Mercy Killing - Pros and Cons

chillibreeze writer — Asad Khan

An American clergyman once said, “Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.” But is our liberty absolute? The social setting today is simple – we teach the constitution to our kids, but we don’t tell them how to exercise their rights. Our history books make the British look villainous, yet we take immense pride in swanking about our sons working in London. Lovers are attacked on the ‘Day of Love’ and yet the flesh trade is rampant.

Against this backdrop, imagine the repercussions of talking about the prospect of killing a bedridden loved one. Catastrophe! Euthanasia, an act of ending the life of a long-suffering person in a painless manner, is an extremely controversial issue all over the world. Those who oppose it, don’t perceive euthanasia as a means to ease a person’s suffering. This is due to the ethical, emotional, and legal attachments to it.

Liberty can indeed be dangerous. If euthanasia is legalized, the laws regulating it could be misused and murder could take place in the name of mercy killing. There have been arguments that voluntary euthanasia could seriously compromise the codes of ethics of health care providers. In 1986, a European doctor was convicted for administering a lethal dose to his ill mother-in-law. He was fined and sentenced to two years imprisonment for the act. Euthanasia can only be considered "voluntary" if a patient is mentally competent to make the decision, i.e., has a rational understanding of his/her decision and its consequences. But, unfortunately, there is no accurate measure of competency.

But, hang on! The essence of human life is to be able to lead it with dignity. But when laws force you to live in intense pain and mortification, your constitutional rights are denied. How can we call ourselves a democracy when a fixed set of people decide to prolong the lives of those who are suffering when they have willingly decided to be put to rest? Death certainly has no ‘benefits’ but compassion should not be denied to those who seek merciful release from a life which has become a meaningless burden, with no prospect for remission or cure.

In 2008, Nikita Mehta, a 24-week pregnant lady from Mumbai was denied legal permission to abort her fetus, which the doctors said might have a congenital heart defect. The court ruled that a predicted disability was no ground for abortion. Why was the decision not left with the parents? Is the idea of a deformed child more traumatizing for the High Court judges or the parents? Ultimately, Nikita suffered a miscarriage and the issue went out of the public eye – its significance and symbolism forgotten.

Faith and boundaries are crucial aspects of mercy killing. Religions around the world strongly forbid euthanasia. Most religions say that no man has the right to play God. Also, Euthanasia is illegal in most countries, although doctors do sometimes carry it out. Netherlands was one of the first countries to legalize euthanasia followed by Canada, Oregon, and Columbia. Oregon has a ‘Death with Dignity’ law, which has been in place for almost 10 years. It allows terminally ill patients to take legal, proscribed medication to end their suffering.

Opponents and supporters of euthanasia both make reasonable arguments and so it is difficult to feel strongly about any one school of though. However, I do feel that it is an option that someone suffering from a terminal and painful illness must have. Shouldn’t our judiciary place humanity and and dignity before unreasonable laws?

Obviously legalization of euthanasia should not be for someone wanting to end his life at the flimsiest of excuses, but, by proper consideration of everyone’s opinions, a person should be freed of his pains if need be. As someone rightly said, “Liberty with danger is far better than peace with slavery”.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Asad Khan, a graduate from St. Xavier's college, Mumbai, is currently working as a corporate public relations executive with a PR agency and even works as a freelance copywriter. He has worked as a celebrity publicist in the past and also holds a post graduate diploma in PR and Events. As a hobby, Asad writes a blog on fashion and also writes contributory articles for MSN India. He is currently based in Mumbai.

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