Euthanasia - Murder or relief? (Euthanasia)

Name: googleeyes001

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Product:	Euthanasia
Date:	04/06/08 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: End suffering.

Disadvantages: Illegal, sinful?

I myself am fully for euthanasia, of course in my few years of existence I have only recently discovered this issue and formed my opinion.

What I have seen though in my years, is a general support for euthanasia, it would seem that most people want some control over there fate, and most people would rather die than live a life of depravity or with a poor quality of life.

However the real question is, would you yourself commit euthanasia? Could you knowingly take someone's life, even if it was for the better or it was the wish of the person?

Another issue is, how? How can you take the life of someone in both a humane and legitimate way? In my eyes there are two forms of euthanasia, firstly is passive. This form is where no action is taken to prevent the death of slow it down, i.e. withholding medication or not reviving a person. The second form is active, which is where lethal doses of medication are given or other action are actually undertaken to cause the death of the person. Passive euthanasia is I feel is the generally more accepted and often most used, in most cases this form is not even seen as euthanasia. Active however is the far more controversial method, as this is technically against the law.

The problem with legalising euthanasia is the issue of making it fair and legitimate, as in how can it be done without misappropriation. How can we be sure that euthanasia can be committed, to decide the person in question would have to be sound of mind and able to make a clear decision. If euthanasia is legal it will allow for the potential for some unscrupulous individuals to commit murder and other crimes to do with wills and death.

An idea which I have had (don't mock yet, simply a preliminary idea) would to be issue a form of certificate which would legitimate euthanasia. This would only be granted after three stages. First stage; Drawing up of certificate and legal documents, this would be undertaken by the party involved in requesting the certificate and a solicitor who has relevant legal knowledge. Secondly; Interviews and checks would be undertaken on the proposed person who wishes to undertake the act of euthanasia this would be done by an independent committee set up by the government. The checks would involve checks of mental health, criminal checks and whether the person in question stands to gain from the death of the other person. Thirdly; psychiatric and health diagnostic would be taken out by a qualified psychiatrists and doctors, to evaluate the need for euthanasia, and to also evaluate the mental health of the person.
After all the procedures have been carried out then the one time use certificate is issued an the act of euthanasia is done in the presence of a medical professional and so it is done in a humane and legal way. This system however could only be initiated by a person who wishes to have euthanasia, and so hospittals and healthcare institutions would have no effective control over who wishes to commit the act, and couldn't force people to.

This system of has the potential for being abused but every system does, and as the demand for euthanasia is so great, it seems a prudent move to create a way in which legal and humane euthanasia can be committed, before people turn to desperate measures.

There are arguments against euthanasia, mostly which come from religious sectors. Most main religions are against euthanasia seeing it a sinful and a an act against God as he supposedly created life. In modern Britain there are many different cultures and religious groups still have lots of power and influence in the British political system, through law lords and religious lords, plus large numbers of Mp's are religious, as well as this religious groups can put considerable pressure on the government, and as many religions are against euthanasia the may well use this leverage. So for the foreseeable future it would look like it is highly unlikely that euthanasia will be legalised. Unfortunately as I feel it could benefit society, if controlled properly.

Summary: Can euthanasia have a use in todays society?