By the time I decided to start writing this blog post, it was just few minutes to 3:am. I had not slept since I woke up yesterday. The new year wishes was too much that I couldn't sleep until around 4am on new year's day. It's been a while I stayed up at night to make calls. Well, all thanks to the new year, I had to do that again, what a way to start 2016. By the way, happy new year to my readers. Let me just go straight to what this blog post is all about.

I believe most of you have heard about EUTHANASIA, it is not a country neither is it a woman. Encarta dictionary defines it as the act or practice of killing somebody who has an incurable illness or injury, or of assisting that person to die. In other words it is generally known as 'mercy killing'.

I had to dig up some facts, spend time on the internet looking for the 'deep' meaning of this act (euthanasia). I went through the stress to satisfy my curiosity, I can only hope I will satisfy your curiosity too with my findings. The actual question here is should euthanasia be legal or not? I don't have a stand in this, I am on the fence.

There are 3 major categories of euthanasia, Voluntary euthanasia, Non-voluntary euthanasia and Involuntary euthanasia. According to Wikipedia, voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries, as of 2009 Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg legalized voluntary euthanasia. In voluntary euthanasia, the patient would be aware and the patient's consent would have been granted. It is more or less an assisted suicide.

Non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries, this is the most common category of euthanasia and it is the category that is mostly referred to as mercy killing. In this case the consent of the patient concerned is not available, the doctors or whoever will administer the killing do so on their own judgement to ease the pains of the patient. While involuntary euthanasia is widely regarded as murder, there is a tiny difference between it and non-voluntary euthanasia, in a case where the patient wouldn't have wished to die even though their consent is not available. In such situations, they are indistinguishable.

In 2008, I lost an uncle. He had an accident and was in coma for about five days, the medical report was that he had 50/50 chance of survival, in fact he was half dead. Even we the family didn't have the rights to decide if he should die or not, we just wanted him in the operating room, if he had died there it would have been understandable, but the nurses wheeling him into the surgical theatre under the guise of negligence gave him mercy killing. My family went indignant and we stopped the emergency unit of that hospital from functioning on that very day.

Many people have died from this act, whether voluntarily, involuntarily or non-voluntarily, even those that might still survive whatever illness they were suffering from. The medical workers have taken more lives in this way than they have probably saved. No matter how much suffering anybody is going through healthwise, they should be attended to in a way to make them feel comfortable and not to end their lives. They should be given a chance to survive. It is very hard for me to choose a side when it all boils down to mercy killing, but it is imperative to note, nobody possesses the rights to end anybody's life no matter the situation. But on the other hand, when the pain becomes unbearable for the patient or the chance of the patient's survival slims down to 20%, euthanasia will be the best option to reduce the time and cost of hospitalization. Do you agree with euthanasia or you disagree? I'll like to know what you think..

http://www.akinkunlesblog.com/2016/01/opinion-should-euthanasia-be-legal-or.html

Euthanasia should be illegal cus am a firm believer of miracle.

rheether:
Euthanasia should be illegal cus am a firm believer of miracle.

In medicine, I don't think there is anything such as 'miracle'. Sometimes it happens right there before their eyes and they try to find another explanation to it. But the fact is miracle happens, but no one can tell when it will happen, so since it doesn't depend on a constant they don't really expect it in medicine except there is a sign. My mother still claims my uncle was killed by the nurses, you know. His brain's right hemisphere was already dead, but still they didn't have the right to remove his breathing aid. A lot of people really need to know about euthanasia. I am actually waiving on this issue, I don't know where to stand. Thanks for your opinion though.

Euthanasia... From the logical point of view; it makes sense to just end it; given d consent of the patient; voluntary euthanasia. Otherwise, it should be illegal.
In some cases, the medics simply kill the patient if the case is too difficult for them to handle...d medical personnel should be more concerned about saving lives than tactfully destroying them. Its generally against the ethics #myopinion

defendedvictim:
Euthanasia... From the logical point of view; it makes sense to just end it; given d consent of the patient; voluntary euthanasia. Otherwise, it should be illegal.
In some cases, the medics simply kill the patient if the case is too difficult for them to handle...d medical personnel should be more concerned about saving lives than tactfully destroying them. Its generally against the ethics #myopinion

Nice quota, but don't you think voluntary euthanasia is more or less suicide/assisted suicide? I don't think suicide is a good way to go. Let death come naturally, in fact I am beginning to move towards the scrapping of euthanasia no matter which category. No matter how long a person has been ill, let death have the final say. We as humans do not possess the right to decide who dies or who doesn't.

Euthanasia has been legalized in some countries.

For a want of shoe, the kingdom was lost...for the choice of a path the boat was found

There's a reason why there's electroencephalogram attached to patients who are in coma, what the machine does is record activities in the brain and goes off sort of when the patient is no longer breathing, that should do the talking instead of assisted suicide called Euthanasia!!

Not in any way do I support Euthanasia, I don't leave the life of whoever unto the judgement of the doctor or team of doctors and I don't agree with it even if the sufferer insists he wants euthanasia, how many times have I had several pains that would just make me kill myself literally but here I am! Thank God I had no understanding of Euthanasia.

Pain isn't enough to justify death of patients in worse conditions and who knows a cure might be found for the patients.

then 70 of Nigerian medical practicioner s re going to jail

Not at all.
No condition is permanent

Whether it is legalise or not, it doesn't matter, the families of the victims/patients have the final say.
If it's legalise and the mother or father says please don't kill our bread winner, op u as doctor will u still go to euthanasia the patient.

h

It should be legalized

Yes I support fully.


Euthanasia is advantageous in many more ways than disadvantageous. It can help a patient in numerous ways: it can stop suffering and cause an impending death to come sooner and thus save a lot of heartache and pain. Just barely lingering on the border of life and death one should be able make a decision to slide into eternity with dignity, without pain, with their loved ones present.

As sad as it is, we should not force people to live in misery. It is also a fact that there are many diseases out there that can cause a patient excruciating amount of pain.

For instance, blood cancer can include symptoms such as bone fractures, repeated infections, and persisting bruises. If a patient tries every possible way to fight a disease but hits a dead end, it will simply be better to meet death in a dignified manner than die in a hospital bed not recognizing the person you’ve withered away to

Life is hard to live with any sort of terminal illness, in many cases death may be the better answer.

Hghji

Euthanasia is a very delicate matter, as is anything that has to di directly with human life.
If you look at it from a logical point of view yes should be legalized, but from a moral point of view it shouldn't as one cannot create life so shouldn't be up to one to take it..
I believe nature should be left to take its course

ok

We are not Belgians.... Never

I'm genuinely shocked that an intelligent issue like this is being discussed on nairaland.

Euthanasia, mercy killing or assisted suicide is a thorny subject. This is because moral and religious sentiments outrightly frown upon the idea of somebody taking their own life which they did not create. However I'm not going to argue referencing any religious rule book.

Life is sacred, there is no doubt about it but existence is not. Life at least to humans is marked by the ability of the living to pursue a goal, seek actualisation as well as amusement and enjoy all of the human experiences that make us human. If a human being exists as a plant, he or she cannot be said to be alive. If a person is confined to vegetative state, he or she cannot be said to be living. If a person has lost practically all the qualities that make them human, and they elect to discontinue that meaningless existence, isn't it justified?

What use is there for living to a person who has been in coma for twenty thirty years, or someone who has been paralysed and cannot do anything but retain consciousness to suffer imprisonment in their own body.

The truth is that those who want to deprive these kinds of people the right to live and even more strongly, the right to die are selfish. The kind of selfishness as when one loses property. The grief of loss is nothing to be compared to the pain of empty existence. This lack of understanding and empathy comes from the fact their inability to step into the shoes of the sufferer.

The right to live also connotes a right to die.

rheether:
Euthanasia should be illegal cus am a firm believer of miracle.

And how many people have been healed by miracles?

ok

As much as I will like to say don't kill what you can't make....I think it is only fair to give some people a quick way out

pk

Aside voluntary, others shouldn't , no matter what they are going through everyone should be given a chance to live, let death take its course itself if it wants to.

It should be legalised.
I for one dont wanna live above 70/75

Is there a beach like bar beach in euthanasia?

It should remain illegal.

In my opinion it shouldn't be legalised. Everyone has the right to life even in critical conditions. Besides that miracle still happens.