Letter to a local MP on Euthanasia – Health Essay
I live next to the Swiss Clinic where an assisted-suicide charity, The Dignitas, is using. Everyday, I see people walking towards the clinic, with a mixture of fear and nervousness on their faces. I know that,
within minutes, they are going to be put to death by
euthanasia. Euthanasia means the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies.
Sometimes, a group of people go to the clinic together. When I look at them, I feel pity for them, because I think that they only chose death under emotional and psychological pressures which were overpowering. It is frightening to think of the number of people who were killed in that clinic to date. People who support euthanasia say that euthanasia is only voluntary, but if the choice of euthanasia is considered as good as a decision to receive care, many people will feel guilty for not choosing death. Financial considerations, added to the concern of being a burden to your family, could serve as powerful forces that would lead a person to choose euthanasia.
Also, euthanasia is a rejection of the importance and value of human life. People who support euthanasia often say that it is permissible to take human life under some circumstances such as self defense, but they miss the point that when one kills for self defense they are saving innocent life – either their own or someone else’s. With euthanasia, life is only taken and no life is saved.
Some people might ask: “Wouldn’t legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide make certain that patients can die peacefully, surrounded by their families and doctors, instead of being suffocated by plastic bags or dying in excruciating pain?” I think not, because legalizing euthanasia will only create many more problems to come. In simpler terms, the cons of euthanasia outdo the pros of it. Adding to that, euthanasia is also referred to as “a permanent solution for a temporary problem.”
Another thing that people for euthanasia believe in is that, euthanasia is a way to relieve a patient from excruciating pain. Euthanasia activists often exploit the natural fear people have of suffering and dying. Such claims are totally irresponsible and untrue. Now, in the 21st century, virtually all pain can be eliminated with the use of modern medicine.
Now, I urge you to start opposing euthanasia, and to ask your friends to oppose euthanasia too, because it is an unlawful thing for anyone to do.
Yours truly,
Timothy