Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as people or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.

Euthanasia was practiced in Ancient Greece and Time. For example, hemlock was employed as a means of hastening death on the island of Kea; a technique also employed in Marseilles. Euthanasia, in the sense of the deliberate hastening of a person's death, was supported by Socrates, Plato and Seneca the Elder in the ancient world. However many philosophists found it objectionable.
In the modern day, it has become a popular topic of debate. While some feel it’s against the law of nature or the will of the Lord, the others argue that if a human has the right to live peacefully, he should be allowed to die peacefully as well. Just like the two sides  of a coin, the arguments of both the sides have their own share of pros and cons. Efforts to change government policies on the euthanasia of humans in the 20th and 21st centuries have met limited success in the countries. Human euthanasia policies have also been developed by a variety of NGOs; most notably medical associations and advocacy organisations.
Before knowing which countries have legalised euthanasia  it’s necessary to know what are the ways in which it is carried out. The four types of euthanasia are:
1] Active euthanasia: Purposely giving someone a lethal dose of a sedative is considered active euthanasia.
2] Passive euthanasia: It is sometimes described as withholding or limiting life-sustaining treatments so that a person passes away quickly. The doctor may also prescribe increasingly high doses of pain-killing medication. Over time, the doses may become toxic.
3] Voluntary euthanasia: If someone makes a conscious decision to seek help with ending their life, it’s considered as voluntary euthanasia. The person must give their full consent and demonstrate that they fully understand what will happen.
4] Non-voluntary euthanasia: It involves someone else making the decision to end someone’s life. A close family member usually makes the decision. This is generally done when someone is completely unconscious or permanently incapacitated. It usually involves passive euthanasia, such as withdrawing life support from someone who is showing no signs of brain activity.

The first modern day country to legalise euthanasia was Netherlands. While a few other countries permit voluntary euthanasia, Non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries.
Involuntary euthanasia is also illegal in all countries and is usually considered murder.
While the debate continues, the drama industry has also been an active participant. By making movies such as Guzaarish, Me before you, Whose life is it anyways, to name a few, both Hollywood and Bollywood made sure that they present an entirely different side of the coin to the audience; if not completely change their opinion and belief.

Pros:

Instead of suffering from an incurable disease or just artificially being kept alive by a life support,  it’s better to embrace death as it would not only relieve some of the pain but also reduce the unnecessary expenses which can otherwise be used for the welfare of our loved ones . We are able to choose all kinds of things in life right from who we marry to what kind of work we do and I think when one comes to the end of one's life, whether you have a terminal illness or whether you're elderly, you should have a choice about what happens to you...

Euthanasia is also termed as “Death with dignity” because:

A > You choose to die happily

B > The funds are not blocked in unnecessary costs

C > You have the Freedom to choose.

Cons:

While the above pros seem crucially convincing, euthanasia has its own share of cons which, by and large, overshadow the pros; preventing it from being legalised everywhere. Out of the many cons, a few can be listed as:

1. Devalues Human Lives

By allowing our doctors to actively “kill” people, people will begin to see euthanasia as a solution and it will begin to be misused.This also gives the impression to people and children that the human life has a lesser value.

2. Religious and Ethical Problems

One of the most common brought-up topics in the euthanasia debate is that of religion.

3. Corruption Of The Worst Kind

There are tremendous costs involved in the care of terminally-ill patients or patients that are in a state of coma.These valuable resources are saved to a great extent if a person chooses to participate in physician-assisted suicide. This could prompt hospitals and doctors to begin using euthanasia as a means of money saving, which could result in people that have not agreed, being killed.

4. Euthanasia medication doesn’t always deliver on its promised result.

The State of Oregon tracked the results of patients who took lethal prescriptions as part of the Death with Dignity Act for two decades, starting in 1998. This data found that seven people regained consciousness after taking the medication, and one person was even alive after the study period, still fighting the disease. Another 1,179 people out of 1,857 qualifying patients had a successful result from their encounter with the euthanasia program.

Initially, euthanasia was limited to terminally-ill, incompetent adults, with unrelievable  pain and suffering, who repeatedly asked for euthanasia and gave their informed consent to it. Now, none of those requirements necessarily apply; in some cases not even in theory and, in others, not in practice.

Rather than a means to relive one's pain, euthanasia has become, instead, a deception for suicide without the guilt factor. It’s growing popularity shows how the capacity to endure pain is fast decreasing, owing to the quick and easy solutions available.

Thus euthanasia maybe a good idea for some while others still feel it’s just a sham pushing a person into the death trap without considering it’s consequences.

~Rtr. Simran Karkera