Should euthanasia be legalized

It has become a controversial issue among politicians since it is an infringement of one's right to live. Euthanasia is accepted in some countries like Canada and some states in America. A survey that was carried out in the United States indicated that forty-six percent of physicians agree to voluntary euthanasia while forty-one percent disagreed. There have been arguments that individuals have a right to live with dignity but when pain comes in, there is no dignity. Those are some of the questions people ask themselves concerning euthanasia and whether it should be legalized or not (Rachels, 1986). Francis Bacon was the first person to use the term euthanasia. By so doing, he differentiated between euthanasia interior which involves preparing one for death and euthanasia exterior which involves making death easier and less painful.

That is where the Greek name easy death came from (Emanuel, 1994). The topic of euthanasia is dated back to the times of Karl Friedrich Marx a historian who took from Bacon's philosophical ideas. Euthanasia has been greatly criticized by religion and Judeo-Christian tradition arguing that it is contrary to human ethics of survival. Again, there are those who believe that euthanasia should be legalized arguing that if it was made legal, many people would take advantage and abuse it. People who do not want to die would be killed in the pretence of euthanasia. Some people argue out that if someone intends to kill another, he can hire or bribe a doctor to carry out euthanasia on a patient. On this basis, it will be difficult to differentiate when euthanasia is necessary and when it is not (Post & Stephen, 2004).

Another reason why some people believe euthanasia should not be legalized is that in many countries euthanasia is illegal. Since one can determine the course of his life, he should, therefore, be allowed to live their lives and be given a chance to determine the course of their lives. It is the same way that human beings should be given a chance to determine how they will die (Emanuel, 1994). Euthanasia is not immoral. Something that is immoral is that violated morals. Those against euthanasia argue that it is immoral because it does not lead to preservation and protection of life. People will be in a position to work hard and meet their goals before they can die and therefore, they will have lived a better life even if they die at last (Post & Stephen, 2004).

Euthanasia should be legalized as a means of regulatory control. This is because many people are travelling abroad to seek euthanasia in the countries where it has been legalized. Since laws of foreign lands cannot be regulated, we should structure our laws in such a way that they can allow us to practice euthanasia. We should also not also prosecute those people who help their relatives to travel abroad to end their lives. Euthanasia should be legalized because of the Hippocratic Oath in favour of it. Majority of people interpret the Hippocratic Oath to discourage euthanasia. This is because its major theme is that doctors should protect a patient hence they should not do harm. Majority of interpretations about "harm" are taken to mean the life of a patient.