Should a person who is suffering from a terminal illness be able to end their life?

This is opened to cover arguments for and against Euthanasia.

Euthanasia is when someone decides to end their lives voluntarily. They may have a terminal illness and think that their life is no longer worth living. The act of Euthanasia is illegal in the UK and any person who assists in it can be charged with assisting or abetting.

Arguments for Euthanasia include: we should respect people’s wishes, we should let people end their life amongst loved ones, and euthanasia is financially cheaper than prolonging life. Arguments against Euthanasia include: we should preserve life and if legalized Euthanasia will lead to other problems. An important question in the Euthanasia debate is, why is capital punishment legal (in some countries) but Euthanasia is not.

One other think to consider is – Are we preserving life or postponing death by being for or against?

Fell free to state your opinions and debate this very contentious issue.

 

If someone is in absolute agony with horrible pain and they will pass away soon with an illness they should have the option IMO.

 

Yes. It their right to choose but I think they should undergo some counseling first.

 

Voted yes but would need to be strictly regulated to ensure it is not abused.

 

I think it's cruel to let someone suffer so they should have the right to die on their terms if they can't bear it anymore.
I feel that the arguments for it far outweigh the arguments against.
You can put your pet to sleep if they are suffering. Well imo it would be much harder watching a loved one suffer than a pet and if it meant helping them stop their suffering then they should be allowed.

 

Yep. I've watched a few programmes about this happening in Switzerland.

 

i understand this is a sensitive issue and i have family thats been in a position of pain towards the end of life but being a catholic i must say i disagree with people being able to do this

 

yes

 

Yes definitely

 

Yes.

 

I believe that people should have the choice but there could be circumstances when the person who is ill might not be able to make the decision so it becomes complicated. allsorts of arguments for and against.

 

Terminal illness, without a doubt Yes.
Animals get put to sleep at our request if they are suffering, I feel we should decide how much suffering we should be expected to tolerate and when to end it.

 

Not sure really.

 

I believe everyone has the right to end their own life if they wish, it's their life after all.

 

I think yes. Its there descision why sit in pain

 

Yes

I've always thought that people should have the right to end their life if they are in so much pain and after 6 years of teachers at a Catholic high school trying to convince me otherwise, I still think this.

The regular lectures from teachers in RE about the issue were a bit of a pain in the * and only served to strengthen my belief

 

yes...no one should be forced to suffer.

 

this

If you had a pet that was suffering you would be allowed to put it to sleep to end the pain why should a human being be subjected to agony and suffering.

 

Yes but it could lead to a dangerous slippery slope. For example Old people/ people with terminal illnesses and injuries who feel they are a burden on their families could end up looking at this option etc.