Albus Dumbledore's Arguments Against Euthanasia

Justified Euthanasia “How terrible it is to love something death can touch” (Albus Dumbledore), is something everyone questions to themselves. There is a great desire to avoid it, but death is inescapable. Death approaches over time or unexpectedly and happens to everyone. In hospitals, a patient’s chance of life can hang by a choice. Euthanasia, is common to families who have loved ones in an incurable condition facing the inevitable. It is one of the most difficult decision for anyone to face of whether to pull the plug or keep the patient under vegetative or suffering state. Letting someone go is never easy, but euthanasia allows the family to decide the patient’s fate, to avoid any other agonizing pain, and to brace themselves for the

For some, despite the patient being bed-ridden, they are still suffering. “Terminally ill people can have their quality of life severely damaged by physical conditions such as incontinence, nausea and vomiting….” (BBC- ethics of euthanasia.., 2014). The family too, becomes distressed from witnessing the patient connected to tubes and being unable to help themselves. Physically, family members get so occupied in catering the needs and worrying about the patient that they forget to care for themselves; this creates a toll on their physical state. Emotions are also bound to rush. Families become torn between the decision. But after deciding, they also help themselves from the constant pity and feeling sadness from seeing the patient. Emotions influence mental health. “Psychological factors that cause people to think of euthanasia include depression” (BBC- ethics-euthanasia: Ethics…, 2014). Constant exposure to a melancholic/sad environment, such as a patient in vegetative state, can sometimes lead to depression for the family members. Some member(s) of the family often feels a fluctuation of sad and melancholic mood. Sometimes, a death or constant suffering triggers a person’s brain in a way that it becomes long-term. Financially, payments accumulate. Families are not only troubled by the patient’s condition but also by the financial bills of the hospital. “It cost a lot of

Although “some people think that euthanasia shouldn’t be allowed…because it could be abused and used as a cover for murder” (BBC- ethics-euthanasia: Ethics…, 2014), the Hippocratic Oath obliges the doctors to preserve life and uphold specific standards. According to the article written by Gorman, the constant demand for euthanasia by many patients, states in America, such as California, Oregon, and a few other states, have proposed bills and passed laws that allows doctors to assist in euthanizing and be protected from any lawsuits that declares the action to be a misuse of authority and privileges. It has also been debated over that it is not giving the patient the right to die but instead allowing the third party the right to kill. In a biblical perspective, some may also consider it as unethical and sinful because “all life is sacred and it should be kept at all cost” (Argument for euthanasia, 2013). Therefore, many disapprove since it goes against the religious belief of a natural death. As a matter of fact, “Christianity believes that switching off life-support machines of brain-dead people is not wrong because it alleviates suffering so it is compassionate” (Argument for euthanasia, 2013). Although euthanasia is not universally approved, it remains as a common option for patients and their families.

How terrible it is for those who get left behind. When people are faced with brutal dilemmas,