The Right to Die

For some mystical reason, I have been hearing a lot of things lately about the right to die. I have always been pro-life and I have been strongly against suicide and euthanasia; I see people who wants to kill their selves as weak. My whole opinion about this mater had made a 180 degrees turn when I looked at this with the patient's perspective.

Imagine your self as someone diagnosed with a terminal illness, cancer for instance. There is no cure and your condition has gone for the worst. Your organs have started failing and you are always in pain. Don't you just want to have the option to end it all? You want to die with dignity and you don't want your last days writhing in pain or unconscious.

Euthanasia and Suicide is a moral dilemma indeed. We may discourage suicide but having the right to die (when all else fails) is a fundamental right by people. I have actually written a paper regarding the moral distress and posted it here but removed it for fear of having someone else steal my intellectual property.

The gist of my paper is actually this: moral euthanasia is when you just allow the disease run its natural course and allow the patient to die without having to endure futile treatments that will prolong life but will also force the patient to endure the pain and suffering that accompanies the disease.

We should not be afraid of death. There are times when death is more comforting than living.

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Picture credits goes to Daily Mail