Should Euthanasia be Legalized? (Essay Sample)

Euthanasia Should be Legal
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Euthanasia Should be Legal
Euthanasia is one of the oldest issues in medical morals. Niekerk (2016) elucidates that euthanasia is forbidden in the original Hippocratic Oath with most religious traditions opposing it since antiquity. Much as many governments do not allow euthanasia, the practice is legal in some, such as Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, Canada, and the United States’ Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Montana, and Vermont (Holland & Legg, 2018). Nevertheless, for terminally ill patients to end their suffering, die with dignity, and eliminate the fear of economic burden on their family members, I opine that euthanasia should be legal in all countries of the world.
Governments should legalize euthanasia for terminally ill patients to end their suffering without convicting anybody. The Week (2018) demonstrates that a person has a right to end excruciating pain in his/her final days by choosing to die with the help of a medical practitioner. Furthermore, letting patients end their suffering is both morally justified and vital to safeguarding the right to personal and bodily sovereignty (The Week, 2018). For instance, an elderly patient with diabetes and a multiple of its complications should be allowed to end his/her life with the help of a health practitioner. Terminally ill patients are often subjected to complex medical processes aimed at alleviating pain and prolong life. However, when such patients experience too much pain with a very short time left to live, they should not be barred from ending their lives with the help of doctors.
Additionally, euthanasia should be legalized for terminally ill patients to die with dignity. Niekerk (2016) alludes that as individuals have the right to a dignified life, they should also be allowed to make a choice of dying with self-respect. Death with dignity, according to Holland and Legg (2018), entails legislatures allowing individuals to die the way they want. For instance, terminally ill patients, such as those of cancer and diabetes, do not wish to lower their self-esteem to the extent of being bedridden and using diapers. Consequently, such patients may choose to end their lives, with the help of a medical practitioner, while their dignity is still intact. This situation, then, calls for nations to