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The Moral Dilemmas of Euthanasia

Kimberly Garrett
The Adult Learner
February 17, 2015

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People who are terminally ill may find their life severely damaged and their loved
ones go through an equal amount of mental agony. We face many choices in our daily lives,
but often the right choices are not the easiest ones. We think about our choices, their
alternatives, our feelings, our beliefs and priorities. It is often difficult to determine whether
our decisions are right or wrong. Euthanasia is one such act that is a cause of global moral
dilemma. It is an act of painlessly putting a person suffering from an incurable disease which
is severely painful, to an end. What I personally feel about this act is this that euthanasia
is not a wrong thing to act upon. If a person is terminally sick and has no chances of
survival, he/she may be relieved of the prolonged pain through euthanasia.
I see no wrong doing in this act at all. People often say someone has to decide what
nature and God used to decide for us. I am against this notion because I feel that the
situation is completely different and it is better to relieve a person off tremendous sufferings
and pain rather than prolonging it, even though it may be the toughest decision to make. It is
still banned in many parts of the world since it is considered to be a suicide of done by the
patient and murder if the doctor suggests it. It is nothing but an act of mercy by ending the
life of the suffering person.it will be morally acceptable before discussing further let us know
the various types of euthanasia:

Voluntary active- it is when the patient wants to end his life voluntarily, by

injecting them with a lethal drug.

Voluntary passive- when a patient wants to end their life, but dies naturally.
Non-voluntary active- when a patient is unable to make the decision for him

and so a loved one makes it for the patient.

Non- voluntary passive- again here the patient is unable to decide, so a
family person decides for the course of action.
However there are associations, doctors, scholars and public individuals who
claim that Euthanasia is a sin and a culpable homicide. It is an act of killing

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and murder and is against the natural course of life and death. Let us look at 5
such issues against it:
1. Christianity against euthanasia: it is a common belief that all life is given by God and
he solely has the right to end a life. One should respect the time of both life and death
processes. No human being has the right to take that decision of any person, even if a
person wants to die, it is all Gods decision (Bbc.co.uk, 2015). Death is a spiritual
process and euthanasia disrupts that process. Even if a person is in a vegetable like state
he has some intrinsic value thus he should live till his time comes. It would be wrong to
treat a persons life as worthless and we should value a handicapped person with the
same dignity as an abled man (Bbc.co.uk, 2015). The Roman Catholic view believes
that Euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God.
2. Germain Grisez and Joseph M. Boyle, Jr., authors of Life and Death with Liberty
and Justice (University of Notre Dame Press, 1979, pp. 149-170) are against the
idea of voluntary active euthanasia : patients may choose to go euthanasia due to
altruistic motives so as to not feel like a burden for their family (All.org, 2015). The
family of the patient may find it morally violating and may include self-interests.
Sometimes people who are very sick are confused about their situation and not rational
about their choices (All.org, 2015). Sometimes the doctors may also talk about the full
prognosis of patients condition to protect the legal requirements for granting euthanasia
by the patient.
3. Euthanasia: We can live without it- Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, antieuthanasia advocate says that disabled people and elderly people are
being targeted as the section of society who are unwanted and their
children are being forced to believe that euthanasia is a better
way(Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, 2015) .

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4. Non-Religious Arguments against 'Voluntary Euthanasia' by Nicholas Beale and

Prof Stuart Horner They argue that legalizing this act is diminishing the basis of law
and human morality. Safeguards are not often foolproof. It may be routinely practiced
once legalized. There may be huge social pressure on vulnerable people to volunteer for
the act (Starcourse.org, 2015) .
5. Ethical Rights...because it's right to be ethical by David Swanton- he says that
there are various aspects of this ethical dilemma. There may be abuse of euthanasia
legislation and there is a common notion due to this practice that patients are a burden to
their loved ones.
There is also a website named Nurses Opposed to Euthanasia- this website is
aimed at those groups who protect and safeguard patients to prevent them from killing
themselves or giving this right to their families and doctor. Groups help and support
patients, their relatives and the nurses working under the patient who might choose
euthanasia. 3 ways in which this can be achieved are: education, counseling and political
and professional lobbying. This group is opposed to the act of euthanasia is
unacceptable no matter how bad the situation is (Spuc.org.uk, 2015).
Even though there are a plenty of arguments against euthanasia and some of them are
valid, I would accept it but it still does not affect my initial feeling about this act. I
believe that every person has a right to live with dignity and respect. If a person is
severely ill and cannot even move a muscle and unable to perform the most basic
functions of life, then it is frustrating for the patient. Not only the patient suffers but also
the family and loved ones of the sufferer do. Nobody wants their loved ones to die and
never in a voluntary way, but some decisions are just the way life is, it is better to make
the pain of the sufferer to go away rather than prolonging it.
My views on this is this is strong as I also have seen people pass away from terminal
sickness and they chose voluntary euthanasia, it was a tough time and a very difficult
choice but eventually we understood that our loved one was undergoing tremendous

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pain and could not even move a muscle nor eat a grain of food. It is a heart wrenching
sight and without prolonging this pain, our loved one was relieved out of this misery.
Even though there are many against this even now and is highly illegal in many
countries, but I feel that it is utter selfishness to let a person go into a state of extreme
pain rather than letting him go, it shows disrespect for life. I also strongly believe that
situations are different and complicated but no death is good. My position on this topic
is very much the same that I am for euthanasia and believe that it is no moral homicide
or a killing, opting for it.

References
All.org,. (2015). Education > Euthanasia > Arguments Against Euthanasia | ALL.org.
Retrieved 17 February 2015, from
http://www.all.org/nav/index/heading/OQ/cat/NDA/id/NzM0OQ/
Bbc.co.uk,. (2015). BBC - Religions - Christianity: Euthanasia. Retrieved 17 February 2015,
from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/euthanasia_1.shtml
Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, S. (2015). Euthanasia: We can live without it... - CNN.com. CNN.
Retrieved 17 February 2015, from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/27/opinion/opinionanti-euthanasia-kevin-fitzpatrick/

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Spuc.org.uk,. (2015). Nurses Opposed to Euthanasia. Retrieved 17 February 2015, from

https://www.spuc.org.uk/about/noe/noe
Starcourse.org,. (2015). Non-religious arguments against Euthanasia. Retrieved 17 February
2015, from http://www.starcourse.org/euthanasia.htm
Swanton, D. (2015). Ethical Rights - A Refutation of Arguments against
Euthanasia. Ethicalrights.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015, from
http://www.ethicalrights.com/submissions/euthanasia/93-a-refutation-of-argumentsagainst-euthanasia.html