Winter Regular tournament R1: Resolved, the USFG should legalize Euthanasia

Thankyou lannan13, let’s get right into it! The loss of a life of a loved one, or house-hold pet can be very grievous and hard for people. Let’s face it, no one wants to lose someone close to them. When you have an extended period of warm memories with that person or animal, it becomes increasingly harder to let that life go. However my goal in this debate will be to prove that sometimes Euthanasia is the best option. There are two types of Euthanasia that my opponent and I talked about in a private message prior to this debate. Those two options being voluntary, and Non-Voluntary. My take on voluntary, would be that the patient in question is willing and wants to die by their own choice. Non-voluntary to me means the patient is not willing to die, and that ending life support is not their choice and goes against their own will. I’ll be arguing on the pro side of both of these sides. My only exception on Non-Voluntary would be if the patient didn’t want to die, and the person paying the medical bills was willing to continue paying for life support. According to the definition I provided in round one, I am going to be arguing for Euthanasia only in the case of patients who are under life threatening illnesses that are incurable, and will not be focusing this debate on under age suicidal teenagers. Argument 1: Resource delegation Research data shows that most medical costs go into patients last month of living. If a patient were even to be Euthanized a month before the time their predicted time of death, the saving are enormous. “Assuming that (1) 2.7 percent of patients who die each year (62,000 Americans) would choose physician-assisted suicide, (2) these patients would forgo an average of four weeks of life, and (3) the medical costs in the last month of life for each patient who dies are $10,118 (in 1995 dollars), we estimate that legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia would save approximately $627 million in 1995 dollars Estimated Cost Savings from the Use of Physician-Assisted Suicide by Patients with Cancer Who Receive Conventional Care (in 1995 Dollars).). This amount is less than 0.07 percent of total U.S. health care expenditures. “(1) For a patient or a patient’s family who is willing to end life support of their own will, not only does it save them a lot of money, but it also saves these resources (medical resources) for individuals who aren’t life threatened. Non legalized Euthanasia is flushing money and medical equipment down the toilet so a patient can suffer longer against his or her own wishes in many cases. When we are weighing the value of life, we also have to weigh what value that life can continue to bring other than a family members happiness, as opposed to the value of what could be saved if the person were to take part in assisted suicide. Argument 2: Quality over Quantity Suffering and pain is the worst possible place to be in. No one likes to willingly suffer, and more often than not, most would choose death over the idea that their suffering will never end. Why should every individual not have the opportunity to cease their own life as their own choice? Or if the person isn’t able to make that choice, have someone else end their suffering? Value in life has desisted at a certain point, elderly individuals often have experienced much of life. And if it is a child in such circumstances, why would anyone be okay watching a child go through so pain? So the question here is, what is more important, the quality of one’s life, or the quantity, the proverbial number of days the person has lived? If pain and suffering is all a person has in their cards for the remainder of their days, then we should legalize the ability to end that so as not to ruin their overall quality of life even further. Argument 3: It is possible to regulate Euthanasia. Euthanasia if legalized wouldn’t be omni-present tool used all the time, and without good reason. Just as every rule or legislation, it would be modified to make sure individuals still followed the correct protocols in order to proceed with Euthanasia. Legalization of Euthanasia doesn’t mean doctors will run around willy nilly, distributing lethal doses to their patients against the will of the patient or the client. In fact Oregon is one of many states that have legalized Euthanasia through their “Death with Dignity act” and it is heavily regulated to satisfy societal moral compasses, and patient wishes. In order for a patient to receive such treatment, they must go through a series of avenues, questionnaires, and meet strict requirements in order to be eligible for Euthanasia. More information on their specific laws can be found on the Q and A page. (2) My point is that each state that legalizes Euthanasia will have a specific set of rules that must be followed in order for it not to be a crime, just as with Colorado’s Marijuana legalization. Argument 4: Euthanasia already happens To take more of a Utilitarianistic approach (or a consequentialists if you will), death is inescapable. Passive Euthanasia will occur, due to lack of funding to pay medical bills, or the equipment simply failing to work on a patient in many cases. Many patients will die anyways, and when they do it will be much more painful than it needs to, and much more expensive. Why let Passive Euthanasia kick in, wasting an individual’s quality of life, money, and all to let them suffer? Conclusion: Is death really such a bad thing? It may be impossible to know. For many it is fear of the unknown, ignorance if you will, of what is beyond the black void we call death. We will all make our way their however, and many of us would prefer to get there the easiest, and most painless route possible. That is my proposal, that life is beautiful, and that to preserve such a beautiful thing in misery is wasteful, and archaic. We as humans have evolved to a point where Euthanasia is the most logical, humane, and resource effective avenue, with really little to no recourse. Thanks again lannan for the debate, and good luck in your follow up round. Sources:1. http://www.nejm.org...2. https://public.health.oregon.gov...