ESSAY FOR SBI PO - SHOULD INDIA LEGALIZE ACTIVE EUTHANASIA

Should India legalize Active Euthanasia

The word euthanasia is defined as the act or practice of painlessly putting to death or withdrawing treatment from a person suffering an incurable disease. From the definition, one can say that euthanasia is an unethical act as much as it is a great sin for those who strongly believe in God. Euthanasia is intentionally killing another person to relieve his or her suffering. It is not the withdrawal or withholding of treatment that results in death or necessary pain and symptom-relief treatment that might shorten life, if that is the only effective treatment. 

Euthanasia is one of the most perplexing issues which the courts and legislatures all over the world are facing today. The topic has religious and moral overtones. Human life is inviolable. Life is a gift from God and no one, not even the individual himself has right to take it. But if the life of a person becomes painful, fruitless and full of sufferings, should the person get rid of their life? A solution for such a problem is not just legalizing the mercy killing. It is not desirable or workable as each case has to be judged individually.

There are two types of euthanasia: passive euthanasia and active euthanasia. Active euthanasia is defined as taking an immediate action such as using lethal injection to painlessly put a terminally-ill patient to death. Passive euthanasia is withdrawing treatment while the life of the patient is still dependent on it and when it is believed that treatment is more burdensome than beneficial. Passive euthanasia allows the patient to die naturally and is often considered more acceptable. 

Points FOR active euthanasia in India

• Most of the patients in India are suffering from a heavy pain in spite of receiving the proper treatment. In such cases, active euthanasia can be helpful as it would relieve the patients from the pain that they are suffering. 
• By giving active euthanasia to a person through the means of lethal injection, would also save his family from the pain. People would never like to see their loved ones suffering in an extreme stage. At times, all the treatments provided to a person fail continuously and it does not help the patient to recover. In such cases active euthanasia can also save the money of the family. 
• In cases of providing active euthanasia, the organs of the deceased patients can be contributed and used for a good purpose. It would be helpful for the other patients who can get rid of a problem with an organ transplantation. 

Points AGAINST active euthanasia in India.

• Most of the times, the patient would like to live his/her life further. But, they might be forced to take a decision to end the life by their family etc. If active euthanasia is legalized in India, such incidents would occur very often. The doctors should take the consent of the patients before initiating the practice of active euthanasia on them. 
• India is a country where the issues related to corruption, theft, illegal trading of organ etc are common. Hence, active euthanasia should not be legalized in India as it would mislead the doctors and a lot of killings would be carried out in hospitals in the name of euthanasia. 
• According to Bible, life is the most basic gift of God. Every individual has a moral duty to take care of their own life and health and to desire help from others. One should not intend to cause one's own death or death of an innocent victim. 
• Sometimes, patients might be on the verge of recovery. Due to heavy misunderstanding, doctors and the families of the patient may move towards active euthanasia to end the suffering. In such cases, usually, the level of patience is very low. Such irresponsible mistakes can lead to the death of a person and it would shorten his life. 

Conclusion

The life of each and every individual in this world is extremely important. The government should think multiple times before arriving at a decision regarding the implementation of active euthanasia. We should always remember, once a soul is gone, it is gone forever. 

If at all we want to explore this option, it should be carried out with a strict set of rules and regulations. In the past of few months, it has been noticed that certain people in our country stand above the law and have the power to influence the judiciary judgments. In such a case, legalizing the active euthanasia would be a foolish idea as people can commit crime and wash their hands off easily.