Question

I need an opinion paper stating why people agree with mercy killings/suicide assisting and why it is an ethical decision.

Answer 1

Mercy killing which is also known as euthanasia is a very sensitive topic as it deals with life and death of an individual. It has been a topic of debate for some decades without any finalised decision whether it is right or wrong. Mercy killing is the process of ending life of an individual by inducing a painless death either by giving medication or by removing life support in comatose patients. It is generally carried out in morbidly ill patients without a chance of recovery, comatose patients in whom the recovery chances are very minimal and patients with those medical conditions in which the suffering is much worse.

It has been legalised in some countries while the others oppose this concept. Coming to the given topic on why people agree with it. There are various cultures and beliefs in the world. According to many of them it is not acceptable to end ones life voluntarily. They believe it’s not up to the human being to decide when or how his/her life should end. But when u add ethical aspects to it, there are some situations and cases in medicine where it is almost impossible to come to a single decision.

For example, a patient with a medical condition in which the cure is not present and he/she has to go through immense pain and suffering as long as they live. In such conditions the person should have the right to make a decision to opt for minimum suffering option. On ethical stand point a person should be able to make a decision for his/her life whereas it is not acceptable culturally. This complicates the decision making.

In few cases like in comatose patients the chances of recovery are very remote and close to zero. The only thing that keeps the person alive is the artificial life support. Continuing support can be a burden to the family on economic stand point. Even though life can’t be valued in terms of money, it can’t be ignored. All the expense may be worth it if the patients recovers. But if the patient doesn’t recover, it lands his family in debt for their lifetime. A decision should be made whether to end life support or maintain it hoping for recovery.  In this case, the patient cannot make a decision for himself. So it falls on his family which raises a question whether a person can take a decision on some one else’s life. This further complicates the decision making.

These are few examples on why people agree with mercy killing. As every case is unique to the condition of patient, disease, family, the condition etc. The application of the  concept of mercy killing is unique to every case and its impossible to come to a general decision. This is the reason why it has been, still is and will be a topic of debate over ethical reasons. One should make a decision considering the condition of the patient, stage of disease, chances of recovery, consequences of choice whether to live or end life and then decide whether a person can opt for mercy killing or not.

This is such a topic on which a singular opinion is not enough. This is a brief overview on the topic. Hope this helps you out. Please feel free to give your feedback and if you need further elaborate explanation and discussion. Thank you and have a great day.