Legalizing Euthanasia

You have still ignored my argument that doctor predictions cannot be trusted and relied upon for determining whether or not one should be euthanized. Once again, this supersedes your whole stance, because if euthanasia is for dignity and to end suffering, then would you say that a person's death is dignified if they would have survived their disease and lived on? Would you say that ending your life when you are oblivious to the fact that you have more time to live is dignified? I believe you misunderstood the story of the women with colon cancer -- let me attempt to explain it again. A terminally ill woman considered euthanasia to end her life, but after changing her mind, she lived for 15 more years. In fact, she is still alive today, and this is important because it exemplifies how erroneous and faulty forecasts of death are in society. What if Jeannette Hall did not change her mind, and decided to be euthanized, unaware that she was going to survive the condition and live on? Her life would have been thrown away and she would not have experienced the feeling of seeing her son graduate or marry. She is not alone; this is the story of hundreds, maybe thousands, of other terminally ill patients. Thus, by legalizing euthanasia, you are increasing the deaths of people who would have either survived the condition altogether or lived for a longer period of time. You mentioned painkillers as the only means through which a doctor can alleviate unmanageable symptoms of patients. But I would like to introduce you to the world of palliative care, where the pain is killed instead of the patient. In recent years, palliative care has become very sophisticated, and hospitals now have the ability to mitigate pain and suffering. In 2015, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported on 97 terminally ill patients who died after life support was withheld or withdrawn. Sixty-eight of the patients received painkilling drugs or sedatives to relieve pain and other distress while dying"and they lived longer than the patients who did not receive drugs. Additionally, the study found that the symptoms of patients who received palliative care were "substantially alleviated and relieved" -- thus, those who are terminally ill can die a painless death without euthanasia, contrary to what you stated in the 2nd round. It is also worth pointing out that euthanasia denies patients the final stage of growth in life. It is during the time of a terminal illness that people have a unique opportunity to reflect on the way they have lived their lives, to make amends for wrongs done, to provide for the future security of loved ones, and to prepare mentally and spiritually for their own death. Not all make full use of this opportunity, but those involved in hospice work often observe a mending of family relationships and rediscovery of mutual love and responsibility that may not have been evident for years. It is often through facing the hardship that terminal illness brings, and through learning to accept the practical help of others that human character and maturity develops most fully. Death, if properly managed, can be the final stage of growth in one's life. Likewise, it is a time when words are spoken and strength imparted that will help sustain 'those left behind' through the years ahead. Losing the opportunity of caring for vulnerable people denies us an essential part of our humanity. We conquer suffering, not by being insulated from its realities, but by facing it. Euthanasia, by artificially shortening life, denies these possibilities. You even admitted that euthanasia is a grand process in which family members, relatives, and friends come together and "form one judgment." Well, you just invalidated your argument that a person should be able to end their life because "it's their life, not yours." You see, it's not just their life, as I stated in the prior round; rather, there are many others who are affected: friends and relatives left behind, and the healthcare staff involved in the decision-making process. Euthanasia has a profound, lifelong impact on the lives of others.