Discussion on Whether Euthanasia Should be Legalized in Kenya (Essay Sample)

Should Euthanasia be legalized in Kenya?
Sample essay
Johnson Wanjohi
Euthanasia is defined as the introduction of harmful doses of medicament by a physician with the intention of ending a person’s life. The action can be either voluntary where the patient is killed with their consent or non-voluntary where the patient is killed without their permission. The practice is considered illegal in most countries around the world. Euthanasia is employed when a quick and painless death is induced to a patient with a terminal disease or an irreversible comatose. The notion of allowing medical doctors to use euthanasia in practice has brought sharp debates regarding the ethical consideration of the action. This paper discusses whether euthanasia should be legalized in Kenya.
The Kenyan Constitution Chapter 4 the Bill of Rights Part 2 section 26 stipulated that every Kenyan citizen has a right to life. It elaborates that a person’s life begins at conception, and a person will be criminally charged if he or she ends the life of another person. However, euthanasia is not clearly defined and is considered illegal because it involves killing another person. The lack of provisions that define euthanasia makes it open for the discussion on whether it should be legalized in the country (Muraguri, 2015).
Research done by Kamau (2013) explains that the ethical dilemma surrounding the consideration of healthcare providers working in the intensive care units in Kenyan hospitals is experienced on a day to day basis. He describes the lack of laws that protect healthcare providers in instances where the patient and their guardians consider adopting the action of euthanasia in cases of presence of irreversible comatose and terminal disease conditions. The study also elaborated that the majority Christian population in Kenya is also opposed to the idea of allowing physicians to end the life of another person.
The Hippocratic Oath that is taken by every healthcare provider states that the medical practitioner should do no harm to the patient. The action of euthanasia involves administering lethal doses of drugs with the intention of killing the patient which is contrary to the central principle that acts a guide to every medical professional in the world. The Hippocratic Oath also states that the healthcare provider should undertake every step necessary required to help the patient recover (Muraguri, 2015). Contrary to the statements, euthanasia does not contribute to improving the quality of life of the patient in any way.
Most of the African traditional values that are present in many Kenyan communities are opposed to the idea of disrupting the natural process of death. The African traditional practices identify life as sacred and should not be ended by another person. These African customs make it difficult to bring about the debate on whether to legalize the action of ending another person’s life. The majority of the Kenyan citizens who observe ...