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The word "euthanasia" comes from two Greek roots meaning "good death" or "mercy killing. " If you " re like most Americans, you " ve probably heard that the purpose of euthanasia is to "relieve the suffering of the terminally ill. " Although this is the modern connotation of the word fostered by pro-euthanasia, there is actually a much deeper meaning. Euthanasia isn't meant to put an end to useless suffering, it's a way of putting an end to useless people. Euthanasia as "mercy killing" isn't a new concept, but it wasn't long ago that mercy had nothing to do with euthanasia in the minds of the majority of its proponents, who saw it as a method to "improve the human race" by eliminating its weakest elements. This theory, called social Darwinism, states "it is the duty of the strong not to help the weak, but to destroy them." Setting aside the concept of "easy death" for a moment, the problem with euthanasia is this -- where do you draw the line? Once you " ve convinced yourself that it's "okay" to terminate the life of a person suffering from a debilitating illness, it becomes much easier to accept euthanasia as a general "solution" to the world's problems of overcrowding, hunger, and poverty. The argument that voluntary euthanasia is a "personal choice" that only affects one person is a sham.
In the first place, the majority of people who say they want to commit suicide are generally seeking some sort of help for a problem they " re experiencing, either mental or physical; when offered true assistance the desire to terminate their own life diminishes rapidly. In the second place, very few people lead lives in complete isolation from everyone else -- someone is always adversely affected when a friend or family member takes his or her own life. A few years back, my family went through the same turmoil of Accepting a relatives desire to take his own life. In this case it was my grandfather who was very ill at that time. My grandmother had died and grandpa was living on His own away from us.
We went visit him occasionally. Frankly we had no time to be with him to give him company. He was old, isolated, and lonely. Looking Back I can see how he felt for not being useful and wanted. So when he got sick he kept it secret until he ran out of money. My father picked up his bills.
Even though it wasnt a life threatening disease, it was chronic which means he would be sick for a long time. We had to visit him in the hospital, be there to give him company. This made him vary uncomfortable. He felt as he was a Barden to all of us, and we were not very happy with him.
All this emotions made him depressed and ultimately wanted to take his own life, so that we can be happy. Fortunately that didn't happen. We succeeded in convincing him that we really care about him, and he must live. Where are we headed? Euthanasia is ultimately based on the "quality of life" concept that some lives are not worth living.
But ask yourself this question not worth living to whom? Is this where we " re headed? Is voluntary euthanasia leading to compulsory euthanasia? Have we learned nothing from the cruel lessons that Hitler's minions taught us by slaughtering 12 million people in the name of "racial purity"? If not, God helps us all.
Free research essays on topics related to: voluntary euthanasia, mercy, euthanasia, mercy killing, worth living
Research essay sample on Voluntary Euthanasia Mercy Killing
