Perhaps controversially, I am of the opinion that our right to do literally whatever we want with our bodies should also extend to end of life settings. Why? Because, how anyone thinks it’s fair, when someone is dying, to prolong their suffering, is beyond me. So nonsensical, I just do not get the rationale behind it… Surely, the right to choose whether to live or die is the ultimate act of bodily autonomy? And so, based on this, should Euthanasia Be Legalised?…
We wouldn’t leave an animal to suffer, so, why do we leave fellow human beings to suffer?…
If we take a dog to the vets and we’re told that they’re ill, that there is no treatment for them, and that keeping them alive will only prolong their suffering, then, we make the decision, as hard as it is, to have the dog put to sleep because, as any vet will tell us, ‘that’s the kindest thing we can do for them.’ But, when it comes to people, the same does not apply. Writing from experience here, (my Grandad had a stroke at the beginning of the year, for which there was no possible chance of him coming home), to not be able to end someone’s suffering, where it is inevitable that they will suffer until their death, is so so cruel. It’s inhumane…
The last memories I have of my Grandad, who was always such a strong man, are of him lying in a hospital bed, being starved and dehydrated to death because, there was ‘nothing they could do for him’- he couldn’t swallow. All we could do to alleviate his discomfort was dip a sponge in a glass of water, and drip it into his parched, open mouth. Those were my last memories of him. Hearing the ‘death rattle’. Seeing his white face. Holding his cold hands. Horrible. The law meant that doctors were forbidden to give him a painless, lethal injection, but they were allowed to starve him to death.
People should have the option to choose to die if they want to die (where death is inevitable),in a dignified way (starving someone to death is not dignified)…
Now, the topic of euthanasia and assisted dying is a massive topic because, where does it end? If we’re approving euthanasia in certain cases, then is that not hypocritical? If we’re saying that people should have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies, and the right to choose to live or die, then surely this would mean making euthanasia readily available in any situation, whether death is imminent or not? This is where it gets difficult morally speaking because, in this context, we would have so many people choosing to die, I have no doubt about that. People with mental health issues, people in prison, people who are just going through a rough patch in their lives, they would all have the right to end their temporary pain, via the very permanent ‘solution’, the supposed ‘easy way out’, of euthanasia…
The above though, the right for someone who is otherwise ‘healthy’ to end their life, it’s not ‘euthanasia’, or ‘assisted dying’, whose decriminalisation I am in favour of, it’s ‘assisted suicide.’
The difference between euthanasia/assisted dying and assisted suicide is that the former (euthanasia), is only done in cases where a terminal illness is present in which, not euthanising the terminally ill would only prolong their suffering. Assisted suicide, however, where it is legal, (like euthanasia, assisted suicide is illegal in the UK and is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment), can be done in any case, whether an illness is present or not, simply because one wants to die…
Problematic?
Assisted suicide obviously has many problems in that, I would argue, most people, if not all, who are contemplating suicide are suffering with some form of mental illness. A mental illness which, by its very nature, is probably, (definitely), clouding their judgement. How can anyone make an informed decision to end their own life if they’re mentally ill and therefore not thinking clearly? They couldn’t. They can’t…
Writing from personal experience, I can say that there have been times, as a teenager when I was in the depths of Anorexia and Depression, that I haven’t wanted to be alive. If assisted suicide was legal then, would I be here now? I’m not sure that I would be, to be honest and, that’s a very scary thought… Because, now? Now I am genuinely happy to be alive. Now I don’t want to die…
‘Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem’, it cannot be reversed.
I worry that, if assisted suicide was legalised, so many people would opt to go- painlessly, permanently– rather than opt for recovery, which is often so painful (but the pain is temporary). The fact is that yes, choosing to live when your brain is telling you a million and one reasons why you shouldn’t is hard, but, choosing to end it all, something which can never be reversed and something which will see you missing out on such much goodness/so much beauty that is waiting on the other side of recovery, that’s harder, undoubtedly so…
In cases where there is the absence of a mental illness that would otherwise cloud ones judgement though, then I am of the opinion that people should have the right to decide to leave the world through euthanasia/assisted dying, and that, this should not be punishable… And, I’m not alone in this belief, either… In fact, 84% of people in the UK say that they are also in support of assisted dying for terminally ill adults, as this study conducted on behalf of ‘Dignity In Dying’ concludes…
Now, although euthanasia is illegal in the UK, ‘passive euthanasia’, (intentionally letting a patient die by withholding life support), is happening all the time (albeit, it is not being named as such)… In fact, passive euthanasia is what, I believe, happened to my Grandad who was admitted to hospital with a stroke at the beginning of the year. Food and fluids were taken away when it was deemed he wasn’t going to make it, and he was put on a syringe driver and given large doses of morphine to speed up his death.
Unfortunately though, despite the decision being made to withdraw all treatment to ‘speed up’ his death, it still took nearly a week for him to pass away, during which time we had to watch someone who was always so strong, (even in his 90th year, no one could’ve described him as ‘frail’), suffering in front of us… And so, where there is absolutely no doubt that an illness is going to kill someone/when it’s a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’, as was the case with my Grandad, active euthanasia (killing a patient by active means, for example, injecting a patient with a lethal dose of a drug), in my opinion, should absolutely be legal… If it’s a Doctors job to relieve suffering, then surely, in such circumstances where one is clearly dying, there is no further treatment available, and they’re in significant discomfort, then euthanasia is the only viable way to do that (the only viable way to relieve ones suffering)…
Final Stance On ‘Should Euthanasia Be Legalised?’
So, to conclude, I think that, where a terminal illness is present that is causing one to experience prolonged suffering, euthanasia should be allowed, but only under strict conditions, in controlled circumstances- in a hospital setting, administered by a senior medical professional and witnessed by other medics, and agreed upon by the patient (if they have the capacity to do so), their family, and/or other medics, thus eliminating the risk of euthanasia being misused/eliminating the potential or loopholes to be found in which one could be unlawfully killed under the guise of euthanasia. For example, if assisted dying is legalised and anyone can administer life ending drugs, such as family and friends of the ill, then, there is the risk of it being misused. In instances of domestic abuse, for example, someone could murder their partner, but plead innocence on the grounds of it not being murder, but ‘assisted dying.’ And, the worrying thing about this is that, how could it be proven? With the victim dead, they would be unable to confirm whether or not they wanted to die, and so, evidently, to decriminalise euthanasia where there are not very strict, controlled ‘T&C’s’ surrounding it, well, it clearly has the potential to go very, very wrong… Where there are strict rules in place though, euthanasia/assisted dying has the potential to go very very right in terms of offering people a dignified death in which they get to control when and how they leave the world, something which is the ULTIMATE act of bodily autonomy…
As The Right To Life, The Right To Death.
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