This House Believes That Voluntary Euthanasia should be legal

Firstly, I thank my opponent for presenting their argument clearly, moving on to my reasoning and answers as to why I mentioned religion and such: I mentioned Islam and Christianity because they have remained the two dominant religions on this planet, this was merely an example as to what unrest a decision to suddenly force ALL GOVERMENTS around the world including the government of Saudi Arabia ( a sovereign Muslim state with Shariah law) meaning that the religious right and the countries sovereignty is violated. it should be up to individual countries or states ( depending on the way a country is divided and ruled, e.g. USAfederal system) to decide whether or not to adopt or implement Voluntary euthanasia to their system , so to force the idea to ALL countries is quite unfair. Euthanasia can be violated: Like pro mentioned , euthanasia is legalized in many places, one of them being Netherlands, they have voluntary euthanasia, what pro failed to mention was that, a lot of theses deaths linked to euthanasia were not voluntary or not even necessary to do so .Dutch doctors practice active euthanasia by lethal injections (96.6% of all deaths actively caused by physicians in 1990). Physician-assisted suicide is very infrequent (no more than 3.4% of all cases in Holland of active termination of life in 1990). For patients who die of a lethal overdose of painkillers, the decision to administer the lethal dose of drugs was not discussed with 61% of those receiving it, even though 27% were fully competent. The Board of the Royal Dutch Medical Association endorsed euthanasia on new-borns and infants with extreme disabilities. Well over 10,000 citizens now carry "Do Not Euthanize Me" cards in case they are admitted to a hospital unexpectedly. Cases exist where doctors administer assisted suicide for people determined to be "chronically" depressed. source :http://www.terrisfight.org... so basically , voluntary euthanasia could lead to involuntary or unnecessary euthanasia. Sympathy is powerful and a doctor is human and could sympathise with the pain of a patient and kill him/her, which is wrong. hope is positively powerful, hope for a cure needs to be present, with euthanasia as an option present, it clouds and sends away hope for a cure, when infact , people work hard researching and trying to find one. a point that was not taken down was the point on research. research is done and being done to find to find a cure, and that means fundraisers , investors and personal capital put into research and easily trumps the individual fee for a patient, this point was not taken down. Requests for voluntary euthanasia are rarely free and voluntary A patient with a terminal illness is vulnerable. He lacks the knowledge and skills to alleviate his own symptoms, and may well be suffering from fear about the future and anxiety about the effect his illness is having on others. It is very difficult for him to be entirely objective about his own situation. Those who regularly manage terminally ill patients recognise that they often suffer from depression or a false sense of worthlessness which may affect their judgment. Their decision-making may equally be affected by confusion, dementia or troublesome symptoms which could be relieved with appropriate treatment. Patients who on admission say 'let me die' usually after effective symptom relief are most grateful that their request was not acceded to. Terminally ill patients also adapt to a level of disability that they would not have previously anticipated they could live with. They come to value what little quality of life they have left. Many elderly people already feel a burden to family, carers and a society which is cost conscious and may be short of resources. They may feel great pressure to request euthanasia 'freely and voluntarily'. These patients need to hear that they are valued and loved as they are. They need to know that we are committed first and foremost to their well-being, even if this does involve expenditure of time and money. The way we treat the weakest and most vulnerable people speaks volumes about the kind of society we are. Voluntary euthanasia denies patients the final stage of growth 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. It can also be 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. Voluntary euthanasia, by artificially shortening life, denies these possibilities. source :http://www.cmf.org.uk... In Belgium, which legalised euthanasia in 2002, there has been a 500% increase in euthanasia deaths over ten years between 2003 and 2012. High profile cases include Mark and Eddy Verbessem, the 45-year-old deaf identical twins, who were euthanised by the Belgian state, after their eyesight began to fail; then there is Nathan/Nancy Verhelst, whose life was ended in front of TV cameras, after a series of botched sex-change operations. His mother said she hated girls, found her child 'so ugly' at birth and did not mourn his death. And then there is Ann G, who had anorexia and who opted to have her life ended after being sexually abused by the psychiatrist who was supposed to be treating her for the life-threatening condition. Organ donation euthanasia is already practised in Belgium and the Belgian Senate is tomorrow discussing plans to extend the programme to minors and people with dementia (they have since recommended this). Already in parts of Belgium one in three cases of euthanasia is involuntary and half go unreported. And there has been not one prosecution for abuses in the last ten years " perhaps because the one of the lead euthanasia practitioners " Distelmans " chairs the very committee that is meant to regulate his activity. Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, first released assisted suicide statistics in 2009, laying bare a 700% rise in cases (from 43 to 297) from 1998 to 2009. Amongst those travelling from abroad to end their lives at the notorious Dignitas facility have been many people who could not by any stretch be described as terminally ill " and included cases of people who could have lived for decades ending their lives - with arthritis, blindness, spinal injury, diabetes, mental illness - or people who were essentially well but could not bear to live without their spouses.