“ In practice , it is still the doctor who decides whether to perform euthanasia . He can suggest it , not give patients obvious alternatives , ignore patients ' ambivalence , and even put to death patients who have not requested it .”
D eception instead of ‘ dignity ' - that is the language of assisted suicide . How do you make something that ' s unthinkable into something palatable ? Call it something else and that ' s exactly what the advocates of euthanasia have done ; they have simply corrected the language , but if we return to the semantics of voluntary euthanasia and let us try replacing euthanasia with “ kill ” and “ help to die ”… when we do this , many of the most emotive support to its legalization fade away . Before I give reasons for leaning towards this divide on this issue that has become front burner in today ' s scheme of things it is only pertinent that I explain the major concept in this topic . The word euthanasia is defined in Collins English Dictionary as the act of killing a person painlessly especially to relieve suffering from an incurable disease while Steadman Medical Dictionary further describes it as a quiet painless death and an intentional putting to death by artificial means of persons with incurable diseases . Standing on this , I give the following reasons for my opposition . If euthanasia is legalized - Guess what ? In practice , it is still the doctor who decides whether to perform euthanasia . He can suggest it , not give patients obvious alternatives , ignore patients ' ambivalence , and even put to death patients who have not requested it . Euthanasia enhances the power and control of doctors , not patients and it makes nonsense of the right to life of an individual as enshrined in every country ' s constitution and provided for in article 2 of the universal declaration of human rights “ Everyone has the right to life , liberty and security of persons ” and besides , the criminal code of Nigeria makes suicide or any form of assisted suicide for any reason a crime ( sections 311,326,327 and 239 ). Doctors have stepped into a right-to-life row following the suggestion some hospital patients should be allowed to die because it cost so much to keep them alive .
AMSUL Digest 2014