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Legality of Euthanasia

 

Written By: Falakdipti

People have access to medical assistance, but there are cases where it does not aid a person to deal with or overcome the pain and suffering one has to go through due to an ailment. In situations where a patient’s condition is deemed ‘hopeless’, and the person is experiencing emphatic mental and physical agony, euthanasia is seen as the only ray of hope.

 

The term Euthanasia, a noun, was coined the 1640s and comes from two Greek words- Eu, which means good, and Thanatos, which means death.[1] Therefore, euthanasia can be simply translated to ‘good death’. It is a practice of intentionally ending someone’s life to relieve them from pain and suffering, performed under medical supervision. Euthanasia is mainly of three types: [2]

·       Voluntary euthanasia, which is done with the consent of the patient and is legal in some countries

·       Involuntary euthanasia, which is conducted without or against the patient’s will and is illegal in all countries

·       Non-voluntary euthanasia, which takes place when the patient cannot consent and is illegal in all countries.

 

The difference between involuntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia is that in the former, the patient is in the state of giving consent but is euthanised against his will, whereas in the latter the patient is in a state where his consent is unavailable. This happens in cases where the patient is in a vegetative state, for example being in a coma, or is a young child.  

These 3 classifications can be further divided into two: [3]

·       Active Euthanasia, the more controversial type of euthanasia which entails the administration of a lethal substance by medical professionals which is introduced to the patient’s body to put him out of misery, for example, lethal injections. It is legal only in a handful of countries.

·       Passive Euthanasia, which is allowed in more countries and is considered more ‘ethical’. It is called ‘pulling the plug’ in layman language. In this type of euthanasia, the patient is deprived of the medical treatment required for the continuation of life.

 

Legality of Euthanasia has always been a subject of debate. Some consider it an act done with bonafide intentions while for some it is an immoral deed. Every country has its own laws on euthanasia. In countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Colombia, euthanasia is a legal practice and can be performed on volunteers as young as twelve-year-old, with parental consent. Countries like India, Chile, Argentina, Spain and France legally allow passive euthanasia, but active euthanasia is deemed illegal by their respective laws. Most countries, for example, China, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil and Sri Lanka consider both types of euthanasia illegal. Lastly, there are countries like Chad, Afghanistan, Niger, Libya and Venezuela where the status of legality is unknown. [4]

 

The reason why the concept of legality of euthanasia remains so controversial and undecided is the same as other moral debates. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ if one excluded the legal context. Values and ethics are different for different people. Those in favour of the act state that it relieves a person from great pain, and saves the family from spending money on an untreatable case. Those who speak against it say that the practice might be misused and from a religious perspective, is a sin since life is a gift from God and pain have a spiritual value. Both sides of the argument can be deliberated as correct.

 

The ambiguity and controversy over the topic of euthanasia, despite scientific and technological progress the world has achieved, imposes a dilemma over healthcare workers, mainly in the case of passive euthanasia. Healthcare professionals, especially in oncology and neurology department, often encounter ethical issues when the time to choose between two options: either let the person continue to survive and let him go through dolour or choose the ‘ethically unacceptable’ option and put the patient out of woe. They are obligated to put their own moral reasoning to use and make a decision the personally think is correct. This not only is a problem for workers of the medical sector, but also for the patient, whose life depends on the decision and the bias of the worker. [5] [6] 

 

The most common argument used against euthanasia, especially active euthanasia in that it reduces the value of life and can be used to cause unrequired death of the patient for someone else’s gain. To refute the statement those in favour of the subject put forward the point that the countries that allow the practice of euthanasia only allow voluntary euthanasia, that is, the consent of the patient is taken. The person should have the right over his own life, and cannot possibly allow being ‘murdered’.

 

The most logical way to put an end to this forever on-going debate is to legalize euthanasia in all free countries. What a terminally-ill person is going through can only be understood by him, hence the right over his life should belong to him. With strict laws and compulsion of consent, the practice cannot be possibly misused, and if ending one’s life legally brings peace to the person and the kin, then so be it.

 

Word count- 852 (excluding bibliography)

 

CITATIONS:

[1]  https://www.etymonline.com/word/euthanasia

[2]  http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/volinvol.shtml

[3]  https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM197501092920206

[4]  https://www.theweek.in/webworld/features/lifestyle/euthanasia-laws-around-the-world.html

[5] Ellis and Hartley, Managing and Coordinating Nursing Care, 1995

[6] Mrayyan and Naga, Legal and Ethical Issues Of Euthanasia, 2013

 

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