What is Euthanasia?

-Euthanasia is intentionally killing a person who is suffering from incurable conditions or diseases
to end their suffering.

The term is derived from the Greek word euthanatos which means easy death. Euthanasia
encompasses various dimensions, from active (introducing something to cause death) to passive
(withholding treatment or supportive measures); voluntary (consent) to involuntary (consent from
guardian) and physician assisted (where physician's prescribe the medicine and patient or the
third party administers the medication to cause death). Request for premature ending of life has
contributed to the debate about the role of such practices in contemporary health care. In many
cases, it is carried out at the person's request but there are times when they may be too ill and
the decision is made by relatives, medics or, in some instances, the courts.

Legality of euthanasia

- Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium, Colombia, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands,

and in the US states of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, Washington,
and California

The ethics of euthanasia

Euthanasia raises a number of agonising moral dilemmas:

 is it ever right to end the life of a terminally ill patient who is undergoing severe pain and
suffering?
 under what circumstances can euthanasia be justifiable, if at all?
 is there a moral difference between killing someone and letting them die?
 Should human beings have the right to decide on issues of life and death?

At the heart of these arguments are the different ideas that people have about the meaning and
value of human existence.

There are also a number of arguments based on practical issues.

Some people think that euthanasia shouldn't be allowed, even if it was morally right, because it
could be abused and used as a cover for murder.

Killing or letting die

Euthanasia can be carried out either by taking actions, including giving a lethal injection, or by
not doing what is necessary to keep a person alive (such as failing to keep their feeding tube
going).

'Extraordinary' medical care

It is not euthanasia if a patient dies as a result of refusing extraordinary or burdensome medical

treatment.

Euthanasia and pain relief

It's not euthanasia to give a drug in order to reduce pain, even though the drug causes the
patient to die sooner. This is because the doctor's intention was to relieve the pain, not to kill the
patient. This argument is sometimes known as the Doctrine of Double Effect.

( This doctrine says that if doing something morally good has a morally bad side-effect it's
ethically OK to do it providing the bad side-effect wasn't intended. This is true even if you
foresaw that the bad effect would probably happen.The principle is used to justify the case where
a doctor gives drugs to a patient to relieve distressing symptoms even though he knows doing
this may shorten the patient's life.)

Mercy killing

Very often people call euthanasia 'mercy killing', perhaps thinking of it for someone who is
terminally ill and suffering prolonged, unbearable pain.

Why people want euthanasia

Most people think unbearable pain is the main reason people seek euthanasia, but some surveys
in the USA and the Netherlands showed that less than a third of requests for euthanasia were
because of severe pain.

Terminally ill people can have their quality of life severely damaged by physical conditions such
as incontinence, nausea and vomiting, breathlessness, paralysis and difficulty in swallowing.

Psychological factors that cause people to think of euthanasia include depression, fearing loss of
control or dignity, feeling a burden, or dislike of being dependent.

Counterargument of euthanasia supporters

Caregivers burden: ‘Right-to-die’ supporters argue that people who have an incurable,
degenerative, disabling or debilitating condition should be allowed to die in dignity. This
argument is further defended for those, who have chronic debilitating illness even though it is
not terminal such as severe mental illness. Majority of such petitions are filed by the sufferers or
family members or their caretakers. The caregiver's burden is huge and cuts across various
domains such as financial, emotional, time, physical, mental and social. Hence, it is uncommon to
hear requests from the family members of the person with psychiatric illness to give some poison
either to patient or else to them. Coupled with the States inefficiency, apathy and no investment
on health is mockery of the ‘Right to life’.

Refusing care: Right to refuse medical treatment is well recognised in law, including medical
treatment that sustains or prolongs life. For example, a patient suffering from blood cancer can
refuse treatment or deny feeds through nasogastric tube. Recognition of right to refuse
treatment gives a way for passive euthanasia. Many do argue that allowing medical termination
of pregnancy before 16 wk is also a form of active involuntary euthanasia. This issue of mercy
killing of deformed babies has already been in discussion in Holland20.

Right to die: Many patients in a persistent vegetative state or else in chronic illness, do not want
to be a burden on their family members. Euthanasia can be considered as a way to upheld the
‘Right to life’ by honouring ‘Right to die’ with dignity.

Encouraging the organ transplantation: Euthanasia in terminally ill patients provides an

opportunity to advocate for organ donation. This in turn will help many patients with organ
failure waiting for transplantation. Not only euthanasia gives ‘Right to die’ for the terminally ill,
but also ‘Right to life’ for the organ needy patients.

Constitution of India reads ‘right to life’ is in positive direction of protecting life. Hence, there is
an urgent need to fulfil this obligation of ‘Right to life’ by providing ‘food, safe drinking water and
health care’. On the contrary, the state does not own the responsibility of promoting, protecting
and fulfilling the socio-economic rights such as right to food, right to water, right to education
and right to health care, which are basic essential ingredients of right to life. Till date, most of the
States has not done anything to support the terminally ill people by providing for hospice care.

If the State takes the responsibility of providing reasonable degree of health care, then majority
of the euthanasia supporters will definitely reconsider their argument. We do endorse the
Supreme Court Judgement that our contemporary society and public health system is not
matured enough to handle this sensitive issue, hence it needs to be withheld. However, this issue
needs to be re-examined again after few years depending upon the evolution of the society with
regard to providing health care to the disabled and public health sector with regard to providing
health care to poor people.

The Supreme Court judgement to withhold decision on this sensitive issue is a first step towards a
new era of health care in terminally ill patients. The Judgment laid down is to preserve harmony
within a society, when faced with a complex medical, social and legal dilemma. There is a need to
enact a legislation to protect terminally ill patients and also medical practitioners caring for them
as per the recommendation of Law Commission Report-19615. There is also an urgent need to
invest in our health care system, so that poor people suffering from ill health can access free
health care. Investment in health care is not a charity; ‘Right to Health’ is bestowed under ‘Right
to Life’ of our constitution.

PERSONAL STORIES

Written by Sandy Briden

(who died December 2017)

I have a rare and incurable form of cancer called sarcoma and I know I may not have long left.

I'm 57 and live in Twickenham, London with my daughter, her husband and two granddaughters.
My husband, son and father also live nearby - we're all very close. I'm a chemistry lecturer and
scientist by trade and, until recently, I had the job of my dreams. I had a brilliant life.

Then, in December 2015, I was diagnosed with a tumour in my abdomen. In the months that
followed I was seriously ill and underwent a major operation. In April, I was told that I had no
evidence of the disease and returned to work.I want to live as fully as possible in my remaining
time, without the fear of a painful death hanging over me.

However, my six month scan results in August 2016 were devastating. I had multifocal, inoperable
tumours - so aggressive that I was immediately put on palliative care and warned I may only
have a few weeks left.

I opted for palliative chemotherapy with the understanding that it would not save my life - I knew
it may not have any effect and at best may just hold the tumours back. The treatment was very
difficult and the side effects horrendous. I spent much of the time in hospital, but it was worth it
as I battled on and achieved my goals - to see my son married in October and the birth of my
granddaughter in December.

How I'm still here is a miracle, and I am grateful everyday. The tumours are currently being held
at bay, but once they start growing again I could have just five weeks or less left.

I've undergone dozens of medical interventions over the past 18 months and I dread any more if
I'mnear the end. In any case, an operation may not even be possible because of the placement
and size of the tumours.
Why I want the option of assisted dying? My thoughts are filled with uncertainty and fear that
my pain and sickness will not be controllable - but having the option of an assisted death would
change all that.

I think about dying constantly - what will happen if the tumours on the left or the right grow
fastest, how am I going to die, whether I will be in pain.

I don't want my family to see me suffering, I don't want that to be their last memory of me.

I just want to say goodbye to my family and drift off peacefully.

Knowing I had the option of an assisted death when things get too much would allow me to live
now, without the constant fear of what might happen at the end.

For me assisted dying isn't about dying, it's about living.

List of Advantages of Euthanasia

1. It ends the suffering of the dying.

One of the main disadvantages of euthanasia is the relief it gives on sick people with terminal
diseases like cancer. There are people who are suffering from incurable medical conditions who
suffer the pain caused by their ailments and who would rather die instead of live the rest of their
lives in pain and suffering. Euthanasia puts an end to a patient’s suffering.

2. It gives dignity to a dying a person.

Supporters of euthanasia claim that it is the right of the person to live and to die the way he or
she desires especially if they look at life as not worth living for. If a man or woman only has
months to live and do not wish to appear sick and weak when the day comes, euthanasia can
make this possible without inflicting more pain. In the end, a sick person dies with dignity and still
be as handsome or beautiful as he or she used to be during his or her days without the ailment.

3. It is humane.

Advocates for euthanasia say that it is the most humane act to end the suffering of a human
being or animal instead of the use of other means such as using guns. Moreover, the process or
method is done in such a way that the person or animal will not feel any pain. Additionally, dying
people who are considering euthanasia can also choose the day they want the act to be done.

CONCLUSION:

Living and dying is a process that every single human being experiences. Life flows from one day
to the next until the inevitability of death catches up with each and every life on this planet. The
question is, does an individual have the right to take hold of this process and end their own life
early, free from the suffering and pain that sometimes follows? The answer is yes, a person
should have the right to end their suffering in life through the process of Physician- Assisted
suicide. Physician-Assisted suicide, also known as Euthanasia is the act of ending an individual’s
life through the prescription overdose of medication. This procedure is practiced worldwide in
countries such as Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, The Netherlands, Switzerland, The United
Kingdom, and the United States (Terri Shiavo, Facts about Euthanasia). Though the United States
is listed, Physician-Assisted suicide is only legal in the states of Oregon, Montana, Washington,
and Vermont. In the US euthanasia is performed by using the drugs Secobarbital (9g) or
Pentobarbital (10g). The physician would have the patient take anti-nausea medication, then
empty the capsules of either of these drugs into a juice or other liquid substance and drink that
on an empty stomach, the process of actually dying after this ingestion can take anywhere from
nine minutes to twenty-eight house depending on how fast the body actually absorbs the
mixture (Jennifer Fass, Andrea Fass, Medscape). The consumption of these medications lead to a
virtually fast and painless death compared to the long suffering a patient of say terminal cancer
would have to endure. As Patsy Bradbury wife of Kristen Bradbury, a man from England who had
recently been diagnosed with a bowel cancer that soon spread to his brain, said “He never said
he was ever actually in pain, but I still knew exactly at which point he wanted to die.” This man
was denied the use of Euthanasia as it is illegal in his part of Europe and soon attempted suicide
a frightening thirteen times, showing that whether or not Euthanasia is an option people will
chose what they want to do with their lives (Kristen Bradbury, Dignity in Dying). Another benefit
euthanasia holds is the extreme cheapness compared to living out the rest of ones days under
constant medical attention. Physician Assisted Suicide can cost as little as thirty-five dollars in
states such as Oregon (Economic aspects of Euthanasia). This compared to an uncountable
amount that would be spent on treatment and care of say a terminal cancer patient is a huge
load off of an individual who is struggling with the idea of death. This cheaper solution also takes
the burden of medical expenses off family members after the unfortunate demise of their loved
one. Many suffering with a terminal illness wish to take the amount of money left to be paid off
after their death away from loved ones, euthanasia is an easy solution to this. One may argue
that that act of Physical Assisted Suicide is against the Hippocratic Oath, the oath doctors must
take before being allowed to preform medicine, which states, “I will not give a lethal drug to
anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan."

Being written sometime before 460 and 380 B.C. it’s no surprise the Hippocratic oath is so
outdated (Hippocrates, Hippocratic Oath). Also doctors often administer lethal drugs to patients
in comas or patients that have been brain dead at their own request to put them out of their
misery, it’s the same idea with euthanasia, the patient is absolutely going to die in the near
future, so why let them suffer? Another counter argument to Euthanasia is that it is “ungodly” to
take a life before it is naturally taken, but isn’t it equally as ungodly to take antibiotics or have
open heart surgery? If the people weren’t allowed to use modern medicine because it is
“ungodly” and “unnatural” then the population would be much, much lower than it is today.
Another point in the “ungodly” argument is the fact that church and state were separated a long
time ago, therefore laws concerning someone’s medical rights should have absolutely nothing to
do with religion. In conclusion, while many may see euthanasia in a dark light and consider it
ungodly or selfish Physician Assisted Suicide is a very beneficial choice for patients suffering from
chronic illness. As it is a very personal choice there is no reason any type of cooperation or law
should have the right to dictate an individual’s decision to end their life. Their life, their choice.
“But at the end of this conclusion ,I want to emphasize that only God can take the last breath of
our lives.”

REFERENCES:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/introduction.shtml
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612319/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612319/

https://features.dignityindying.org.uk/sandy-briden/

https://futureofworking.com/6-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-euthanasia/