contraversial issue

EUTHANASIA : Rethinking the Concept of Life

In his The Twilight of the Idols , Nietzsche called for euthanasia : To die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly . from love of life , one should desire a different death : free , conscious , without accident , without ambush . In this , I put forward that euthanasia is an inherently human right , and should be made available to those who wish it , and to those who need it . Further , it is my position that euthanasia is a humane act , in that it grants respectable death to persons

who otherwise will live and die as less than humans

Euthanasia comes from the Greek words eu ' meaning good , and thanatos , meaning death . It is sometimes referred to as mercy killing , and there are three known strands : voluntary , non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia . Generally speaking , euthanasia is defined as the practice of terminating a sick person 's life to put an end to his suffering . Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient has full information and has requested for euthanasia and has given consent . Non-voluntary euthanasia , on the other hand , occurs when the patient cannot make a request and an informed decision , and the surrogate or a family member makes the request and /or decision for him . Involuntary euthanasia is when the patient has the capacity to decide for himself and has refused and yet was administered euthanasia anyway although it is termed involuntary euthanasia , this is clearly murder and should not be classified as a form of euthanasia at all , as it is against the individual 's will

Another strand of euthanasia is assisted suicide , wherein the patient asks for help to carry out his death . In all this , it is imperative to note that the person concerned is terminally ill . Otherwise , we are not talking of euthanasia , but murder . This is the key in the euthanasia debate : supporters of euthanasia see it as a means of helping people while those against it see it mainly as killing other people

Technically speaking , euthanasia is about killing people . It makes no sense to dress up euthanasia with euphemisms like deliverance or gentle-landing . Euthanasia is about taking the life out of a person , and that effectively means killing him . But what makes euthanasia different from murder is the fact that the person chooses to die . And what makes it different from suicide is the fact that the person wants to die because he is terminally ill , otherwise he will not want to die . We need to address euthanasia as what it is , and look at it in the eye . Reducing euthanasia to plain killing and murder is unjust doctors and family members will not look into taking somebody 's life just because they can or because it is legal . Nor does euthanasia is all about helping somebody end his life . What separates the case of euthanasia is that it is burdened with values and forces us to choose which values are more important to us : life or dignity ? Hope or...