I am sitting here; thinking of how great God has been with me. I think on those people that have terminal illness, those that are in coma, without any hope. Some of them think that there is no other chance and others fight until death stop them, thinking that hope is the last think that we lost. Maybe none of you have been in that position, but I know some of you know someone who has been through it. It if you have faced it or not, you must think of it, because in any moment you will have to decide between two option that are equally difficult, and with many repercussions.
The first choice would be to carry with the pain, suffering and the desperation of an illness that has no cure. The other option is to decide that, if there is no cure, and death is close why doesn’t he decide how and when to die. This last option is called Euthanasia, a method in which the person or its family decides to end his or her life in an easy way. According to the Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia, “euthanasia generally refers to mercy killing, the voluntary ending of the life of someone who is terminally or hopelessly ill.” There are two types of euthanasia. The first one is the active euthanasia and it is when a doctor deliberately provide the patient some drug that will cause his death. The second type of euthanasia is called the passive euthanasia.
In this case the person is not provided with anything that cause his / her death, instead of it he / she die from the lack of treatment. Passive euthanasia is the more common type and the most acceptable method. Why? Because it is more human and it don’t kill the person directly, although soon or later it will end in death. In this essay, I will be focusing more on the active euthanasia, since it is for me like any other murder, like a suicide, an abortion, and an assassination. We don’t have the right to decide when we will die. We are not Gods.
At the same way we condemned all those people that, trying to escape of their problems, kill themselves by overdoses, knives, or jumping from a bridge, we have to condemn those people that are so weak that don’t fight to live. There are so many people that in the last years of their life, they have learned to appreciate everything around them. They have learned to be strong, to be happy and have learned that is doesn’t matter how they are, a smile can be their best weapon against the pain. What can those cowards learn from life, if when life have turn difficult they choose to escape from it? What of those people that maybe would last more than 5 years but, because of their cowardice have decided to take their life off because a illness that maybe in the near future could be found a cure? I have know a person who suffer from colon cancer and the doctor, as most of the time, says that she was critical and that the family must be prepared for everything (her death). She was so strong and decided to live, so she began searching in everywhere for medicinal plants, vegetables and all those things that were associated with the treatment of cancer. She began taking all of those disgusting things and thanks God she is alive today.
Maybe she is not in perfect conditions but she is very positive. There have been passed more than three years since the doctor anticipated her death. Last year her daughter got married and she assisted to the wedding, she was very proud of her and was also very happy of being there and shared that precious moment. Imagine all the experiences that she would lost if in that time she would choose to end her life.
There are many reasons why euthanasia is not acceptable. First of all it attempts with our human rights, specifically our right to live, as established in the article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.” We have to protect life at all cost. It is not our right to decide how or when a person could live or not no matter how badly the situation can be. Second of all are our religious beliefs. Euthanasia is against God laws. In the Bible you can find the Ten Commandments and one of them said: “Thou shalt not kill.” What it says is that nobody has the right to take another persons life, only God posses this right.
Another reference in the Bible said that we are not who to interfere the Gods will. This is found in Job 7: 1, and it says: “Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth… .” It means that we haven’t idea of when we would die, and because of that we cant make assumptions and anticipate to something that is not sure, that we have no control of. Morally, euthanasia is an attempt to the destruction of our values and our dignity of life, respect and consideration of the others (including their body). Since we where kids our family and others has taught us to respect life. One thing that we all should know is that we cannot treat people like animals.
We are not dogs, only when they are sick we can put them to sleep (die). What a sick person needs, besides medical care, is love, the human warmth with which the sick person can and should be surrounded by all those close to him or her, parents and children, doctors and nurses. The terminally ill are a class of persons who need protection from family, social, and economic pressures, and who are often particularly vulnerable to such pressures because of chronic pain, depression, and the effects of medication. These people need psychological assistance because maybe in their inside they do not want to choose to die. Maybe they choose that because they do not want to be a problem to their family and want to end it killing them. The professionals in that field should evaluate if the person is highly depressed and if they need counseling.
People who are in favor of euthanasia said that the person have the right to have a dignify death. I believe that this is not my decision whether take my life or not. A lot of people have experienced this situation and they decide to continue to live. If you decide to take your life by yourself you are committing suicide and that is not acceptable for anyone. Euthanasia is a murder; its ideal is against our rights, our values, customs and religion. Euthanasia is an act of coward.
It interferes with Gods will. Legalizing Euthanasia will be like playing with life and taking a position that isn’t ours. Our freedom has it limits and we have to think seriously our decision. Remember it doesn’t matter how long you live, the most important thing is to appreciate the time that we have. -Anonymous Works Cited Somerville, Margaret. “Euthanasia by confusion.” Policy options.
Dec 1997: p 21+. Bible. Exodus 20: 13 and Job 7: 1 “Euthanasia.” Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. 2000.