Pro Euthanasia: It Should Be Legalised in the UK

Euthanasia is a really controversial question. Should it be banned or as we live in demoracy and in freedom this act should be allowed? To start with, this is pro euthanasia essay in which I will share some arguments why euthanasia should become legal in especially in the UK. Euthanasia is a complex issue debated widely within healthcare; the definition of this term is when a life is intentionally ended, to stop severe pain or suffering of an individual. Euthanasia is built through different components and has many factors which affect decisions around it. It is usually requested by terminally ill patients, this is defined as voluntary euthanasia, which is when an individual of sound mind directly requests a medical professional to take steps to hasten their death using either the active or passive approach. This correlates with the term active euthanasia, which is when a medical professional is knowingly administrating a lethal dose of drugs causing life to end quickly. Involuntary euthanasia is when the individual affected cannot consent to their life being ended for example this could apply to those who are on life support or in a vegetative state such as brain damage with no chance of recovery. This usually works with the term passive euthanasia which is when a doctor knowingly withholds treatment or fails to prevent the death of a patient and is aware that their actions result in a quicker death; this can be shown through the actions of turning off life support machines.

Within the UK Euthanasia is illegal, under English law the consequences for committing this crime could be up to life imprisonment. Assisted suicide is also illegal under the Suicide Act and can lead to 14 years of imprisonment. Assisted Suicide is when someone directly helps someone end their life without performing the action of killing themselves. 51% of individuals in the UK who had seen someone die in unbearable pain said they would be willing to break the law to help a loved one to die if they were terminally ill and suffering. There have been numerous attempts to get the Uk laws changed, in 1994 the House of Lords refused the request to change the laws and this was reconsidered in 2005 but refused in 2006. There was a request for a bill to be passed for assisting the death of those who are terminally ill. The decision-makers had travelled to countries like Netherlands where the law allows those as young as 12 to request assisted dying and Belgium and Switzerland with no age restrictions, in hopes to assess the pros and cons.

One of the common opinions around pro euthanasia is the right to autonomy, it gives the patient the option to choose when their life ends and the right to die with dignity. In Northern Ireland, McGlades et al. conducted a study on GP’s thoughts and experiences around euthanasia. It was found that 67.4% of people reported the main concerns when nearing the end of life being the loss of dignity, reduced ability to do things for themselves, fear of being dependant, affecting family or friends negatively and fear of spending an unknown timeframe in unbearable pain.

It is public knowledge that patients currently have the option to refuse treatments to prolong their life, so it is discussed they should have the option to end their life through euthanasia too. With the introduction of the Human Rights Act it has also been argued for pro euthanasia that denying a person the right to die when they suffer physically and psychologically is a direct violation of this law and the Hippocratic Oath. Under this oath a promise it made to do no harm than good but it can be argued that allowing a patient to suffer for an extended amount of time has a detrimental effect and could be seen as breaking this promise. In 2019 over 5000 of the UK population was interviewed, it found support for assisted dying and euthanasia had increased to 84% from 2015 with support amongst all ages, ethnicities and religions including more than 82% of Christians.

Mental health awareness and suicide rates are rising around the world, some countries such as Belgium take a more equal standing when it comes to mental and physical suffering than the UK does, as Euthanasia is legal there. The opinions against euthanasia is that there is a possibility that it gives individuals an extra option to end their life when they are unhappy, where other methods such as CBT may work. It also provides doctors with a chance to avoid dealing with the issues of patients and encourages both parties to give up sooner.

Euthanasia is an act that cannot be reversed, those against the legalisations of euthanasia would argue the severity of ending a life and the fact it cannot be monitored. It cannot be proven that the decision to kill has taken into consideration all alternative treatments, possibilities and human errors which could have been made. The case of Carrie Coons in 1988 supports this opinion, as her condition was described as permanent with no chance of recovery as she spent five months not responding and no signs of improvement. She was in a vegetative state after suffering a stroke, the Supreme Court granted passive euthanasia by the removal of her feeding tube. Only two days after this decision was passed Carrie was awake, alert and responding. Carrie Coons could have been killed without the chance of this miraculous recovery.  It was evidenced that within this case we never know what extent the human body can recover from even with diagnostics made from professionals.

To conclude, you can see the discussion around legalising euthanasia is very complex, with all legal, moral and ethical concerns having to be taken into consideration. Euthanasia will always cause division as it is a subjective matter based on personal preference, it is likely that many may not understand the support of euthanasia until they are in a position of severe suffering or terminal illness. Laws around euthanasia in the UK should be addressed and legalised, this should only be the case if other life-saving options are discussed or trailed first. The decision should be supported by measured in-depth structures and conditions, for example vulnerable adults suffering from mental health issues need support and closely monitoring ensuring external factors and pressures would not affect the decision. Legalising euthanasia would be the right decision as this will allow a dignified death and prevent any unnecessary suffering for both the patient their families.