Should euthanasia be banned?

The Hangout Discuss
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Euthanasia is fundamentally just ending someone’s life. Some people will automatically react that all life is inherently valuable and state that there is never a reason to kill somebody. However, the question should be a lot harder than that. Euthanasia is talked about in two different capacities, active and passive. Passive euthanasia involves withholding treatment from someone. As an example, someone with an incredibly severe illness that constantly needs medicine to manage their illness would have that medicine taken away. Active euthanasia, on the other hand, involves the administration of a lethal substance. Euthanasia is thought of as a kind of last resort and as a method for people who suffer immensely just being alive to end their suffering. This could allow the person to suffer for less time and give them the final say in their own life.

  • Is euthanasia legal in your country?
  • Do you think euthanasia should be banned?
  • What are some of the reasons in favor of banning euthanasia?
  • What are some of the reasons that euthanasia should not be banned?
  • Is a life inherently worth living, regardless of the quality?

@Discussions

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Hey @Announcements, I think this calls for an epic debate, yeah?!

Ready, Set, GO!

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I’ll start with a hot take and say that I don’t think all life is worth living. Sometimes the condition of someone’s life causes tremendous pain that cannot be mitigated by their positive benefit on others. Although in practice it can be hard to determine where a line is for this, I definitely think that living doesn’t have to be an infinitely good thing.

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Yeah there’s probably a line but I say if someone’s in a ton of pain, maybe they’re also a lot older or something, and there’s like zero chance of them getting any better and medication is not helping and it’s super expensive then yeah… As long as it’s their decision.

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oh yeah, this is another concern

keeping someone alive can actually be incredibly expensive and take up a lot of resources if they need a lot of medical care

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I just don’t really like the idea either of other people having a say in a person’s life.

But it does depend. Like if they do have a chance at recovery then I say you should try to help them but if they’re almost dying and need several machines to help them live and it isn’t a good quality of life at all… and their family sees this and they see this and they want to no longer suffer anymore and both them and their family agree with this then I think they should do it.

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Yes it is

No

None

Because the people who do euthanasia are people who really suffer a lot to the point that they aren’t even living anymore it’s just suffering. I don’t wish for anyone to suffer especially like that.

No

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I think it should be legal if someone is in such a terrible amount of pain that will never be cured that they’d rather die peacefully.

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Unfortunately it isn’t. Mean that many people suffer in extreme amounts of pain every day with no quality to their life.

I belive the opposite. It should be legal, though of course there should also be checks and balances with the idea and always discussed with a medial and mental health professional.

none that I can think off.

Quality of Life, quality of care.

We say that we value life and yet we let people who have no functionality, or live every day in pain. And worse we do everything to keep them alive no matter what. it is cruel.

We have no issues with euthanasing a dog when it becomes clear the animal is in to much pain and has no quality of life. Why should that option be not there for me, if I am in too much pain and with no quality or life to speak of?

No, and to insist otherwise is cruelty of the highest order.

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This was definitely one of the main things that I was thinking about with this. With pets, euthanasia is fairly common in end-of-life stages.

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Oh no, we talked about this in my RE class, let’s see what everyone says :eyes:

:joy:

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RE?

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Euthanasia is allowed in the Netherlands, under very strict rules however. And it should be like that. Euthanasia is not something to think lightly about, after all someone’s life is ended.
This is a quite personal topic cause I have actually experienced euthanasia from pretty up close. I’ve seen someone suffering from cancer, like a family friend, and her biggest wish was to get euthanasia and not suffer anymore. There was no chance the cancer would get better but she would have had at least months to live in a very poor quality of life. She ended up getting approved for it and I am happy about that cause that’s how she wanted it. So yes, I fully believe that it should be an option. However, only in cases where someone really can decide themselves, or if for example in case of dementia they wrote a statement on it before. This is controversial tho here in the Netherlands, euthanasia with dementia.

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Religious education!

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Yes

Also, enthanasia doesn’t only apply on humans, it applies on animals as well. For example, stray animals will get enthanasia after being in an animal shelter for a period of time.

That’s why adopt, don’t shop for pets.

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I was avoiding this topic because I believed that my opinion was too much and I was afraid that my opinion might offend people, but here I am.

Euthanasia is illegal in our country. A bill for it was actually passed by the senate, but it was countered by the Catholic Church; thus, its failure to be legalized.

I oppose to this for various of reasons. Mercy or killing? Practicality.

When euthanasia happens, it’s usually because there is little to no hope that the patient will be recovering from his or her illness. As long as euthanasia is done with proper permission or mutual agreement/understanding, then it’s safe to say it’s beneficial.

Not all illnesses can be healed. As much as our doctors want to be helping in keeping people healthy and well, it’s undeniable that there are just times that they can’t do it. It’s our doctors’ duty to keep the community healthy and they shouldn’t give up on a person’s life no matter what, but isn’t torture worse than death? When a terribly sick person is taking medication and is basically living in the hospital for it, that’s not medication anymore—that’s just maintaining the person’s heartbeats.

We don’t have unlimited resources. Medication, of course, require certain equipments and tools and such. The longer the person has to hold on to dear life, the more the medications must be spent. It also gets worse and worse; thus requiring far more expensive equipments. If euthanasia is instead done, then this will not just benefit the person themself but also the hospital—they will be able to use it on more hopeful patients instead that they are sure to be able to heal.

The family, though they will suffer with the loss of a member, can also benefit in terms of financial matters. Medical necessities are expensive, and the further medication gets, the harder it will actually be for them in terms of payment. Take a scenario wherein a family has no decent source of income with more than two children to feed and one being maintained in the hospital. They can’t just depend on charities and government assistance, right?

Euthanasia should be legalised, but with strict restrictions, of course. People shouldn’t have to worry and suffer just for it to end for nothing. Fighting for someone’s life is good, but we should know when to stop and move on.

People shouldn’t have to be afraid of euthanasia being legalised. Legalising euthanasia isn’t legalizing suicide—it’s a different topic that shouldn’t even be discussed about.

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I couldn’t have said it better myself.

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sometimes euthanasia is associated with substantial mental distress rather than physical, however there is a significant distinction between them

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YES. Me Before You

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Bump! This debate is very important in my opinion.

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