Should Mercy Killing of Terminally Ill Be Allowed? (Essay Sample)

Should Mercy Killing of Terminally Ill Be Allowed?
Name
Institution
Embracing Mercy Killing of the Terminally Ill
Mercy killing has raised much debate on its effectiveness and significance in today's society. A move to legalize the process has been a source of controversy among various groups of people. This sort of killing in most cases is done using lethal injections or switching off of life support machines. The patients may always opt for euthanasia or in some cases, their family members agreed to the process. Euthanasia, in my opinion, should be acceptable. This essay will explore some reasons to justify my opinion why mercy killing of terminally ill should be allowed.
According to Steinbock (1994), mercy killing of the terminally ill relieve pain and suffering. Most patients who are affected with terminal diseases undergo a lot of plight. A number of them will lose hope and know they will die. This brings psychological torture to them. Others are always faced with physical pain due to the nature of their diseases. For example, some cancerous wounds bear pain that can be disturbing in long-run situations. A decision to terminate life will be a move to save such situations (Steinbock, 1994).
Mercy killing of terminally ill saves resources for both hospitals and families (Torr, 1999). Families with such patients will always end up paying huge hospital bills when they lose their loved ones. Torr (1999) notes that bills can always be very large in some scenarios because the patients are always forced to live longer in their deplorable states. It is expected that terminally ill patients will eventually die, as a result, the families should accept the situations and spare the resources for other purposes. Hospitals can also have some of their resources saved when a decision is made to perform euthanasia. First, the bed space created will help accommodate other patients. Second, life support machines and labor can also be channeled to other patients whose conditions are manageable. This can save another life (Torr, 1999).
Some terminal diseases are highly contagious (Moreno, 1995). Mercy killing of terminally ill should be embraced to prevent spread of such diseases. According to Moreno (1995), families of terminally ill victims will always love to keep in contact with their loved ones. They will always stay around to comfort the victim. This is encouraging and acceptable. On the other hand, there is risk of contracting other infections especially if the disease in question is a contagious one. No one would love to undergo the same suffering a loved one does, it is necessa...