Euthanasia for the mentally ill
 |
The banter surrounds family members of those dispatched at their request by lethal drugs provided by their physicians.
The arguments surround protecting individual freedom as well as vulnerable patients when it comes to the implementation of euthanasia as a ... treatment ?
Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have legalized euthanasia. Mental illness is a valid reson in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Typically, it is reserved for people with some terminal illness like cancer with a prognosis for longevity in the range of a few weeks.
It exists in the United States as "assisted suicide" but the outcome is relatively equal to the EU version.
The entirety of the rationale is the amelioration of suffering and as such I suppose it most certainly would qualify as "mercy".
If I were suffering some protracted severe never ending pain I would seek relief even if it meant death.
Sometimes life degrades to so low a quality that it is rendered the lesser of the two options. I just hope that the people problems associated with the application of this ultimate therapy are resolved satisfactorily — though I must say that the individuals I have witnessed in various documentaries are grateful for the option by and large.
Not being happy with a prognosis does not mean that the alternative relief is still unwanted.