Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering - Wiki
The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma - Oxford Dictionary
Origin Greek Eu=Well Thanatos=death
Almost everyone has heard about it. Almost everyone has an opinion. Almost no one can stoically defend their stand. There are just too many variables involved.
There are various forms of Euthanasia
Active Euthanasia: Doing something that deliberately causes the patient to die
Passive Euthanasia: Allowing the person to die without any intervention. This also includes either withdrawing treatment or withholding treatment.
Voluntary Euthanasia:This occurs at the request of the person who dies
Involuntary Euthanasia:A decision is taken on behalf of a patient who is either unconscious or otherwise unable to take a decision due to some or the other debility.
Indirect Euthanasia:Providing medication that reduces suffering but hastens death.
Assisted Suicide: A person who is going to die anyway requires some help getting through the line.
Go through the above very carefully one more time and read them as slow as possible.
Where do you stand? What would you choose if you had to? Would you rather not choose, in which case would you have someone choose for you?
Do you believe in the right to decide your own fate? Are you competent enough to know the intricacies involved in doing so?
Have you even thought of DNR (Do not resuscitate) orders for yourselves or your family members? Do you realize that there is a very thin line between DNR and Euthanasia? In fact, it is literally on the fence.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this before my next post which will cover Euthanasia in real life situations
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3 comments:
This will turn out to be an interesting discussion. Seeing someone near and dear suffer, in a situation where there is absolutely no chance of recovery, where the person is old and the physical body has no more strength to combat the disease process - this is where I would agree that euthanasia could come in. Pasive euthanasia (witholding means to prolong life) is already done sometimes so that the suffering is not prolonged. Ultimately, I think the quality of life the person has and will have, should be the deciding factor. In India, so far, a 'living will' is not legal - but I think it should be. People should have the right to decide, whilst they are still able, what should be done in situations when they are unable to voice a decision.
What is the point of prolonging life and agony, when there is no hope of any improvement? These thoughts are my brief views on this, for myself and my loved ones.
Countries like Switzerland have the Dignitas Clinic, where people go for active euthanasia... apparently lots of British go there, despite this being a very expensive issue, simply because British laws do not permit this yet, but there is a movement to make this kind of clinic legal in Britain. California has already passed an Assisted Suicide law. In general, I see more of a demand for this in recent years from different places in the world.
Laws will need to be strict and there will be need to make sure that only genuine cases are permitted... too many factors involved, but something needs to be done.
I'm glad you brought this topic up. The definitions of types and circumstances you have above are not mutually exclusive you might want to mention that in the post for some people who may be reading and not be familiar about it.
I'm of the opinion that anyone that is terminally ill or has prolonged suffering with no cure in sight and can no longer bear it should have access to a due process and right to end their own life or when incapacitated close family should be able to make a decision on their behalf.
I also feel that thinking about DNRs should be ingrained into the current administrative processes for living for e.g. insurance paperwork.
It is hypocritical that humans will end suffering in animals but will fully expect fellow humans to bear suffering.
I'm assuming all legal aspects of this process are are structured to minimize abuse and your intention is not to talk about the the legal ramifications which from my understanding have more or less been solved in the Nordic countries and Switzerland.
You should bring it up in the school group too ;)
Thanks for your comments guys. I also got some on my email and some on G+. I have tried to talk about it in more detail in the next post so make sure you read it and comment there as well.
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