Euthanasia is defined as 'a painless
killing,espacially to end a painful and
incurable disease;mercy killing'. The
righteousness of this act is being debated
in several countries throughout the
world,and Canada is no exception.Euthanasisa
must not be accepted for religious,legal and
medical reasons,as alternatives to such a
dramatic end.
To begin,the law,both civil and
religious,forbid killing. Individuals are
prosecuted in courts of law for committing
murder. An example of this is the case of
Robert Latimer. Although he claimed to have
mercifully ended the life of his daughter
who suffered from an extreme case of
cerebral palsy,he was convicted of murder in
the second digree. The courts were obliged
to find him guilty as he broke the law by
taking the life of another human being.
Robert Latimer took it upon himself to
decide that his daughter would never lead a
full life. Tracy Latimer was never given an
opportunity for success, as her life was
taken. A not guilty verdict would have told
people that parents of disabled children
can perform both voluntary euthanasia on
their children. In the
UnitedStates,euthanasia was voted on for the
first time in the state of Washington.
Although polls before the vote revealed
strong support for it,the ballot was
defeated by fifty-four to forty-six
percent,and euthanasia remains
illegal in Noth America. In addition to
violating civil law,euthanasia also
contradicts the laws of many religions of
the world. It is God who controlls life and
death. Man will take this responsibility
if euthanasia is permitted. It is stated
in the ten commandments,'Do not commit
murder'. Murder can take many forms,one of
which is suicide,the taking of one's own
life. This is forbidden by the Christian
religion. There is a picture on my grand-
mothers wall which stated that'human life is
not merely the possession...