Persuasive Essay On Animal Euthanasia

The right to live. A natural right given to all from birth. But what if someone doesn’t want to live any longer? The idea of “right to live” has been in multiple Supreme Court cases, and in 1994 after many years of lobbying all states passed an Advance Directive Law which allowed the “right to die”(https://www.all.org/learn/euthanasia/historic-review/). One way for “the right to die” is euthanasia. The process of euthanasia allows a human to die peacefully. Since humans have the ability to make decisions for themselves, euthanasia is viewed as ethical for humans. But what about animals? Animals, while similar to humans, do not have the ability to make decisions for themselves, at least, decisions about their lives. Many view the drug as unethical

For owners, animal euthanasia allows them closure, not having to see their animal suffer and being able to say goodbye to their beloved animal before the injection. The Humane Society of the United States says: “Once you make the decision, take your time to say good-bye in your own way… Let children or other family members have a chance to say good-bye in their own way too “ (Christensen 293). In some states, a home euthanasia is legal (https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/euthanasia-laws.aspx), allowing the owner the ability to perform the euthanasia and reduce the emotional stress of the process if an animal is afraid of the vet or might react poorly to the process. Personally, my family and I have had to put down an animal. My cat Misty had been battling hypothyroidism for 6 years, and throughout it her quality of life reduced from year to year. Sadly, one day she became paralyzed in her back end and when discussing the options with the veterinarian, he believed the best option was euthanasia, as she was very old and the disease she had suffered through had debilitated her body and she was in extreme pain and would no longer had a good quality of life. While we were very sad for the loss of a loved one, as a family we knew that we had chose the best option for her. However, some argue that certain animal euthanasia procedures are cruel to animals, using harsh chemicals to put down an animal. While

Many people would agree that there is no monetary value for life, but normal expenses for like dogs and cats run upwards of $10,000(www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-saving/info-2017/how-much-should-you-spend-to-save-sick-pet.html .), and does not include surgeries or other events that could happen in a pet’s life. Many surgeries cost even more than average expenses, ranging from $1,000 for an infection to upwards of $15,000 for kidney dialysis (Halligan 283). Opponents claim that it can be a go-to option for a family that cannot afford medical treatment. And while in some cases this is true, unfortunately some families are not fortunate enough to have money: it just is not possible because the medical expenses become too much for low-income families. These cases require animal euthanasia as it is cost effective and prevents the While some companies offer pet insurance, it is something that not many people get; it is rather a luxury to insure pets and people prioritize essential living expenses to spend their money on . The prices of pet insurance are also rising, making it even more difficult to obtain if you can afford