Justifying Euthanasia
Justifying Euthanasia
“Life becomes transparent against the background of death.”
THE RIGHT TO DIE
Some say that that society has reached some sort of point where dying, and the right to it, has become a form of consumer conflict where one common theme underlying these contemporary developments is the failure of a truly modern death ritual for both the dying and their loved ones. When someone goes through the dying process, many surrounding people cling blindly to traditions and funerary practices that they have been told where the right thing to do, for hundreds of years.
The merciless loss of control experienced by many terminally ill patients is often the modus operandi for most forms of euthanasia, as well as its research. The basic human rights of dying patients can easily be violated when they enter a state in which they lack the knowledge and ability to make there own decisions. This diminishes their dignity. How can a person have dignity if they can’t even leave their bed to go to the bathroom, or even inform someone that they need to? Several forms of physical pain can be controlled with a complex use of certain drugs. However, if one's body has been so badly damaged by an illness that life is not worth living, should an individual’s desire to die be thwarted on a blind principal? Later in this paper, I will further this question by touching on the quality of life perspective.
In accepted civilized society, patients have the right to know their medical condition, to choose or to reject procedures, to reject attempts to prolong life, and decide the nature of the disposal for their remains. They also have the right to vent their fears and frustrations in more emotional forms of treatment. Studies on people with cancer have shown that those who belong to a psychotherapy group have a tendency to survive almost twice as long as those who did not participate in a support group. These group members also often report less depression, anxiety and pain. However, in the final stages of such a merciless illness, such kindly measures are often simply not enough.
A CASE FOR EUTHANASIA
There are at least two forms of suicide. One is emotional suicide, or irrational self-murder, in which, for all of its difficulties and sadness should ideally...