Bro, Just Let Me Die!

I don’t consider myself a serious person, but for my blog series this semester, I’m going to write about wether or not euthanasia should be legal. Euthanasia proposes the idea that terminally ill people should have the right to end their own lives on their own terms, peacefully and with dignity. I try to imagine the situation the doctor is in, their own patients asking and paying for their own deaths. Some say that allowing doctors to gain this ability over their patients is god-like, but in today’s world, many of the world’s people do not have such a choice to start with.

According to the Online Medical Dictionary, euthanasia is “a gentle and easy death”. In recent use, euthanasia is the action of inducing a gentle and easy death, only when the law allows such a practice. The sanction under the law will put painlessly death to those suffering from incurable and extremely painful diseases. This topic is fascinating in the sense that us, as humans, can actually choose how we die at death’s doorstep. Interesting enough, I question the idea that healthcare companies would actually provide such a service. Euthanasia questions battles our worth as humans, and our right to live, or in this case, our right to die. Euthanasia is relevant in today’s society because in the Netherlands, euthanasia is openly practiced; as is the case in other countries, this is seen as a normal medical decision in terminal care and not as euthanasia. My topic is controversial in many ways including, religious concerns, moral differences, law and public policy, etc. For example, some Christian perspectives have expressed that “assisted dying violates the sanctity of human life” and “physician assisted dying is morally and theologically impermissible because of God’s sovereignty”.

Euthanasia an a whole can sprawl over many subjects of our government, morality, religious affiliations, proving that this topic is way to broad to master in such a short amount of time. I am not in any way a healthcare professional, which blocks me from actually knowing what euthanasia is all about. Since this topic has is heavy with persons right to live, but also the moral question in allowing such suffering to continue on, tons of questions and arguments rise with response to such a practice such as “Is a physician ever obligated to Help a Patient Die” and “Do Physician- Assisted Suicide Ensure a Good Death?”. To cover the basics this subject in depth, I cannot reach too broad in my efforts to analyze the matter. In this course, I will cover only a portion of all the spectrum this topic covers. There are also different forms of engaging in this taboo practice, including passive, active, and non-voluntary euthanasia. Furthermore, in order to fully understand euthanasia as whole, I cannot cover all the little subcategories it entails.

Looking back to my childhood, my grandfather slowly perishing and withering away from his tumors was the worst experience I had ever encountered. My grandfather was once a lively and Santa Claus-like man, but having to look at him on the gurney almost half his weight and barely breathing was completely terrifying for my young eyes to handle. Reflecting on that time of my life, I would have done anything to stop his suffering. Coming from an experience like I had, I understand why individuals would want to cut their own lives short, not allowing their loved ones to see the full effect of their illness. I learned that death is always an unknown variable and inevitable. Also how you die does not define the life you lived or person in any way. Throughout this semester, I will keep an open mind and won’t allow my past experiences keep me from looking at both sides of the argument equally.

According to The New Health Guide, “physician-assisted suicide is legal in some states of America, and these include Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, and California.” Although certain states do practice suicide assistance, the rest of the United States outlaws euthanasia. This practice is still a controversial issue in the United States and still fresh in the minds of the people; the bill allowing California citizens to seek a doctors help in ending their lives was only signed 2 years ago, on September 18, 2014(Yahoo News). It shocks me knowing if I were to be from a different country or even state, I couldn’t end my own life if I were dying from an insurable disease. It shocks me that families that cannot afford hospice care or expensive treatments are not given a choice to set their own terms. In a world where there are so many advancements in technology and medical science is almost an everyday occurrence, the prices and availability to most of the world’s population is set to be out of reach. So no, euthanasia is no where near its end. There will forever be individuals who want go out with a bang, under their own terms.