One solution that makes sure this slippery slope will not happen is not to legalize voluntary euthanasia at all. If strict laws are formed explaining that voluntary euthanasia is not legal in any situation, then this slippery slope of legalizing involuntary euthanasia cannot be possible. For example, if someone was in serious pain, was going to die shortly, and wanted to be injected, they would be denied their request to die painlessly, or as some people put it, "to die with dignity" (Mannes 61). This example happened in China with a man named Wang Mingcheng. Wang asked for an injection because he was dying painfully, but since China thinks that euthanasia is unethical his request was denied (Jing 2-4). Some people might not like this solution because they do not want to be in pain when they die; they would rather have a painless death. But, one must look into the future to see why this solution will benefit the society in the long run. Because if voluntary euthanasia is legalized, the chance of legalizing involuntary euthanasia increases. The following is an example of involuntary euthanasia: someone is in need of heart surgery, and if they do not get it, they will die. However, the heart surgery does not entirely mean that they will live much longer; it will increase their chances of living though. So, that patient wants to pay for the heart surgery, but society says that the heart surgery is too expensive, even though the patient can pay for it, and the patient should not get the heart surgery because it will not benefit the society ("Voluntary Euthanasia" 1-8). This is only one example of involuntary euthanasia, and if voluntary euthanasia is legalized, something like this could be a normal thing in the future. And therefore, questions could arise such as questions about the value of human life: does that mean that in the future human life will not be as important as it is today?
Legalizing voluntary euthanasia with very strict laws saying that the person must be in an incurable condition is another solution ("Euthanasia" 5-6). This solution, even though it has strict laws, is not as demanding as the first solution from the previous paragraph. This is because the chances of legalizing involuntary euthanasia are greater. But, the optimistic side of this solution is that people get to choose how they die. For example, if someone is suffering and about to die, they can ask for an injection to die painlessly. This was shown in China when euthanasia came into question. A man named Wang Mingcheng begged a doctor to perform euthanasia on his mother because she was dying slowly and painfully. As said in the previous paragraph, China thinks that euthanasia is unethical; however, China does not have a law about euthanasia. Therefore, the doctor eventually agreed to performing euthanasia on her, and on June 29th Wang's mother--the first patient to die from euthanasia in China--died a painless death by taking the medicine. (Jing 2-4). However, strict guidelines need to be made in order to ensure that involuntary euthanasia is not legalized in the future. But again, to ensure this is something that cannot be done.
To legalize voluntary euthanasia where the person does not have to have a terminal illness is yet another solution ("Euthanasia" 5-6). Reading through this essay, one can see that each solution is not as strict as the one before it. But, as said in the second paragraph, some people think that voluntary euthanasia is a good thing because they can have a painless or "dignified" death. The following is an example of this solution: a patient is in extreme pain with no chance of improving this pain, and they want to be injected even though they are not dying. Since this solution is not as strict as the previous one, it is more likely to reach the legalizing of involuntary euthanasia.
No solution is completely right. Not legalizing voluntary euthanasia might be beneficial in the long run because involuntary euthanasia will not be legalized. However, humans shy away from pain; no one wants to be in pain when they die, and if society does not legalize voluntary euthanasia, then many people will suffer. But legalizing voluntary euthanasia, whether the guidelines say the patient has to be incurable or curable, can lead to legalizing involuntary euthanasia, and then many people will be scared that they will die unwillingly.
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