Many would argue over the legality or morality of euthanasia and a lot has been said on both sides. It’s a complicated subject to begin with. I’ve had a hard time thinking how to best approach it.
Although I know that I would be against it if I ever find myself suffering from a severe pain or facing a terminal illness, I say that there’s a God and that all life belongs to Him – meaning He alone has the right to take it. Case closed, as simple as that. But is it? Does it really end there?
It came easily to me because I already have a set of beliefs, all that’s left was to compare and contrast. I must have sounded like a prig. But there’s something I noticed in my previous statements: they’re mostly comprised with I’s and me’s. What does that implicate?
When I first heard the word euthanasia, I straightaway shook my head in disapproval. Truth is, I never thought about it outside my own reality – a type of vacuum thinking divorced from other realities outside mine. I realized that my judgment on euthanasia was heavily influenced by my own worldview, leaving out those who did not share my values and who live in a world different from mine.
Personally, if I was the one suffering, I’d stand by my beliefs. But when it comes to others, I’d have to respect their decisions – their personal autonomy. I understand that people mean well when they try to talk people out of it. Sometimes, it’s pretty easy for us to make decisions for others whom we’re not directly related to. We could weave the best arguments for or against it but you know what? They’re irrelevant if we’re not the ones suffering firsthand, if we have not walked in their shoes and lived in their world.