Pro-life? Pro-choice?

*nah, my view...*

We've been reading about this topic for a while:: the choice to live, or be condemned to death... I'm of course, talking about 2 things:: euthanasia, and abortions. As always, there's 2 sides to a debate/discussion/coin/pancake (i'm hungry...) I'm not choosing sides, or saying which side is correct or wrong. I'm addressing the topic objectively, something i failed to do in my last post. Let me address these 2 topics from both sides of the argument. Unlike my previous post, which i think was clear-cut enough, medical death is, more-or-less, almost always blurry... no clear stand can ever be obtained. First, an introduction... what is euthanasia? (abortion later larrrr) Now i can't claim to be an expert lar, luckily did a debate on this topic before... >_< Euthanasia refers to either:

a) a patient voluntarily allowing the medical personnel to end his or her life after discovering that the condition he or her is suffering from is fatal and likely to be painful and torturous, i.e. hopeless cases like Michael Jackson's plastic-surgeon... JOKING

b) Pulling the plug on brain-dead patients (or the more politically correct term:: vegetative state), therefore ending their life support. another hopeless case? JOKING AGN.

Abortion, on the other hand, refers to the termination & removal of the fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by it's death. This is done artificially by means of certain drugs or machines. For more insight, watch Season 3's 17th episode of House M.D. very very unexpected twist. (best medical series ever... pure genius! Grey's Anatomy can go f**k itself fly a kite.)

By now, surely you, my dear intelligent readers, have understood the link between these 2 topics that has been put up & presented by mua. DEATH, by means done purposely. The termination of human life through medical means that are although... unethical, legal in certain countries, & done secretly in others, by medical personnel. The point of this debate, is to discuss whether or not these 2 procedures should be legalized.

Now let us first address the points which have became sooo familiar that almost everyone has heard about them::

Abortion: why it shouldn't be allowed
1. Religious & ethical reasons, no doubt.

2. Babies have a right to live too.

Correction: fetuses. But this point is undoubtedly, true. Just because we (i use this word as in all of us, not you & me) had a night of passion & created an unwanted side product (搞出人命) does not give us the right to end it's life before it's even started. "We're it's parents. We created it. We have the right." horse-shit. Your parents created you. I didn't see them flushing you down the toilet when you were "inconvenient" (i.e. when you won't stop crying & smelt horrible from soiling yourself non-stop).

3. When all else fails, there's hope.

Babies can be put up for adoption. Genetic disabilities can be fixed.

4. Unethical people might take advantage of it.

3 words:: stem-cell research. price of a baby's fetus would skyrocket on the black market. Need i say more?

why babies should not be aborted...

Euthanasia: Why it Should be allowed
1. Save the family grief & sorrow & reduce their financial burden.

Cruel as this sounds, this is very true, & applies to all people who are in a vegetative state. Usually hospital bills can amount to a small fortune, & even home-care is pricey, due to the life support machines plus the cost of hiring a nurse.

2. Save the government's resources

This, unfortunately, is also true, since medical supplies & equipment can be used for other people more in need (i.e. the person with a bullet through his head who just rolled in?) Brain dead patients may, unfortunately, become a waste of bed space (again, trying my best not to sound insensitive here....)

3. Allow patients a chance to have a dignified death

Although i agree with Dr House's statement that "a person doesn't die with dignity, he lives with dignity", this point shouldn't be too hard to understand. How would you prefer to die:: Suffering in constant unbroken pain, bleeding from your head, vomiting your guts out & shitting all over the place? Or to die peacefully, before the suffering begins, without tainting your family & friends' last memories of you?

Now the less thought of but just as disturbing::

Euthanasia: Why it Shouldn't be allowed.
1. Religious & ethical reasons, obviously. (some people might view it as committing suicide, forbidden in many religions.)
"who are we to play god, & decide whether a person suffers or not before death?"
-anonymous

2. Uncertainties...

Picture this scenario: a doctor made a mis diagnosis of your condition, labeling you as fatal, when it really was a mild case of gas, -OR- switched your files with another patient without noticing, & the mistake(s) was only discovered after the lethal dose of heroine was injected into your blood-stream. uh-oh...

2nd scenario:: Doctor tells patient that he has a slim chance of survival. Patient in confused & panicked state chooses euthanasia. Miracle cure discovered 2nd day. (read point number 4)

3. Unethical people might take advantage of it.

Typical thriller plot line:: a shady character (someone keen on getting your life insurance or your inheritance) drugs your drink, slips a morally-challenged doctor XXX amount of cash to proclaim you fatal with family's consent of euthanasia. Legal assassination.

4. When all else fails, there's hope

It seems near hopeless to keep coma patients plugged in. But, they've been some cases of people waking up after 20, 30 years. Furthermore, with the advancement of medicine today, most cases deemed "fatal" might have an increased chance of survival in a few months, even weeks. In the words of Avril, one should "keep holding on~~"

Abortion: Why it should be allowed?
1. Dead fetuses or those doomed to be

Still-born. The dreaded 2 words every pregnant mother & expecting father. What should you do when you discover the baby you're carrying in your womb is dying, or worse, dead? Making abortions illegal means you have to carry the fetus till birth. Or, even if this law is passed with the exception that dead fetuses can be passed out, (sorry, that sounds reaally insensitive, huh? my apologies) how about those discovered with genetic diseases that dooms them to death upon delivery, or, at best, survive to be 3? Think about it.

2. When it endangers the life of the mother.

I'm sorry, but i think that the priority is the parent, not the child. If the child develops any complications that is impossible to correct & risks the mother's life, than i say make an exception. Sorry, again, sounds like i'm playing god, but a decision has to be made, the death of just the fetus, or the mother, -OR- both the fetus & the mother? watch House Season 3 Episode 17. 'nuff said. (sorry, major plot-spoiler here)




....Anyways, my conclusion to both cases is that no actual side can be deemed right or wrong. We just have to view these 2 issues with an open mind. Feel free to add any point that i may have missed out on.