Against euthanasia- 3 reasons why mercy killing should not be legalised

By Kat


Euthanasia is a controversial point of discussion nowadays. 3/4 of Australians now support euthanasia- in fact, increasingly more of the public have formed this opinion in recent years. Especially on heavily ethically and morally weighted topics such as this, it is important to view all perspectives. In this case, a multi-faceted issue such as euthanasia must be examined far deeper than its surface answer entails.
Firstly, we have to consider the cases themselves- specifically in relation to families. In an article on euthanasia, Doctor Graeme Duke wrote that upon listening to dying patients, what patients fear was found to be “loneliness, pain and indifference.” Instead, they valued time spent close to loved ones and not machines. When weighing up the fear of pain and the importance and strength of being able to experience love with those closest to you, I ask you- which is stronger? Of course, pain is a heartbreaking thing to see your family members go through. But 95% of cancer pain has been proven to be controllable, and the remaining 5% can be reduced to a tolerable level. In the modern age, it really isn't hard to produce quality anaesthetics that can dull pain, if that is what patients fear the most and would hate to experience. This is not euthanasia. As Duke wrote, "this is simply good medicine".
But let's just say, for instance, a case is uncontrollable- that it is beyond the bounds of medicine.

Thais, the mother of palliative medicine professor, Baroness Ilora Finlay, was 84 years old upon requesting euthanasia to end her bout of advanced breast cancer. She was determined, and Ilora had almost given up on persuading her otherwise. It took the hospital chaplain to convince her not to lose hope. It took carers, radiotherapy, and time to see Thais on her feet again. But she went on to live four more years, which she described as the happiest years of her life. In these years she witnessed the birth of two great grandchildren that she thought she would never see. In her final days she said that “And so [my] wish to die resurfaced; yet [my] ability to live resurfaced, too. It is only being surrounded by those that love each other that can sustain life itself.”

 Secondly, consider the possibility of false cases. Seen most clearly in the famed Kevorkian cases, there have been examples of cases of euthanasia in which the diagnosis was wrong and the sickness treatable. Imagine how many people might have still been alive today, if they had sought a second opinion, or if they had not been so rash in deciding to consider euthanasia.

Rebecca Badger, a client of imprisoned doctor Jack Kevorkian, partook in assisted suicide after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It was only later on that her daughter Christy discovered the diagnosis was wrong, and if her mother had only sought a second opinion, she might have been alive today.

Finally, let us consider this topic from an ethical and philosophical point of view. Because some people argue for the case of mercy. Believe me, mercy is a concept I understand and believe in. But the case of euthanasia is an exception. I support the capability of people to choose- but I would like to bring to light that choices are complex mechanisms. Physical pain dulls the mind- mental pain clears it. By this, I mean that the sorts of pain that one experiences to view the world in such a manner as to consider ending it can come from different sources. Euthanasia is not something that gives a person time to perceive as clearly as they might when not so severely sick. If we return to the case of Thais, it is clear that pain is synonymous with the existence of happiness. How would one even begin to imagine the moments that would dispel the grief and suffering, even for a moment? Take Mrs Dubose from To Kill a Mockingbird. She chooses to endure pain rather than choosing morphine, and as a result she experiences human connection that would not have been possible otherwise. I in no way preach that pain should be felt in all its extremes, but I do advocate that life deserved to be lived to the full, where one cannot even begin to dream of the gifts of the future- great-grandchildren, for example.

Euthanasia is not worth it, for the people from your past, the situation of the present, and the possibilities of the future. 

I would like to hear your opinions (and I am absolutely open to debate), but for now I leave you with a quote. Author Alexandre Dumas once wrote, “He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life.”