Research and Describe the Rationality of Euthanasia (Essay Sample)

Name
Course
Lecturer
Date
The Rationality of Euthanasia
Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing refers to the painless termination of life of an extremely ill person. There has been an unending discussion about the topic for many decades. The weight of the situation has caused a division with some people supporting mercy killing while others oppose it. In some countries like Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, there are forms of euthanasia that are legal. It is however illegal in most countries. Just as a coin has two sides, there is no consensus whether it should be legalized or not. In my view, euthanasia should be legalized because it reduces pain and suffering, enables the patients to die a dignified death, relieves the financial burden of paying healthcare bills and enables people to exercise the right to terminate their lives. First, I will explain how euthanasia reduces pain and suffering for not only the patient, but also their family members. Secondly, I will show how the practice ensures patients die with dignity, and then show how it reduces the financial burden on the family and the government. I will also discuss why I think a patient has a right to end their life and then I will address the objections that this topic raises.
Firstly, the main purpose of euthanasia is to reduce a patient’s pain and suffering. Those people suffering from incurable diseases go through so much emotional and physical pain. Euthanasia can help avoid future pain and also bring current pain to an end. It is sometimes impossible to control pain in some situations even in palliative care. Those suffering from cancer of nerve rich areas such as spine, neck or head for example, experience excruciating pain at the slightest movement. When a patient is in a great deal of pain, it causes much more pain to the family. Patients can decide to end their lives rather than have their family members watch them wear out in a painful experience. Euthanasia also allows patients to die in a good way.
Euthanasia gives a person an opportunity to die with dignity. In situations where palliative and effective treatment does not improve the quality of life, euthanasia becomes the humane thing to do. It ensures that the process of dying is not reflected by a poor quality of life. There are several indignities that justify mercy killing. They include, being a burden to other people, living in deplorable conditions where one is unable to performe basic activities, living in a nursing home or a hospital for a long time, and having to feed or breathe with the help of intrusive medical apparatus. When a person’s conditions show that death is inevitable, the right thing to do is to terminate their life rather than to have their last days of life be undignified. The process also reduces financial burden on the family and the government.
Euthanasia can reduce the financial burden on the family of the patient as well as the government. Patients with terminal or incurable diseases can seek treatment but that would probably be futile since their lives cannot be changed. They only thing possible would be to prolong their lives that are full of pain and suffering anyway. Treating such illnesses costs a lot of money. There are countless cases where families become bankrupt while seeking treatment for a family member with incurable or terminal diseases. Seeking to prolong the life of a patient who requires medical attention at all times causes pain and financial strain on families. If euthanasia is administered, the patient can die peacefully, and families would not end up spending a fortune in a course that cannot be changed or one that ensures no returns. In addition to this, euthanasia has financial benefits for a country’s economy. The United States of America spends a lot of money to provide free medical care for the elderly and the sick people. Those who wish to end their lives should be allowed to do so because it not only ends their suffering but also saves a lot of money for the nation. The practice can also free up equipment so that it can be used to treat people whose lives can be saved. Although it seems immoral to look at a person’s life in an economy’s perspective, one can’t help but note the financial burden the government has to carry to cater for people who can opt for euthanasia. However, the government cannot impose it on anyone despite the huge costs, but those who do it on account of ending their suffering end up offsetting some costs off the government’s medical budget. Every person should have the right to choose.
Euthanasia is a natural way to extend a person’s right to choose what do with their life. A person should be free to choose treatment or not. If the treatment is not available or the pain is too much, a person has the right to terminate his/her life. People who are in immense pain might try to end their lives in brutal ways. Euthanasia therefore eliminates the chances of botched suicides since it is painless and it is monitored medically. Unless there are dependants who might try to pressure a patient to make a certain decision, euthanasia is the rational thing to do as long as the patient is lucid. If a patient is in life support, maintaining the system against their wishes is unethical. Questioning euthanasia means that the fundamental rights that allow a person to make a decision concerning their own lives are compromised. Some patients with terminal illnesses make choices to undergo euthanasia and donate their vital organs. In some cases, the vital organs ca...