EUTHANASIA – Right or Wrong?

Euthanasia or mercy killing has been the topic of heated debate since quite long. Is it right or not? Should be legalized? These and many other questions have been asked for long now, and their answers are still nowhere in sight. Yes, a few countries have legalized mercy killing, but the issue is too tricky to end there.
For starters, let us assume that it is legalized. Then, what is the guarantee that doctors would really be able to use their discretion in taking the decision of taking the extreme step in the case of a real bad case? Can it be assured that they would not come under the pressure of patients who want to ‘dignified’ in death and not be a liability to their relatives?
A few months back, a lady caught the nation’s attention when she went to the courts to get the right to death for her son Venkatesh, who had few days of life left, so that he could donate his organs in order to make his life useful to some others. The patient in question too was seen requesting the judge to grant him his plea. But his wish remained unfulfilled, since India is still nowhere near formulating any rules for mercy killing.
Today, the world is divided regarding the case of Terri Schiavo, who has been brain dead for 15 years now. For the last 7 years, her husband Michael Schiavo has been trying to achieve the right to death for her. His plea – she would not have wanted to live in such a state, so grant her her wish. On the other hand, her parents have strongly opposed it, saying Terri has as much right to live as any other human.
Why exactly would Terri have not wanted to live? Because she was a liability to all? That she wasn’t of any ‘use’ to anybody? Is that all the value of life today? Is a life a life only if it is of use to a few people around it? What about the rights of a living person? Then again, a person in a bad state asking to be ‘relieved’ of life might be considered a coward. But what of cases like Terri’s, where the patient has been in a vegetative state for years?
Michael Schiavo’s plea has been granted and Terri has been off nutrition systems for a few days now. In the words of her devastated parents, Terri has reached a ‘point of no return’. Her father has appealed again today for her life, but chances of victory are slim.
Terri and Venkatesh may be forgotten soon but not the issue of Euthanasia. The debate will go on….