allison842's blog

euthanasia: human vs. pet

 abuse

This weekend I had to put my baby girl Miko to sleep. She was not actually a baby anymore at 17 years, but this cat was my favorite thing in the world. I had had her since I was 9 years old! I don't think I'll be able to say that about anything anymore. But Miko was very sick. In January, she was diagnosed with both hyperthyroidism and severely worsening kidneys. These two negatively affected each other. She lived a pretty good life for the past few months, but the last 2 weeks she had been deteriorating at a fast pace. A Maine Coon breed, she had once been easily 16 pounds and had dwindled down to 6. She was nothing but fur. In the final week, she took to sitting in the bathroom -- a very odd choice, but then that is what happens. Saturday night / Sunday morning, she woke me up crying. She was uncomfortable. She had not eaten all day Saturday. She got in the bathtub, and that is when I had no doubt that it was time for her to go. She was asking me to do something about the pain she was in, so I did. At 5am I took her to NC State's emergency pet hospital and I let her go. I have never cried so much in my life.

That is the introduction to this blog. You see, when we talk about pets and being sick, we say that euthanizing them is the "humane" thing to do. It is without question the fair and right thing to do to put them out of their misery. They should not have to endure pain. So then why is it different for humans??

The Catholic church strictly forbids euthanasia as a "crime against life." Also, apparently Islam "categorically forbids all forms of suicide and any action that may help another to kill themselves" (from Wikipedia). Protestantism and Judaism also disagree with euthanasia but many denominations are divided on smaller points of the issue.

People can be against euthanasia for humans for many reasons. There's obviously the theological reason. Or it might simply be that a person thinks of euthanasia as murder or suicide and is therefore against it morally. Some may feel that euthanasia can only be voluntary if the patient is conscious, and sometimes obviously they are not. Some may hold out hope that some other medicine or treatment will help, even when all options have been exhausted.

The practice is divided into three sub-types: passive, non-agressive and agressive. Passive is most accepted, and involves simply withholding medication (such as antibiotics, etc.) that would prolong life. Non-agressive is withdrawing life support, and agressive is administering drugs or actions that will end the life.

Right now, some forms of euthanasia are legal in the state of Oregon, and in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxemburg, and some Australian states.

So I am interested to know how people feel about this. Do you accept it for animals? What about for humans? If a person wants to die, should that not be a basic right as well? Is it truly "mercy killing" or just killing? Thanks for your thoughts.