We All Have the Right to Die in Dignity
Do You Believe Euthanasia (Assisted Suicide) is Right?
Life is quite good to some people. People all over the world every day become healthy, wealthy and wise and live very long lives with their spouses, full of experience and adventure. All in all, they live a life with little suffering, if any at all. But for some people, life is quite cruel, strife with a disease, heartbreak, hardship, bankruptcy and premature death. It’s terrible to see, hoping it would never happen to us. Not to be too depressive, but it happens too often. But don’t worry: no one makes it out alive anyway. Nonetheless, to steer the conversation forward, every single person has the right to Euthanasia – or an assisted suicide: the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. It is a very controversial issue, as it is illegal in many American states. However, a single person alive deserves to die with dignity.
First of all, Euthanasia should be legalized across the board, internationally, because no one should have the right to decide if and when another person can end their life. It is up to that individual considering Euthanasia to decide. They own their life, so they’re responsible for it. And if they wish to end it, because of illness, suffering, hardship or other dire reasons, they can. Why should anyone be concerned if another wants to end their own being? It’s none of anyone else’s business. It’s Existentialism at its finest: a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. If a person’s will is to end their existence, through Euthanasia, they are born with the power to decide this fate – and if they need a doctor’s assistance for this, a doctor could legally be allowed to take a patient’s life, with the patient permitting, of course
Secondly, some instances truly call for an end to the suffering, so people certainly have the right to Euthanasia. They have a right to die with dignity because living in dignity is not exactly an option for them. Picture an active 41-year-old person woman. She loves to jet ski and canoe and boat on the water, being outside in the fine weather and with family to share a holiday and fine meal. The spice of life is peppered with her waking moments, and she loves it.
Then one day she is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), a motor neuron disease. It affects one’s motor skills and bodily functions and ultimately corrodes the body and its usefulness. The famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. But now, like Hawking, this woman cannot move, nor can she take care of cleaning herself, using the bathroom and eating. For years she has been in terrible anguish, feeling like she is a burden to every around her. She is despondent – but where she lives, in Virginia, Euthanasia is illegal. Though she wants to, she cannot end her life of suffering, even if it is her wish and will to do so. She is therefore stuck in a life that will have sourly for her, one that ended more like a living hell than a life at all. She certainly deserves assisted suicide, don’t you think?
Lastly – and thankfully to conclude this argument, which is painful to expound on at length – it’s a horrendous feeling to imagine if this person were you. Would you want the power to have a doctor inject you with something to suddenly end your life, painlessly and with dignity? Why should a person be made to wait until they are pathetically decrepit, a wasted piece of humanity, to wither away like a dead flower? Every person deserves a proud, classy, peaceful and clean way to die – and they should never be forced to waiver this inalienable right. A human being deserves a humane death, and Euthanasia should never be considered a crime. If anything it’s more a beautiful, selfless gift to someone who needs an urgent end to the pain. It’s their way out of the suffering, and only the patient has the right to end their physical being and transcends this reality. Though this argument will continue for many years to come, it’s important to have empathy and be active in teaching others about Euthanasia.
