Euthanasia

Mood: Contemplative
Weight: ???
Last ate: Herbal Tea

The following is a portion of a message on a Catholic Yahoo Group followed by my reply:

> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 14:54:18 -0000
> From: "Jon Peace" <******@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Mixed Emotions on Florida Woman
>
>
> I have to say that I felt a little sad when I heard a feeding tube
> would be reinserted in the comatose Florida woman.
>
> I am certainly pro-life, and as such I am opposed to euthenasia.
> Abortion, euthenasia and the death penalty are instances where man
> oversteps his bounds, making life-and-death decisions that should be
> left to God.
>
> But in this case, we have a woman who would die naturally - and would
> have died naturally before modern technology came available to keep
> her alive. Now she can be kept alive.

I, too, am against abortion and the death penalty, though not for religious reasons. However, euthanasia is an entirely different scenario. In almost every instance of euthanasia the person is already being kept alive by artificial means, whether it is by machines or medicine. I do feel that a person has a right to decide that they do not want artificial means to keep them alive. If they are in pain and misery, how can we say, knowing that they are being kept alive through technology, that euthanasia is wrong? By forcing them to continue being on life support (again, either machine or medicine), you have taken away their freedom, and THAT is wrong.

Say, for instance, that we remove the fact that a person is terminally ill. Let's go further and say someone simply has the flu. They go to the doctor and get medicine, but at some point they decide they don't want to take it. Imagine, then, if they were FORCED to take it. Is this a good thing? I think not, and I don't think anyone else can say that it is.

I, for one, have chosen to limit the amount of modern medical care that I receive. This is my right. No one can take that away from me for any reason, no matter what my circumstances may be.

Sincerely,

Greg Short

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