Anaika's+Letter

===First, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to look over a high school Bioethics class’s opinions on euthanasia. As I’m sure you know, we’ve been studying euthanasia and the ethical questions that surround it. While we are not experts, we have examined a number of different sources and discussed the matter extensively in Socratics. Over the past few weeks, I have decided that while I respect the stance against euthanasia, I disagree with it.===

===You have often argued against euthanasia by talking about patients that you know who, while at first suicidal, end up coming to terms with their disease and are able to enjoy life. I agree that in some instances, people do not give themselves enough time to fully weigh the consequences of committing suicide or asking for assistance in the act. I also know that there are many organizations and people in this world that dedicate their time to being available for people that are at-risk for suicide. However, just because some people overcome their depression and suffering, there are many that cannot no matter how much help they receive. Don’t we often justify putting animals “out of their misery?” Why should we justify laws then that force human beings to suffer through intolerable pain?===

===Take Ramón Sampedro, for example. An athletic, Spanish fisherman, Sampedro became a quadriplegic at the age of 25 after a diving accident. Early on, Sampedro lost his desire to live. For the next 29 years, he fought in Spanish courts for the right to a legally assisted suicide. Despite losing all of his cases, Sampedro never lost sight of his goal. Only after the European Commission on Human Rights denied his case did Sampedro finally decide to commit the act illegally. I do not find fault in Sampedro, especially because I believe he took life very seriously. He did not casually throw it away, he took the time to make the decision and once he made that decision, he dedicated his life to advocating for more compassionate laws.===

===We recently watched the a movie called "Million Dollar Baby" which follows the story of a successful female boxer that is paralyzed during a match. Her family is heartless and tries to take her money while she is in the hospital, and the only thing that she actually enjoys in life is boxing. Because she is bed-ridden, one of her leg breaks out in open sores and must be amputated. To me, it seems wrong to force someone to live in these conditions when life is no longer offering any hope or joy.===

===In one of your articles, you wrote: “Assisted suicide is not “choice,” it is the end of all choices. “Death with dignity,” is actually the euthanasia of hope.” So what? Death is an end to everything as we know it, and obviously with the pain that is alleviated, good emotions, like happiness, may be lost as well. But just because death may kill hope, does that make it a sin? Shouldn't adults be able to make a decision to end their life if they so choose? Allowing euthanasia does not mean we must encourage a culture of death, just that we should honor the autonomy of a patient.===

===Even the Catholic Church shows support for passive euthanasia, and the outcome is still the same as assisted suicide. Just because we have the technology to keep someone alive doesn’t mean we are obligated to use it, especially if they do not want to receive treatment. Some people don’t want to be saved, and we should remember that before trying to impress our beliefs upon them. I will never know the pain of a paralyzed athlete or of an early-onset Alzheimer’s patient, and I will never pretend to know that life is a better choice for them than death.===