The right to the ultimate choice
Euthanasia takes place when someone suffering from an incurable disease decides to die. For some, it is a painless solution to an incurable problem and everyone should have the right to choose it, while for others it is unacceptable.
Imagine you are suffering from terminal cancer and have to spend your remaining days in hospital and in pain. It would be understandable if you felt that everything was hopeless, and all you could do was to wait for death.
We all know resources are scarce and limited. Hospitals cannot afford to have terminally ill patients filling up their wards. Patients suffering from diabetes, pneumonia and kidney diseases, among other things, are queuing up for treatment every day. It is not fair such people have to wait because beds are occupied by those who will never recover.
I strongly believe euthanasia is an option in extreme cases. If someone is terminally ill and suffers great pain, they should have the right to choose.
Koey Lee, The Chinese Foundation Secondary School
From the Editor
Thanks for your letter, Koey. It really depends on what country you live in as to what kind of medical care you can expect. In impoverished countries, people who have no chance of recovering, or who cannot even afford treatment, are just allowed to die. But in wealthier countries we expect better. We expect that our taxes or insurance will pay for those beds and hope we will not have to sentence someone to death for the sake of a few dollars.
In fact, it is your very argument which prevents some governments from giving their people the right to die. They feel there will be undue pressure put on old people to apply for euthanasia because their families cannot afford - or don't want to afford - to look after them. There's a very fine line between allowing someone a dignified, painless release and putting people we not longer feel are useful to death.
Susan, Editor
