Should just anyone be allowed to decide they want to die, and have a physician assist him or her with suicide, or do they have to be sick? If they have to be sick, does mental illness, like depression, suffice as a sickness in the case of euthanasia? Should the patient go through counseling with their family before fully committing to euthanasia? There are so many things†¦show more content†¦However, none of that is true. In every nation that has legalized euthanasia, it’s exclusive to the terminally ill patients. About 20 years ago, the Dutch did a study on euthanasia and found that 86 per cent of lives were only shortened the lives of patients by a week at the most, but in most cases only by a few hours (M, Morris. 1). The patients, who are choosing euthanasia, aren’t healthy patients and are most likely already suffering a great amount of pain (M, Morris. 1). With euthanasia targeting sick people, you would think there would be a greater amount of poor, elderly, or minorities, people who are â€Å"vulnerable†, being euthanized, but that’s wrong. There were just as many â€Å"vulnerable† people, as there were â€Å"non-vulnerable† people, in a study done by the Journal of Medical Ethics (M, Morris. 1). A woman in Ireland, was rejected by the courts for euthanasia, even though she had multiple sclerosis, and would be living with extreme pain and suffering (M, Morris. 1). Her partner had to make the choice of letting her live with all of the pain, or helping her die and being sent to prison for multiple years on murder charges (M, Mor ris. 1). The choice was left in an innocent man’s hands and no matter what he decided to do, there would be some kind of consequences, all because a very sick woman was denied her right to die (M, Morris. 1). Many people think about the slippery-slope theory when it comes to euthanasia. However,