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Euthanasia: Murder or Mercy?
Suppose I am terminally ill. I have no hope for the future, no hope for survival, no hope for happiness. I wish to die and I am incapable due to my disability to end my own life. I am in indescribable paid and torment all day long and my only wish is to end this misery. Should I have the option of euthanasia existent to me?
Put under such broad and pitiful circumstances, most Americans would say yes to the previous question. Indeed, statistics continually show, dating back to 1978, the two thirds of Americans support euthanasia when asked a question that has been phrased similarly to the one I have given here. This misleading statistic shows only half the story. When the statistics are further scrutinized we find that in fact America is split into thirds on the issue, as shown in an article that appeared in Atlantic Monthly by Ezekiel Emanuel. This showed that when the statistics are further examined, a third of America support euthanasia under numerous circumstances, a third oppose it under any circumstance, and a third approve of it in few cases but oppose it in most. This can be further explained by this quote, appearing in the same article:
Other, more carefully designed questions can elicit majority support for physician assisted suicide and euthanasia, but only when patients are described as terminally ill AND experiencing unremitting physical pain. Support dwindles when the public is asked about physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in virtually any other situation. Two thirds of Americans oppose physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia when a terminally ill patient has no pain but wants to die because of concern about being a burden to his or her family, or because he or she finds a drawn-out dying process meaningless. The most accurate characterization of the survey data is that a significant majority of Americans oppose physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia EXCEPT in the limited case of a terminally ill patient with uncontrollable pain.

So, one may ask, what is the main cause for euthanasia? Of course it would be the relentless, unforgiving pain, right? Wrong. Numerous sources and research studies have come up with the conclusion that the main reason for terminally ill patients choosing to undergo euthanasia is depressio...

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...mate reason for the practice to take place. Is depression, although painful and difficult, reason for ending another’s life? Should be pass laws encouraging such rituals to occur? Or, should we concentrate on offering counseling and attention to those suffering, instead of immediate death? The answer is simple really. Value others and other’s lives enough to grant them the ability to live, because you never know when they may change their mind. Always remember, once the death decision is made, there is no turning back.

Works Cited:
1. Torr, James D. Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000.

2. “Attitudes and Desires Related to Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Amount Terminally Ill Patients and Their Caregivers.” The Journal of the American Medical Association. 15 Nov. 2000: 2460-2468.

3. Emanuel, Ezekiel. “Whose Right to Die?” Atlantic Monthly. March 1997: 79-79.

4. “Euthanasia.” Issues and Controversies on File. 5.4. 3 March 2000.

5. Help Me Die. Videocassette. Fanlight Productions. 1991. 48 min.

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