Shaena's+Letter

Dear Mr .  Wesley Smith,

I would like to begin by thanking you for taking the time to share your opinion on the controversial issue of euthanasia .  Your point of view on the subject has added great depth to our discussions in class .  While I appreciate and respect your opinion and view on euthanasia, I must respectfully disagree .  I believe that an individual’s decision to end their life is one which should be preserved .  I support euthanasia and respect the individual and their decision to end their suffering .

Cardinal Franjo Seper of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued an official statement about the Catholic Church’s stance on Euthanasia .  In his statement, Seper states that, “Intentionally causing one’s own death, or suicide, is equally as wrong as murder; such an action on the part of a person is to be considered as a rejection of God’s sovereignty and loving plan <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">” It is also stated that the question of euthanasia is “…a question of the violation of the divine law, an offence against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life, and an attack on humanity <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">” Essentially the right to life is a gift from God and to cut any life short is, according to the Catholic Church, a direct act of defiance against the “divine power” <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> It is one’s duty, and the duty of governments to protect the preciousness of life <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> While I do agree with the Catholic Church in the belief that every human life is precious, I believe that each person owns his or her life and can do as they please with it <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> While governments should support each and every human life, in the end the decisions one makes regarding their life is their own and it is the duty of no government to hinder a person from taking actions which they feel are the best and most appropriate for their situations <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Although I support euthanasia, I do not think that the decision to end one’s life should not be taken lightly <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> When one considers ending their life, they should examine all possibilities to continue living as well as the possible repercussions of ending their life possibly prematurely <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">When the movie “Million Dollar Baby” was released, it was met with numerous protests from people within the handicapped community <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> They claimed that the controversial ending insinuated that the life of a handicapped person is meaningless <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> However, I believe that this was not at all the intention of the writers and producers <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> In the case of Maggie, life after her injury was unbearable <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> After having suffered for most of her life and finally being given a chance to succeed, she wished to end her life in order to hold onto the memory of her success and make it last for as long as possible <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> She wished to make the sounds and images of her success the final experiences of her life <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> True, if she continued to live she may have gone on to be a great speaker or advocate for the rights of the handicapped, but nothing would have ever fulfilled her the way her success in boxing did <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> I think that she along with all other handicapped people have the right to end their life “on a high note” <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> If people are willing to endure through their injury and make the most out of their situation through being an inspiration to others in similar situations, then more power to them! But unfortunately, not everyone is able to have the same optimistic view on the most negative situations <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Allison Davis, an advocate for the rights of the handicapped, is strongly against euthanasia because she feels that supporters of euthanasia imply that the handicapped have “no worthwhile quality of life <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">” For me however, this is not the case <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> By supporting euthanasia I am in no way implying or supporting the idea that the handicapped are not capable of living worthwhile lives <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> I support euthanasia because I think that if someone is so desperately unhappy or in so much unbearable pain, there should be an option for them to escape from their intolerable situation <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> While there are indeed handicapped people who are able to make the best out of their situations, not everyone is so fortunate <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> To ban euthanasia in all cases is not fair to the people who have suffered greatly and are not able to overcome the difficulties <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Just because euthanasia is an option does not mean that everyone must opt for it; it simply means that it is an option, a possibility, for those who feel they have reached their point of no return <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">A doctor for nearly forty years, Pieter Admiraal, Senior Anaesthetist at the Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis, practices active voluntary euthanasia-openly and unashamedly <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> He “practices it unashamedly because [he] regards it as a sometimes morally right… responsibility of of a doctor… To fail to practice voluntary euthanasia under some circumstances is to fail the patient <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">” When it comes to terminal care, it is the doctors’ duty to protect the patient and respect their autonomy <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> In the case of the hospital Admiraal works at, patients seeking active euthanasia must first seek the opinion of “two doctors, a nurse, and one of the hospital’s spiritual caregivers…” Patients who wish to end their life through euthanasia, are not allowed to do so as a rash decision, they must have numerous hospital personnel agree that their decision is not one which will be regretted and is indeed the best decision for that individual <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The Swiss offer this end to life in a dignified manner through the assisted dying organization known as Dignitas <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> If people wish to end their life either because of a terminal illness, paralyzation, or some other life-ending condition, then I believe that they should have the ability to do so in a dignified manner <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Dignitas, while it does assist individuals in ending their lives, it does so in a very thorough manner <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Each individual is required to meet with doctors and Dignitas personnel to confirm that they do indeed wish to end their life out of their own free will <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> I think that each individual’s life is the most precious thing they possess, and if they are not able to live it happily and to the fullest, then they should not be forced to live a life of suffering <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Thus, I support Dignitas and their efforts to allow people to end their lives with what dignity they have left <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Life is, without a doubt, every individual’s most precious possession <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> It is every person’s primary duty to care for their body and their life <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> If something happens which makes their life permanently unbearable, then, as I said previously, I believe that they have the right to end it as the final action of caring for oneself <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> Thank you again for your time <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Sincerely,

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Shaena Singer