Parliament Says We Should Watch Loved Ones Die

Think of the person you love the most. It could be your mum, your dad, your brother, your sister, your boyfriend, girlfriend or your best friend. Picture their face, their smile. Now, convince yourself that they’re dying. You can’t save them; they’re going to die, no matter what. Slowly, all their limbs are going to stop working. They will be completely paralysed from the neck down. Tell me this, would you rather they died slowly and in agonising pain, or quickly and without feeling a thing? Sure, you’d get to be with them for longer if you chose the former, but it’s more likely that they will want the latter. They will want to die. This is voluntary euthanasia. There are people who go through this scenario – that you only imagined – everyday. Euthanasia is defined as ‘to relieve suffering from an incurable illness; an easy death’. However, it is illegal in this country to permanently stop an already terminally ill person from being in pain. So, you would watch that person that you love the most in the whole world screaming in pain until they are finally taken from you. It is to be said that most people will agree looking from this point of view that voluntary euthanasia should be made legal, for the benefit of those unlucky enough to be touched by a terminal illness.

The first point that I would like to raise in favour of legalising euthanasia is freedom of choice. Choice is a fundamental principle for all liberal democracies, and is a right to all humans. People should have the choice to live or die. They should be able to choose if the quality of their life is worth continuing. If the pain due to their terminal illness is too great, then being kept alive against their will would technically be a form of torture. Torture is also not legal in this country, so it’s a case of one law will inevitably be broken if euthanasia is not legalised.

However, the counterargument for this is quite effective. The patient would have to be mentally competent enough to make such a decision. They would have to have a rational understanding of the situation, which if the pain were so great that they would consider euthanasia, would be very difficult. It is also very difficult to determine or even define competence. The reasons for making the decision to be euthanized can also be from the wrong angle. Some patients may consent to voluntary euthanasia rather than be a financial burden to their families and friends.

The second point I wish to make is more objective and interested in logical outcomes. Today, in many countries, there is an alarming shortage of hospital space. The population rising is having a serious effect on the time and effort of doctors and medical personnel could be put towards patients who still have a chance at life, rather than pointlessly wasted on terminally ill patients who wish to die anyway. If we legalised euthanasia, then there would both be a lot more hospital space, and more time for doctors to look after patients who need to be looked after.

This would also cause people to question the reasons behind someone’s decision for euthanasia.

I would also like to point out that it’s not only the patient who suffers from a terminal illness. Their friends and family would be in pain during the whole process too. They might have to visit the patient every day or so for months until they finally died. The people who are touched by terminal illnesses would prefer that the patient could die quickly having said goodbye and be ready to die on their own terms, rather than not really being able to get to say goodbye and dying suddenly and horribly. The reason I say that the patient would not ‘really be able to say goodbye’ is because their mind or mental state could deteriorate and they’d be unable to understand what was happening, or they wouldn’t know when they were going to die, and would not have a chance. For this reason, I urge people to put themselves in this situation so they can understand the problem they could have, and why they would want euthanasia to be legal.

A main counterargument against euthanasia is that it could easily be taken advantage of. People are concerned that hospital personnel would have an economic incentive to advise or pressure patients towards euthanasia consent. Doctors could easily say that the patient agreed to it and fake the documents which declare it. If family or friends demanded to know why they weren’t notified sooner, doctors could easily cover this up by saying that they wanted it to be done straight away and in confidence. Also, someone could impersonate a doctor and then do this with ease.

In conclusion, I believe that euthanasia should be legalised because it is a compassionate aid for people involved in terminal illnesses. I understand the disadvantages of having it legalised, but I am positive that we could find ways to make sure they are carefully avoided. For example, we could avoid euthanasia being taken advantage of by taking a very serious and observed statement from the patient by one of their loved ones, a psychologist to try and determine the reasons behind it, and a doctor who is proclaimed trustworthy by staff and has a clean medical and criminal record. Considering all these points, I can see no reason why the Government would not pass an Act claiming that euthanasia is now legal.