Suffering vs. Ethics

Euthanasia, the act of relieving oneself from intolerable suffering by ending one’s life. But is it ethical? Yes, but not always. Euthanasia can only be ethical when the patient in question is completely aware of what his options are and what it entails. Thus, choosing to perish will fall on the shoulders of no one else but the individual. Humans are to be “authentic” and to accomplish this, they have to use the freedom they have to make their own choices and take full responsibility for their choices. Failing to do so will result in being “inauthentic”, this is morally impermissible because you are denying yourself the freedom which was granted to you. So I say to you that choosing euthanasia as a means to relieve suffering is right, only when it is your choice to make. There is another such thing called involuntary euthanasia, this is under no circumstance ethical. Whether another person should live or die is not your choice to make, no matter how close a relative you may be, dying or living is something one decides for oneself, no one may take that freedom away from another person. If the sufferer is unable to decide, due to extraordinary events such as his ability to reason being impaired, doctors are morally and legally obliged to do everything in their power and skill to make the person live. A person will take full responsibility for their own choices, this includes deciding to use euthanasia, and if so, the will of the person must be respected because it is the responsibility of each individual to make his own choices.