Eutanázie – esej anglicky

Controversial Issues

Would you like to die on live TV? No problem! Call Dr. Kevorkian!!

There is a first time for everything. My first time, when I came across the word “euthanasia”, was about 6 years ago. I saw a documentary on the Discovery Channel about Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who is nicknamed Dr. Death. They showed a tape where Kevorkian gave a lethal injection to Thomas Youk, a 52-year-old man in the final stages of Lou Gehrig’s disease. I don’t have to point out that I was shocked. But in my opinion it was the purpose of it: to shock people and to bring the attention to debates on what is a murder and what is a mercy killing. So let’s go through the positive and negative arguments concerning euthanasia.

Euthanasia is a practice of having medically assisted death. It is only legal in Belgium, Netherlands and Oregon. It used to be legal in Northern Territory but at present time, no Australian state legalises it.

The term euthanasia comes from the Greek words “eu” and “thanatos” which combined means “well death” or „dying well“.

One of the main reasons that people emphasize to have euthanasia legalized is that choice is a fundamental principle for liberal democracies and free market systems, therefore everyone should have the right whether to live or not.

Also the pain and suffering a person feels during a disease, even with pain killers, can be incomprehensible to a person who has not gone through it. And the pain is in my opinion the main reason why people decide to commit suicide, and in these cases euthanasia is very helpful, because Kevorkian invented a ”suicide machine” which Kevorkian’s patients switched on themselves and it caused the flow of carbon monoxide or intravenous chemicals into their bodies (it caused their death).

From economical point of view there is a shortage of hospital beds in many countries.  The energy of doctors and hospital beds could be used for people whose lives could be saved instead of continuing the life of those who want to die which increases the general quality of care.

And for example the pressure that society makes by discussing it’s legality can lead people who don’t want to die to use risky and painful methods, such as hanging.  The question is how to deal with people who want to die because of their pain and because they have incurable disease, but they are immobile and therefore can’t commit suicide. Is this the case where the doctor should “assist their suicide”?

However, the main pressure points to doctors, not the patients. But how come? They swore the Hippocratic Oath, which excludes euthanasia. But they are asked to kill someone. If euthanasia will be legalized, doctors should have at least the right to refuse.

Some people consider euthanasia to be morally unacceptable. Sometimes because of they religion, or because their parents taught them that it is bad to kill someone. This view usually treats euthanasia to be a type of murder. But in my opinion, the most controversial point out of all would be mental competence of patient to make a decision. It can be difficult to determine or even define, because patient must be mentally healthy. Should the family decide then? Family members often desire to spend as much time with their loved ones as possible before they die. Therefore, the wishes of the family may outweigh the patient’s right to control his or her own life.

As I mentioned, Kevorkian taped a death of one of his patients, where he gave him a lethal injection. This patient was immobile so he could not switch the “suicide machine” on himself. It was broadcasted originally on 22 November 1998 and three days after it Kevorkian was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He was tried and sentenced to 10-25 years in a maximum-security prison.

Kevorkian’s life is in my opinion one of the most influential aspects on the legalization of euthanasia. When he was young he experienced his mother’s painful dying of cancer and he decided to help the people who are suffering from incurable diseases. He became a pathologist and for the first time he shocked the public in 1987, when he put an advert in the newspaper, where he offered help as a “death consultant”. He lost his medical licence. Few years later he developed the “suicide machine” and it is said that he helped over 150 people to die.

Well, I am not sure if I am for or against legalization, because many arguments are very strong, for example the pain relief is the one why people want to die, but on the other hand if it were legal, euthanasia could be misused, and the human’s life wouldn’t be considered to be untouchable as it is now. And maybe even the real crimes like the murder could be excused, if the lawyers would say that the murderer didn’t mean to harm the victim, that the victim even asked him to kill him.

I think it should stay the way it is- illegal, but maybe I would change my mind if I were ill and if I knew that my illness is incurable and that I don’t have any chance to spend the rest of my life with dignity because of the pain. But who knows? If would be the right to kill someone when he wishes legal, what would be next? The right to kill him even if he doesn’t want to?