Eloisa Dominique M.

Bretana
BS NURSING 3 NB

OPINION ON EUTHANASIA

Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing has known to be one of the most debatable
topics in the medical field as it is known to question a medical practitioners morals, ethics,
and ideals, it is described as: the act of painlessly killing the patient suffering from an incurable
or painful disease. There are other types of euthanasia, one of which is known as assisted
suicide assisted suicide is when the doctor prescribed the lethal dose and/or drug for the
patient to take, as the most common kind of euthanasia is when the doctor administers the
lethal drug; another kind of euthanasia is the passive euthanasia wherein the physician
withdraws any form of medication or treatment for the patient to die naturally. The practice of
active euthanasia is, unsurprisingly, illegal in most countries, however, in 2007, four countries
had legalized human euthanasia (Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg), and four
countries and a few states had legalize assisted suicide (Switzerland, Germany, Japan,
Canada, and the US states of Washington, Oregon, Vermont, and Colorado.
Euthanasia must not be dealt with lightly, and different laws applies to different
countries or states.
COUNTRY LAW
Netherlands - Patient must be suffering unbearable
pain but not necessarily terminally ill
- Patient should be conscious, no
altered level of consciousness or any
form of bad mental health
- Age is at least 16 years old
- 12-16 may request but with parental
consent
Belgium - Patient must be suffering unbearable
pain but not necessarily terminally ill
- Under 18 years of age must have
parental consent
Switzerland - Physicians may prescribe lethal
medicine but cannot administer
- Most relaxed country with assisted
suicide
 United States - The patient should be TERMINALLY
ILL that the patient would not be
expected survive after 6 months
- Two verbal requests
- One written request
- At least 18 years old
- Legal resident of the state

Sometimes, pain and suffering can be too unbearable for a human being, and the
thought and wish to be killed can cross a persons mind once or twice. Personally, I believe
that euthanasia should be an available option for patients suffering chronic and intolerable
pain, especially if analgesia could not alleviate the pain felt. But, I did say that euthanasia
should be only made as an option, and only if the patient had undergone serious counselling
and thorough understanding of what will happen and what cannot be brought back as it is
simply providing a choice for the client. Considering the other aspects, such as the legality
and morality of the issue I think that, such as other procedures, a consent should be
available: written, implied, and verbal should be given by the patient, that is, after the
counselling the patient should receive prior to deciding on euthanasia. As for the moral aspect,
this is where the moot point is not met, since most religions believed that the life on earth is
simply borrowed, and one must not speed up the process of dying and in this aspect, I
believe that every human being has a choice in every facet of his or her life, whether to die or
not, especially at the stage of suffering through a terminal illness or unbearable physical pain
which is least likely to be cured.