Euthanasia, more commonly known as ‘mercy killing’, is a contentious issue that is debated more and more these days. Euthanasia is mainly associated with people with terminal illness or who have became incapacitated and don’t want to go through the rest of their life suffering. This subject has come to be a subject that has became very debatable in society. The sides are well distinguished with one group portraying the idea that everyone has the right to die because it is our life and we should be allowed to terminate that at anytime we feel the need. The other side of the argument is that this is wrong and it goes against religion and that this could very easily get out of control if not taken care of now.The Oxford English Dictionary defines euthanasia as `a gentle and easy death: bringing about of this, especially in the case of an incurable and painful disease`. One of the more common arguments in support of euthanasia is that it stops the pain of the terminally ill sufferer once and for all, so called ‘mercy killing’. Some people argue that if a patient were in a lot of pain and distress it would be better to give them an `easy` and humane death.I feel that every human being has a natural inclination to continue living. Life should be valued, not abused, since everyone is only given one chance to live. Because death is final and irreversible, euthanasia contains within it the possibility that mistakes do happen and in fact an incorrect diagnosis is possible. If society condemns patients who are terminally ill and in the end a mistake in the diagnosis is discovered then the suffering and blame would not fall on technology but on society itself. Suffering is surely a terrible thing and society has a clear duty to comfort those in need and to ease their suffering when it can. But suffering is also a natural part of life with values for the individual and for others that we should not overlook. Knowing that a life can be taken at any time will incline people to give up too easily, hence seeking an escape in euthanasia.
