The word euthanasia itself sounds like a happy word. In fact its literal Greek translation is "good death." (dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014). It's essentially killing in the name of mercy and kindness. As of now it is legal in some American States. However the compassion that euthanasia is coated in, is also laced with a scary truth: When something becomes legal it becomes accepted and when something becomes accepted it becomes expected. When disregard for human life becomes commonplace, one is right to fear for their own lives.
As a democratic country, it makes sense that euthanasia would appeal to us, that since we are free individuals, we should have the right to decide for ourselves whether or not to terminate our, or someone else's life. But, in some cases patients may not be able to speak for themselves, putting the decision to continue or end their lives in the hands of a family member.
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Protesters in front of Schiavo's Pinellas Park, Fl...
Terri Schiavo caseWe see how this went tragically wrong in the Terri Schiavo case. Where the one who held the power to let her live or die was her husband. He happened to at the time be having an affair, already with 2 children with another woman. Michael Schiavo chose to have Terri's feeding tube removed, against the will of the family. ( N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.)
There are a select few patients who, under severe terminal illness would prefer to die, but refusing treatment is not euthanasia. Euthanasia occurs when one is assisted by a physician to die. Accepting that giving death could be a solution to one problem opens the door to giving death to a hundred others. Changing the law to satisfy the demand of such a small number of people would imperil the lives of a much greater...