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September 8, 2020

Euthanasia:  Should death be a choice?

Fifteen-year-old Erin Newton recently participated in a ‘Hot Topics’ session on Euthanasia at the Shalimar Student Centre. The centre is run by the Prelature of Opus Dei.

In these weekly sessions, now held via Zoom, controversial topics are discussed allowing the young female participants to reflect on the moral and philosophical issues. For more information on how interested girls can participate in ‘Hot Topics’ call 221-1032 or email shalimarsc@gmail.com.

Euthanasia is intentionally killing a person to relieve pain and suffering. It is a bad practice that is becoming common. We, as human beings, should not be choosing death. There are many reasons to live even when suffering and in pain. The mere fact that we are still alive today tells us that we still have a reason to be here and we must not take the chance of life and possibility from ourselves nor anyone else. We need to fight against euthanasia.

Legalising euthanasia will not only affect our present society but will negatively impact future generations. The danger of euthanasia is the difficulty in monitoring its use. It can be used as a type of suicide for many different cases including those in which the person is not in grave pain. People can begin to seek euthanasia for the smallest of problems.

Suffering gives us a chance to trust God and put our situation in His hands. We can become closer to Him. If we commit euthanasia, we lose that chance and any further chances of this. By choosing death, we take any future possibilities away from ourselves. We can inspire a lot of people by just being alive, by breathing, even though, in some cases, it may be painful.

Perspective is a very important thing. ‘Is the glass half full or half empty?’ is a question that is asked, and the answer determines how it is viewed. The glass can be half full, half empty or it can be completely filled—half with water and the other half with air. The point of view through which things are seen matters a lot.

Viewing death from all perspectives can help people to figure out why it should not happen by choice, but when the natural comes. Figuring out why we matter, and our importance shows us why we should not choose death. There is more for us to explore, see and experience. Why try to end this beautiful life we are living, a gift we have been given, now?

Even the people going through extreme pain and suffering have reasons to live and can by some way or another be like everyone else and experience many great things.

With the development of technology, people will soon be able to go on adventures and visit places though on their hospital bed. We should not choose death because we cannot come back to live. ‘You only live once’ is a saying that is very true. Why would we want to die if this is the only time we have to live?

People who want to be euthanised, may have many reasons to justify why. But today, in a world where there are so many creative people and so many discoveries, all these reasons are problems with solutions. Almost all, if not all, pains can be relieved by modern medicine today.

Euthanasia is not the only answer and should not even be considered when looking for solutions. If a person wants to be euthanised because they feel like a burden, they should be reminded that they are loved by at least one person in this world and above all, by God.

If a person feels useless, they should know that they are not. There are times to give and times to receive. With no-one to receive there would be no point in giving.

So just because a person is not giving or actively doing something for others does not mean that they are useless. There are persons that are very  grateful that you are alive today because your presence allows them to display the gift of giving.

Don’t choose death, wait for it and while you are waiting do something amazing because you can. We need to encourage others to not want euthanasia. We can do this in various ways. One way is by increasing palliative care so that patients can be cared for properly and will be able to enjoy their life despite still having a really bad illness.

Another way is by reaching out to anyone who may be alone and show them that we care about them and they matter. We can reach out to people and show them how much they are worth.

By changing people’s perspectives, we can reveal to them a new meaning of life and a reason to live. We should help in society to eliminate euthanasia. We are still alive so we should live until our time to die, not a second less. Life is a gift, do not give it away.