IE3 Writing Assignment # 1

Should Euthanasia be Legalized?

Euthanasia has been a controversial issue for many years. For the past few decades, euthanasia has been legalized in several countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Australia. On the other hand, Japan still maintains a cautious attitude toward euthanasia for ethical reasons. Even though euthanasia is not ethically justified, it should be legalized under certain conditions from a humanitarian point of view.

Why is euthanasia unacceptable? In general, it is unethical to take lives intentionally for any reason. Once “voluntary euthanasia” is allowed, suicide and murder, in a broad sense, can be accepted. In addition, suicide and murder are considered sins for religious reasons. According to Religion Facts, “Christians are mostly against euthanasia. The arguments are usually based on the beliefs that life is given by God and that human beings are made in God’s image. Some churches also emphasize the importance of not interfering with the natural process of death.”

Moreover, some are against euthanasia because they consider a person a social creature who has a duty to live as a member of the community, so he/she cannot treat his/her life selfishly. Others are against “involuntary euthanasia,” in which a patient’s family makes a decision to discontinue life-prolonging treatment, because they believe that no one can treat someone’s life freely.

However, if a patient who is in a terminal condition suffers from an unbearable pain or treatment, euthanasia, so called mercy killing, is emotionally understandable so as to remove not only physical but also mental pain. Some people say that quality of life is more important than living longer. In this sense, euthanasia is regarded as death with dignity.

Some possible cases of euthanasia have taken place in Japan before and the doctors in question have been charged with the commission of murder. However, according to Wikipedia, the latest judgment says that euthanasia can be taken into consideration under the following conditions:
1. “Death is getting near”
2. “Accompanied by unbearable physical pain”
3. “To remove and relive pain”
4. “Company with patient’s request”

In the fourth point, there is another question of whether only a patient has the right to take control his/her own life. If so, “involuntary euthanasia” could be unacceptable. However, when a patient is too young or in a vegetated state, how should the reality be handled in which some families suffer from anxiety, economic problems and fatigue from nursing.

Taking these circumstances into consideration, euthanasia should be legalized under the right conditions. First of all, “the above four conditions” should be clarified by law and “involuntary euthanasia” should be allowed in some cases. However, any further exceptions should not be allowed because this must be clearly distinguished from the encouragement of suicide or murder. It is desirable that a person fulfills his/her own life for ethical and moral reasons, but euthanasia is emotionally understandable form a humanitarian point of view.

Work Cited:
“安楽死の法的扱い” Wikipedia／ 安楽死：
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E6%A5%BD%E6%AD%BB

“安楽死と尊厳死” 生命倫理 倫理の公民館：
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/village/good/ethics.html

Christian Views of Euthanasia and Suicide/ Modern Christian Views on Suicide- Euthanasia and Christianity: Religion Facts：
http://www.religionfacts.com/euthanasia/christianity.htm