Should euthanasia be legalised? By Duncan Spencer

What is it? Euthanasia (from Greek word καλού θανάτου: "good death”) refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. Euthanasia is categorized in different ways, voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries and U.S. states. Non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries. Involuntary euthanasia is usually considered murder. There are different views on euthanasia in each country. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering". In the Netherlands, euthanasia is thought to be "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient“.

Origin of euthanasia Euthanasia originated in ancient Greece. Hippocrates mentioned euthanasia in the Hippocratic Oath. The original Oath states, “To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death.” Despite this, the ancient Greeks and Romans generally did not believe that life needed to be preserved at any cost, and were tolerant of suicide in cases where no relief could be offered to the terminally ill or where a person no longer cared for their own life.

My opinion I personally think voluntary euthanasia should be legalised. I think that mainly because the whole point of voluntary euthanasia is that we allow a patient who is terminally ill or suffering a large amount of pain die peacefully but in a majority of countries this is not allowed because it is an act against human rights. But yet in a lot of those countries they take the life of criminals and animals even if they don’t want to die, but if any Australian terminally ill who want to embrace the cold hands of death asks can you please let me pass on the answer would be a strong solid no. if we are only using euthanasia to help the people we love get through a time of massive pain then what is the problem.

World opinion Euthanasia is now illegal in Australia. Even though it was once legal in the Northern Territory. In Ireland, it is illegal for a doctor to actively contribute to someone's death. It is not, however, illegal to remove life support and other treatment should a person request it. Recently the French medical ethics council suggested that assisted suicide should exceptionally be allowed when an unwell patient makes "persistent, lucid and repeated requests" to end their life. Euthanasia is illegal in the United Kingdom. Any person who is found to be assisting suicide is breaking the law and can be convicted of assisting suicide or attempted assisted suicide. Between 2003 and 2006 there were four attempts to introduce bills that would have legalised voluntary euthanasia, all of them were rejected by the UK Parliament.

World opinion (continue) The Japanese government has no official laws on the status of euthanasia and the Supreme Court of Japan has never ruled on the matter. Rather, to date, Japan's euthanasia policy has been decided by two local court cases, one in Nagoya in 1962, and another after an incident at Tokai University in 1995. The first case involved "passive euthanasia and the latter case involved "active euthanasia". The judgments in these cases set forth a legal framework and a set of conditions that state both passive and active euthanasia could be legal. Euthanasia is illegal in the Philippines. In 1997, the Philippine Senate considered passing a bill legalizing passive euthanasia. The bill met a strong opposition from the Philippines Catholic Church. If legalized the Philippines would have been the first country to legalize euthanasia.

Arguments for euthanasia Euthanasia takes away the pain that people feel just before death and unnecessary suffering, also it means we uses less recourses and less time caring for the terminally ill Supporters of euthanasia believe that allowing people to ‘die with dignity’ is kinder than forcing them to continue their lives with suffering, pain and the fear of that tonight's dinner will be there last Some believe that every patient has a right to choose when to die instead of waiting and waiting till finally the cold hands of death slowly move their way into the patient’s heart and take their life. Proponents believe that euthanasia can be safely regulated by government legislation.

Argument against euthanasia It is practically murder and it means the sick will have less time with their family and friends before they pass on. Alternative treatments are available, such as palliative care and hospices. We do not have to kill the patient to kill the symptoms. Nearly all pain can be relieved. There is no ‘right’ to be killed and there are real dangers of ‘slippery slopes’. Opening the doors to voluntary euthanasia could lead to non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia, by giving doctors the power to decide when a patient’s life is not worth living.  We could never truly control it. Reports from the Netherlands, where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are legal, reveal that doctors do not always report it. The assumption that patients should have a right to die would impose on doctors a duty to kill, therefor restricting the autonomy of the doctor.  Also, a ‘right to die’ for some people might well become a ‘duty to die’ by others, particularly those who are vulnerable or dependent upon others.