Death comes as an end. Anyone born in this world must perforce die. Irrespective of the medical treatments and advanced medicinal technology, no one can be immortal. But, when these medical treatments fail to cure the suffering of a person, can euthanasia or mercy killing be an option? Can’t this term be accepted by the people for not seeing their closed ones suffer horribly?
Painless death, which is what euthanasia basically means. It is something that each one of us desires even if we are not afraid of that final annihilation. Visions of being bed-ridden, suffering increasing and incurable pain, causing trouble and grief and most importantly, being dependent on others without any hope of recovery—such visions weakens the imagination of even the most robust in health and the most optimistic amongst us, at least fleetingly. This is when; an easy death idea can be attractive.
There are two aspects to euthanasia: Passive and Active. Passive euthanasia would rightly refusing to behold the medical treatment, since it is know that any medication done is going to do no good whatsoever. It would be far more dignified to die peacefully and naturally, instead of keeping myriad tubes and pipes sticking out of one’s body to keep him alive. Active euthanasia really means legalized suicide or legalized murder. There is a wide difference between stopping irksome medical treatment to allow a dying person attain a peaceful death and planning to kill someone directly, if a person is at extremes of his illness.
In certain countries such as Netherlands, Japan, Colombia, etc, law allows us the life of a person to be taken upon his/her explicit request. But, on the other hand, euthanasia even has a negative end. Hiding behind euthanasia, the greedy relatives and doctors could kill the terminally-ill patient before time to make money or to settle the mounting hospital bills of the bed-ridden patient in question.
Euthanasia is a controversial subject and there can be no unanimity about it. People, who staunchly oppose euthanasia, are blind to the tragedy and sense of human waste when a person is suffering and is suspended between life and death. After all, the right to live would not be complete if the right to die with full dignity was not available to the people.
– Tanvi ShahÂ
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