We as a society always debate and argue what is right and what is not. Assisted suicide is a choice of free will; the Right to Life or in the other hand who are we to choose someones else’s fate and to choose when to die. Euthanasia is a practice of killing or to be laid to death of a injured or terminally ill person through a painless procedure as an act of mercy.

Many people believe that there is a God that will choose your fate and it falls into the category, religion. They believe that you have a purpose in life and that the life you have is a gift from God. By throwing away your life is shown as throwing away His gift. This will fall into sin and would be wrong to those who believes in Him(Spoerri et al, 2010). Through this, it became a moral debate between on allowing euthanasia or disallowing it. Laws became into pass but the english law states that euthanasia is illegal as it is a act of suicide(Suicide Act, 1961).

Although those are religious people that believes in God. We have the Right to Life and the right to control your own decisions(Death with Dignity, 2015). Nobody can criticize and choose your life for you. We can choose to end our life or save it and this is your decision, not anyone else’s(Legg, 2018). Imagine you are in pain every single day, the agony and the pain your family sees is unbearable. Realistically we need to think in their shoes and think what we would have done in that situation. But…. People have different point of views and also need to think about the family point of view. If one of your family members are ill in a really serious case. You wouldn’t give up on your parents or child until the last straw. This is the majority of our society. We will try to make last memories, feel, talk, touch and spend much more time with your loved ones. 

My grandfather was in hospital this year and past away on the 15th of May, 2019. He had a tumour in his brain and all my relatives were waiting for the final day of his life. Doctors recommend and also asked my family if assisted suicide is necessary for the patient because there is nothing left he/she could do. It was a tough time for my family members and I wished I could have flown back to Korea to see him once again. My family members chose not to proceed with the procedure and waited until the last moment of my grandfather. I wished and prayed that the doctors would be able to find a cure but that was only a dream for my family.

The reality is that there is only so much the doctors can do. Doctors aren’t happy if a patient dies. They try their best but if he/she cannot find a way, we need to listen to him/her and negotiate what he/she offers. Rather than looking at your loved one suffer, you can be ready to take the blow than a sudden death. In the UK, 54% of general practitioners, 84% of the public, 86% of disability and 79% of religious group supported assistive suicide(Bureau, 2016). It shows that in a urban country, that many agree to this cause but it is still illegal. Although many countries are striving for legalisation(Emanuel et al, 2016).

There is a lot of conjecture surrounding this topic. We live in a diversity so naturally there will be different opinions. Although the main questions is, should it be illegal? I also believe that we do have a purpose in life and all of this is not by chance. There are miracles that happen and we must not give up until the end but I believe that assisted suicide should be an option. We only want the best and just like my grandfather, to have the free will to decline if not needed.

REFERENCE

Death with Dignity. (2015, November 8). Terminology of Assisted Dying. Retrieved from https://www.deathwithdignity.org/terminology/

Emanuel, E. J., Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D., Urwin, J. W., & Cohen, J. (2016). Attitudes and Practices of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States, Canada, and Europe. JAMA, 316(1), 79.

Legg, T. J. (2018, December 17). Euthanasia and assisted suicide: What are they and what do they mean? Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182951.php

Martin, S. (2018, January 28). Fight to the death: Why Canada’s physician-assisted dying debate has only just begun. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/sandra-martin-physician-assisted-death-debate/article37742446/

NHS. (2018, January 7). Euthanasia and assisted suicide. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/

Spoerri, A., Zwahlen, M., Bopp, M., Gutzwiller, F., & Egger, M. (2010). Religion and assisted and non-assisted suicide in Switzerland: National Cohort Study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 39(6), 1486-1494.

The Bureau. (2016, August 12). Our position. Retrieved from https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/assisted-dying/our-position/