Voluntary euthanasia conserve quality of life

 

Even with advanced medical technology there are still incurable diseases such as cancer or and mental disorders such as Alzheimer's. What these have in common is that they are lethal and completely take over your life. Without the option of voluntary euthanasia, all we have left is to suffer under palliative care until we die 'naturally'. During this process, a person’s quality of life and his dignity is completely stripped because even though he may be alive, his life took a turn for the worst.

 There are many cases which voluntary euthanasia seems to be the most fitting solution but did not happen. For example, 58-years-old man called Tony Nicklison died of starvation recently because he was not allowed die even with his own consent. He was paralyzed from the neck down ever since he suffered a stroke seven years ago. He described his last seven years of his life as a living nightmare. He said that he could not live a life with absolutely no possible solution to his problem and his only way out was death. But his request for euthanasia was rejected by the High Court.

 In this case, Tony had a quality life that he could enjoy before the stroke. However, being almost completely paralyzed made that life to a living nightmare and took away his dignity. He had to rely on others to do everyday tasks for seven years. What is the point of him continuing to live when it will never get any better?  Anne Frank said “Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again,” but there was no hope for Tony.