Reading ComprehensionThe word euthanasia comes from the Greek language, and it means “good death.” In English the word refers purposely ending a person’s life in order to stop the unbearable pain caused by an illness. The patients who are euthanized are terminally ill, meaning that they have no chance of recovery.
When a person is euthanized someone such as a doctor helps them die by making available to them some kind of lethal drug or deadly gas. It’s called “assisted suicide.” In those cases, the doctor doesn’t actually administer the drug or gas but only provides it for patient’s use. When the patient is ready to die, he or she administers it and dies alone.
One doctor in the USA, Dr. Jack Kavorkian, has become well-known for his assisted suicides. Since helping people die is against the law in his state, the doctor was arrested and tried in court several times. But every time he was brought into court the jury acquitted him. The jury always sided with him, seeing him as providing a service of kindness rather than as committing a crime.
Most people sympathize with a person who wants to end the pain and suffering, but for several reasons most government are reluctant to make euthanasia legal. As of 2002 doctor-assisted suicide was legal only in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the US state of Oregon, and in Australia’s Northern Territory.
If asked, most people will say that people who are suffering from incurable diseases would be better off if they died. But if they are asked if they support doctor-assisted suicide, most of them will say no. The reasons they usually give are:
Difficulty in determining who is terminally ill. Some people who are expected to die later get well. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
Religious beliefs. “God gives life, so only God should take it away.”
Spiritual beliefs. We come to this earth to face certain challenges and the overcome them. Suicide is a form of giving up and defeats the whole purpose of our lives.
It could lead to “suicide on demand.” People who are unhappy with their lives might someday be able to get help in dying whenever they want to. Considering all the depressed people there are in the world, it could turn into an epidemic of suicides.
Temporary period of depression. The person who decides to die could just be going through temporary period of depression but change his or her mind later.
Discussion questions
1. What is your opinion on suicide in general? Tell why you think so,
*People who commit suicide are very brave.
* People who commit suicide are cowards.
* People who commit suicide are mentally ill.
2. What is your opinion on doctor-assisted suicide? Which of these statements do you agree with and why?
* People who are in pain should have the right to decide if they want to.
* People should not have the right to end their lives whenever they want.
* It is okay in some cases only.
3. What do you think of doctors who help patients die?
4. Is there any difference between suicide from depression and euthanasia? Is one more acceptable than the other? Why or why not?
5. Is euthanasia legal in your country? If not, do you think the doctor-assisted suicide is ever performed secretly?
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As people get grayer they become more interested in planning for their retirement. Once upon a time, old folks were taken care of by their children. But now, only a few want to spend their “second life’ being coddled by their kids; instead many want to pursue their own interests without being burdened by their progeny, maybe for the first time in their adult lives. But of course they think financial independence is necessary. As a result, a movement is afoot for the creation of more jobs for the elderly, and some aggressive oldies are even demanding that the retirement age be lifted or made voluntarily.
