Some people believe that legalizing voluntary euthanasia will be very beneficial. They believe that euthanasia is not murder, suicide or genocide. To them, it is really just one human helping another escape excruciating pain; it is a dignified way to die (Mannes 61). Sometimes, they even question why people think voluntary euthanasia will lead to involuntary euthanasia ("Voluntary Euthanasia" 11). Even Dr. W. N Hubburd, head of the University of Michigan Medical School, said, "To sacrifice human dignity at the time of death, or to make the process of dying a burden upon the living, is not in the highest tradition of medicine, nor is it justified in humanist traditions" (Langone 82). Therefore, euthanasia is not looking for the result of death but the end of suffering before death; "easy death" or "good death" is basically another way to describe euthanasia ("Euthanasia" 3).
Along with believing that voluntary euthanasia will be beneficial, they think that it will benefit society. For instance, if an elderly man needed heart surgery, with the understanding that involuntary euthanasia is legal, the man could be denied that heart surgery because it is too expensive and because he is too old to really benefit the society. In turn, this could help the society gain more money. However, questions arise on whether denying this man's right to heart surgery is morally right.
Others do not agree with euthanasia at all. For example, John Langone, the writer of the book Death is a Noun, stated "If you take your own life, you are guilty of suicide; if someone does it for you, be he friend or physician, relative or stranger, he is guilty of murder" (Langone 58). John is saying that euthanasia is not acceptable in any situations; he is explaining that it is considered murder to kill someone and considered suicide to kill yourself, which describes euthanasia perfectly since it is a combination of both suicide and murder.
In addition, the Catholic Church does not accept euthanasia at all and believes that it is immoral. It is written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that euthanasia is completely wrong and improper; also, just as John Langone wrote, it is considered murder to kill someone even if it was to release them from their pain (Steven 1). Even in the Bible people did everything they could to keep others healthy. Though, when it is time for them to die, they let them die naturally; they do not kill them to help them escape the pain (Tada 114).
Those who disagree with euthanasia believe that many people want to legalize euthanasia because they are afraid. They believe that these people want to legalize euthanasia because it gives them peace since they know that they can have a painless death. However, it is out of fear that they want to legalize euthanasia. They fear that when they die, they will be in terrible pain. However, fear does not mean peace; in fact, they are opposites. All humans want peace, but the only person who can demolish our fears and give us peace is the Prince of Peace. Therefore, euthanasia will not bring us peace and will not demolish our fears. Only the Prince of Peace has the ability to do this (Tada 115).One person who believes that legalizing voluntary euthanasia will unjustly point to the disabled and the poor (One-minute overview 1) is Steven R. Hemler. He wrote "The Slippery Slope of Euthanasia" and believes that people, particularly in the Western Societies, are beginning to forget their religious beliefs, which then, allows the "quality of life ethic" to become more common. This ethic explains whether someone should live or die; people who are unproductive or a burden should not live. However, Steven believes in the "sanctity of life ethic," which explains how all humans are beautiful gifts from God; this ethic implies that everyone is equal. In the Western Societies, Judeo-Christian beliefs depend upon this ethic, which explains how humans are supposed to be protected and respected no matter what situation they are in.
However, the main reason people do not agree with legalizing voluntary euthanasia is they are afraid it will create a slippery slope towards involuntary euthanasia. The worst type of involuntary euthanasia is involuntary-active euthanasia, and the first step towards involuntary-active euthanasia is voluntary-passive euthanasia. It is voluntary because the patient is willing to die, and it is passive because the person dies from being taken off some sort of machinery or treatment. Basically, voluntary-passive euthanasia is allowing a person to die naturally. The Church accepts this form of euthanasia only when uncommon medical care is not given to a patient because it is too much money, or because the patient really has no chance of living much longer. Though, the Church believes that it is immoral when a patient is not given regular medical care such as food or water (Steven 1). The second step to involuntary-active euthanasia is voluntary-active euthanasia. Again, it is voluntary because the patient is willing to die, and it is active because the patient dies from an action done purposefully. Voluntary-active euthanasia is sometimes referred to as a way to "die with dignity." For example, if someone is experiencing terrible pain and is dying very slowly, they might want to die painlessly. However, if the patient is not on life support, then that person dies from an injection or something related to that, which makes this situation a form of voluntary-active euthanasia. Having the option of voluntary euthanasia, though, could pressure the patient into believing they are a burden to their family members, and they might feel pressured into dying.
As the slippery slope continues, one could realize how each step comes dangerously close to involuntary-active euthanasia because the last step is involuntary-passive euthanasia. It is involuntary because the patient did not ask to die, and it is passive because the patient is taken away from machinery or from medical care that is keeping them alive. It is easy to see how involuntary-passive euthanasia is the next step because people will start to think about those who are unable to ask to die. They will want to legalize involuntary-passive euthanasia because they think that some people are not useful to the society. Terri Schiavo, for example, is a perfect situation where involuntary-passive euthanasia occurs. A couple years ago her parents decided to kill her because she was in a vegetative state and was useless in life. They thought that they were doing a good deed and thought their daughter wanted to die. Therefore, they took Terri's feeding tube away and let her starve to death (Steven 2).Lastly, once involuntary-passive euthanasia is legal, involuntary-active euthanasia is one small step away from being accepted. This is because when others believe that it is fine to starve someone to death, they will think it is better to kill someone painlessly instead of taking away their feeding tubes (Steven 2). Therefore, after involuntary-passive euthanasia becomes legal, people will want involuntary-active euthanasia to be legal because they do not want to have a painful death. The main reason people want to legalize euthanasia is to have a painless death and to "die with dignity," and starving to death is not a way to "die with dignity."
Many people wonder whether voluntary euthanasia should be legal. Some people absolutely disagree with it and believe that legalizing voluntary euthanasia will create a slippery slope towards legalizing involuntary euthanasia; others disagree with it for religious reasons. But, others believe that it will benefit so many people. These people believe that it will bring comfort to them because they can have a dignified and painless death. However, legalizing voluntary euthanasia will create so many problems. It will produce a slippery slope towards involuntary euthanasia; it will pressure people into believing they are a burden to their family members; and it is completely immoral. Euthanasia is murder; it is not a friendly thing to do even if a patient wants to die. Therefore, voluntary euthanasia should not be legalized. The idea of having involuntary euthanasia legalized is so horrible that I cannot even begin to think about having voluntary euthanasia legalized. I believe in a natural death, just as the Church does, where only uncommon medical care is not given to a patient because it is too expensive, or because the patient really has no chance of living much longer.
Works Cited
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Hemler, Steven R. "The Slippery Slope of Euthanasia." Holy Spirit Interactive. 6 November 2009. 14
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<http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/stevehemler/lifeslittlelearnings/29.asp>.
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"One-minute overview." ProCon. 13 April 2009. 14 September 2010
<http://euthanasia.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=000125>.
Tada, Joni E. When Is It Right to Die? Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.
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<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/>.
<http://www.deathreference.com/En-Gh/Euthanasia.html>.
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September 2010
<http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/stevehemler/lifeslittlelearnings/29.asp>.
Langone, John. Death is a Noun; a View of the End of Life. Boston, Toronto: Little, Brown and Company,
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Mannes, Marya. Last Rights. New York, NY: William Morrow & Company, Inc, 1974.
"One-minute overview." ProCon. 13 April 2009. 14 September 2010
<http://euthanasia.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=000125>.
Tada, Joni E. When Is It Right to Die? Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.
"Voluntary Euthanasia." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 27 August 2008. 2 September 2010
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/>.
