According to Wikipedia- “Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.”
Let me start with an example. Guzaarish was a very famous Hindi movie released back in 2010 which was written, directed and composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It is the story of a once renowned yet now paralyzed magician who pleas in the court to allow him to end his life. When the court denied to give permission he proved his state of being by almost suffocating a lawyer and then speaking the most magnificent dialogue of the movie by saying-“You couldn’t even live five minutes of my life but you expect me to go on like this till my death.”
There are various angles to this concept. In some countries this not at all permitted no matter how severe the case is. In some countries the doctor is allowed to take a patient’s life, only if the patient requests the doctor to do so. In some countries the family members can intervene in this and ask the doctor to end the patient’s life to liberate him from all the pains and sufferings. So according to all this, euthanasia can be voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries whereas involuntary euthanasia is illegal in every country. Involuntary euthanasia is generally considered as murder.
The supporters of euthanasia come up with points that an individual is mature enough to take decisions of his own life. So he should be allowed to determine what happens to him. At times, assisting a subject to die is better than forcing him to go through the pains. And permitting euthanasia will not necessarily lead to unacceptable consequences.
The opponents of euthanasia reject the above points by saying that not all deaths are painful. At times the pain can be controlled by professional help from the doctors. Most importantly, legalising euthanasia places society on a slippery slope. Anyone can use it for their own benefits. For example, if someone actually wants to commit suicide or when the family members fail to pay the fees of hospital and they decide to kill the patient or when people want to get rid of someone.
In my opinion, euthanasia should not be legalized. It should be allowed only in some special cases where only the patient will have a say and not even the family members. Infect at times, doctors in spite of being requested by the family members to terminate a patient’s life, continue to provide the person with life supporting system on humanitarian basis. Every person has the right to live and his/her right to live should only be terminated by the almighty or by himself/herself.
