Newspaper review 3

13 December 2008, Saturday
Right to die…or right to kill?
The Straits Times, Part D

*Euthanasia means ‘good death’ in Greek. It is legal only in Belgium and the Netherlands. The lethal dose for the terminally ill patient is administered by the doctor, often in the form of an injection. (Copied from the article)

About the Article:
This article talks about euthanasia. Apparently, there has been a huge debate about euthanasia – whether should it or should it not be made legal. Patients with terminal diseases are constantly in search for ways to end their life peacefully and painlessly. Euthanasia is an easy solution for them. They can just head straight for veterinary supply stores and ask for Pentobarbital sodium that is used to anaesthetize animals. It is cheap and it can kill people by putting them to sleep permanently. Medical doctor George Wong brought up the case of his late father who suffered from stomach cancer and pleaded repeatedly to his doctor to allow him to die comfortable and peacefully. However, his doctor refused. “He was not harming anyone by his wish. Why should the law not allow it?” ask Dr Wong. People argued back by saying the law is not about the right to die but the right to kill.

Thoughts:
I support the idea of legalizing euthanasia. Isn’t it better to legalize euthanasia and make patients with terminal disease feel more at ease since they know that they can die painlessly? Some patients are afraid that they had to die a painful death due to their illness. Thus, they spend their remaining days searching for legal alternatives to end they life painlessly. If euthanasia is legalized, the patients can then spend their remaining days in peace with their loved ones. Their loved ones will not have to worry about him being in pain even when leaving the world.

However, if euthanasia is legalized, it will give people a right to kill. For patients with dementia or who are too weak, they may be forced to do involuntary euthanasia. Also, people who are not in the right state of mind will use euthanasia. For example, someone who is depressed wants to end his/her life. If euthanasia is legalized, the death rate will be very high. Therefore I think that euthanasia should be legalized with terms and conditions applied to it.

Jolene Chia.