Euthanasia is the termination of a sick person’s life and suffering, there are 3 types: Voluntary, Non-Voluntary, Passive and Active (NHS, 2017 a). This essay will be on active euthanasia this is a lethal injection or an overdose of medication to deliberately end someone’s life (BBC, 2014). Euthanasia should not be legalised in the UK because medical professionals are meant to save lives not allow people to die, this will also affect the development of new cures and treatments for terminally ill patients. Although people can argue that euthanasia can end suffering, but it does not set a clear safeguard to decide if a person should live or die.
Euthanasia should not be legalised because it does not allow medical professionals to do their job of saving people. Medical professionals have to follow the Suicide Act 1961 which doesn’t allow them to assist their patients’ death. Medical staff take the Hippocratic Oath which states “do no harm” this means that if a doctor was assisting a patient in their death they are not only breaking the law but they would also have broken their oath. Euthanasia is the direct opposite of the oath that doctors have been taking since Ancient Greece. The principle of “do no harm” is in all different versions across the world (Oxtoby, 2016).
Another reason why euthanasia should not be legalised is that it does not allow scientists to find new cures for terminally ill patients, for example, people who are suffering from cancer. Instead of euthanasia, there are alternatives for patients that may not have readily available treatments such as chemotherapy, which would not cure the illness but extend the patient’s life. If euthanasia was to be legalised, doctors would not have spent there time researching these alternatives. Scientists would also not research new medication for incurable diseases such as cancer. Also, pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars on cures and treatments (investopedia 2019). Therefore if more people want euthanasia doctors and scientists would not have spent time and money looking for these treatments.
Some people might think that euthanasia should be legalised because it allows a patient to end their pain although some safeguards can not be met such as who should be able to decide for the euthanasia. Even if it does end pain and suffering, who gets to decide to kill the patient? The best person who should make this decision is the individual. However, if the individual is not in a stable state the doctor or family member might make that decision. The biggest problem is the examination of the patient’s mental capacity because they could easily lie on the questionnaire to downplay any mental health problems(NHS 2017 b). Another problem is the patient’s family background, as some family members may have ulterior motives such as inheritance. Despite euthanasia ending the patient’s suffering, there are not enough safeguards to ensure that the patient is deciding without influence from family members or due to an underlying mental health condition. Therefore, until such safeguards can be met, euthanasia should not be legalised.
In conclusion, active euthanasia should remain illegal under the Suicide Act of 1961. One of the reasons why it should remain illegal is that medical professionals are there to save lives as they have taken the Hippocratic Oath which says “do no harm” (patient.info 2015). Scientists and doctors spend their time and big companies spend money looking for treatments. This would not be required if euthanasia was legalised. Since active euthanasia a deliberate action, this means someone would need to decide if someone should live or die. Despite many countries legalising euthanasia, there are not enough safeguards has the correct mental capacity to make that choice. Until these are met euthanasia must not be legalised in the UK.
Research:
BBC (2008) A guide to the hippocratic oath, viewed 13/05/2020
BBC (2014) Active and passive euthanasia , viewed 22/04/2020
Patient.info (2015) Ideas and the Hippocratic oath, viewed 13/05/2020
Patient.info (2020) Medical ethics, viewed 13/05/2020
Oxtoby, K. (2016) Is the hippocratic oath still relevant to practicing doctors today? BMJ 355:i6629, viewed 14/05/2020
Investopedia (2019) Average research and development costs for pharmaceutical companies. , viewed 13/05/2020
My Death My Decision (2018) Medically Assisted Suicide in Switzerland, viewed
22/04/2020
NHS (2017a) Euthanasia and assisted suicide, viewed 14/05/2020 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/
NHS (2017b) Mood self-assessment, viewed 14/05/2020
Britannica (2020) Euthanasia, viewed 13/05/2020
Healthline (2020) What is Euthanasia, viewed 13/05/2020 https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-euthanasia
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