Point/Counterpoint: Euthanasia and assisted suicide--should it be legalized?

by Emily Hines and Brooke Maxson

*the views expressed in this point/counterpoint are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Wildcat Times or Pittsford Area Schools.

Euthanasia is when a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient’s death. Assisted suicide is when one doctor helps a patient die by providing the means of death.

Brooke: Do you remember hearing about Dr. Jack Kervorkian? He was imprisoned in Coldwater, MI for using lethal injections to his patients who agreed with euthanasia and assisted suicide in 1990.
Emily: Yeah, I heard a few things about it. I never really realized how close to home he and it was.
Brooke: It sounds awful. Don’t you think?
Emily: So you feel like he was wrong?
Brooke: Yes. Technically, it’s murder.
Emily: If the patient gives his or her permission, then it’s not murder.
Brooke: What if the patient has a chance at living but still feels hopeless?
Emily: Wouldn’t the doctors tell them they have a chance? Then they wouldn’t be so hopeless if they knew what the outcome could be.
Brooke: The doctors can guess, but they never really know for sure.
Emily: The patients know things could have the possibility to get better. They don’t need to be told. It’s their choice what they want to do with their life.
Brooke: The person is probably not thinking straight because they just lost hope. They need someone else to look at it from a different perspective. They might see more opportunity than the person with the stress upon them at the time.
Emily: Euthanasia could be the only possible way to relieve people in excruciating pain.
Brooke: Modern technology in the past has created new ways to lengthen life-spans even when the patient feels they can’t go on. Doctors are always coming up with new ideas to help patients escape the pain.
Emily: It makes more sense to legalize assisted suicide because then patients could die peacefully surrounded by friends and family rather than hopelessly, by themselves.
Brooke: Either way, if they have a serious disease his or her friends and family would already be expecting death. The family would always have doubt in their decision and might always regret it.
Emily: In some cases, it isn’t the family’s choice. If the patient is capable of making decisions, it’s their choice.
Brooke: They might have other treatment options and are only concentrating on the pain and getting rid of it, so they might not take the time to think of their possibilities.

If suicide isn’t illegal, why shouldn’t assisted suicide and/or euthanasia be legal for certain circumstances or if the patient gives consent? Should the option even be legal? You decide.