Can killing be merciful?

Euthanasia, the medical practice of willingly terminating one’s life has become a burning controversy around modern societies. Many opinions for and against euthanasia has made it even more complicated issue. The pro-euthanasia school of thought takes stand that it’s a fundamental right of any human beings to end their in case of chronicle medical condition and suffering. Anti-school of thought claims that permitting euthanasia on legal domain could lead to a moral disaster causing rampant voluntary killing and suicides. Nowadays there even exist different ‘mercy killing’ agencies which actually nurture the trend called ‘suicide tourism’ where willing patients sail out for countries that legally practice Mercy killing.

Couple of month back the Supreme Court of Nepal had decided to consult specialists on the mandate to legalise euthanasia. Can a country with extreme religious belief and moral values accept this system? My scorpion brain thinks that legalizing such practice will contaminate our long sustained reciprocity civilization with escapist culture that would result unlike practical threats for itself. It’s an inhuman response to human suffering that requires more care and affection. This would take humanity to whole new level because when any society legalize killing, it automatically incorporate different fundamental terms, redefine the way to show love and adopt new perspective on human suffering.

As Hippocratic oath puts: “Nor shall any man’s entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone.” Sanctioning euthanasia would be a shame to medical profession. Once the state legalizes ‘mercy killing’ the pendulum of human values and morals would tilt towards selfishness because human’s rationality are ­always guided or shaped by encouragements of the law. Cross the threshold and medical professionals will be fortified to think it is their job to endorse legal killings. Critical patience, concerned of their families economy and social condition, feels obliged to go through voluntary euthanasia.

The conditions that are timely incurable might someday be cured by new medical discovery. Besides, if every incurable patient goes for euthanasia what would motivate medical science to discover new cures? What about medical experimentation? In one way the death of a medical patient doesn’t indicate failure of medical science rather it pace first step to discover successful treatment for other millions of victims.