Do you know what euthanasia is ? I don’t think so. But, if you do know maybe this paragraph will be boring for you because I will explain what euthanasia is. Well first I didn’t know what it was exactly. I heard a lot of stories about this, I saw movies, I talked with my parents and my friends about euthanasia but it wasn’t enough. So I searched on internet and then I found what euthanasia was exactly…
The English word “euthanasia” comes from the greek word “euthanasy” and it means good death. “Eu” which means “good” and “thanatos” death. I think that this meaning is wrong. How can we say that to die is a good thing or that we can have a nice death? For me we can’t have a nice death, first because we, and our loved ones, will never die, or see their loved ones dying, with happiness. Maybe the person who is suffering wants to end his misery, so maybe he is kind of happy to die but I'm pretty sure that if he was not suffering he wouldn’t want to die! Who wants to die? Not me, but I can understand that people who feel very bad wants to end their suffering. But who knows how this people feel, if we are not one of those.
I don’t have a clear opinion about this topic. I don’t know if it is a good or a bad thing. But what is sure is that this topic is really important and we can’t say things just like this. We have to think a little bit about it, first to say something stupid, and see what are the good and bad things that euthanasia has. So I made a list to see what for me were the two ways of this topic.
The good things. It will stop the sufferance of a person who is no more able to support them. To have someone in a hospital and to care about him if we know that he will anyway die is really discouraging; may be also expensive and many others people are in the same situation and it will be difficult to take care of them if they are too many. And finally you will die with dignity and this is a really good reason I think. People who don’t do that or who don’t like this act is for mostly because they are religious, and if god gives you life you can take it back, god have to do that.

The grandmother of one of my friend, Pauline, had a big problem because she knew that she had Alzheimer and that it will be worse and worse until she will no remember even her family. So she decided that when it will be too horrible for her, and her family, doctor will have to kill. Can they do that? I mean, doctor aren’t supposed to try to save the life of people and not the contrary? In Switzerland, my country, a doctor is not allowed to do such a thing. But there is a association named “exit” that helps people to “suicide” themselves and this association is legal. There is no law that forbids suicide. So in Switzerland, as in Belgian and Netherland, it is possible to have people who help you to suicide. It is clear that the decision needs to come from the person concerned and not the doctor.

Imagine that one day, like any other day, a doctor come and tell you that your brother just had a really serious accident and is in the coma. If this coma goes on for months and months and your brother remains always like a dead, you always have hope that he will wake up and come out of this coma but doctors tell you that are very few chance that this will happen. They ask you what you want to do for him. Isn't so difficult to answer? What you will do?

I saw a lot of different movie but the one that I think is the more affecting was “la lettre de charlotte” I saw this movie in french and don’t know the name in English and I am not even sure that this is the right title, because this movie was on youtube and you are never sure that it use real names for movies. I am not going to tell you all the story but just a summary. There was this woman and her son. Her son was in coma, and for three years she came in the hospital to see him, and one day he just woke up. But he wasn’t able to speak and to move. So all his days were really boring and he really didn’t want to stay longer in life, so he asked the doctors if they can kill him, or just stop the all his treatment and this kill him. But the doctors refuse because he was healthy and in life, and his reason wasn’t enough to kill him. So he asked her mom.First she refuse, this wasn’t even possible that she could think to kill his own son. She give him life and then she take it back… But she accepted, he was his son, and he wants to stop suffering, and because she loves him she will do everything that he want to.

There are different ways in Euthanasia, voluntary Euthanasia which legal in some countries. Non-voluntary which is illegal in all countries. Or involuntary which is usually considered murder. Euthanasia is when doctors end the life, intentionally, to stop his suffering and pain. To “kill” this people you have two mainly ways to kill this person, to stop his treatment so he will no more be in life, or directly to kill him, then there are others ways but really complicated and there is a long long list of them. But the concerned will always have to decide the end of this, and especially not the doctors. But sometimes the family of this person have to decide because he person is already in the “problem” and he is not mentally able to decide for himself. Why do do we have to chose between to thing so important? Why do we have to control the life of the people, decide for him if we want for him to survive or to die? In 2012, 258 people ask the swiss society Exit an assistance to die. But the society help and accept only 144 people.

Now that you know more about this topic, I think that if I say that Euthanasia, is maybe good or bad, it depend from your opinion we can all say that this is really sad and I hope for you that you will never be in this situation because I think that this is the most difficult choice in all your life. And I think you have to be really courageous to decide to end your pain before your real death. Some people think that this is a sort of suicide and they are more or less right. But when you suicide your self it’s alway for bad and the other case doctor affirme that you can die so its for a really good reason.