DECISION MAKING TOWARDS THE END OF LIFE: EUTHANASIA AS A DANGEROUS OPTION

Abstract

Life is said to be sacred and that no one reserve to take the life of another save in exceptional circumstances as may be laid down by the law It thus follow that man does not have the right to take the life he /she never contributed anything to. It is also a fact that ailment/ sickness is not the friend of anybody, but when it comes knocking at one’s door, reality must be faced and proper medication continued alongside prayers from loved ones until natural death comes. This has however taking a different shape as contemporary pro-right advocates are of the opinion that when a person approaches death or suffers from terminal illness, he/ she should either die or be assisted to do so instead of wallowing in pains and wasting tax-payers money. The contention of this group of people is that as soon as one can no longer pick flowers as usual, one’s quality of life has depreciated and euthanasia remains the only veritable option to enable such person (s) die a merciful and dignify death. Proponents of life on the other hand are strongly opposed to this idea. This, according to them, is because life belongs to the Almighty and that no matter the extent of a person’s sickness or suffering he/she should never embrace euthanasia but rather endure the pain and keep praying to God for recovery. It is in the light of the above, that this paper seeks to examine euthanasia as an option in taking a decision when one is ill or approaches the end of life. It would at the end show that palliative care is the best option to adopt as euthanasia is dangerous.