Why do you think?..?

Question

Why is it acceptable to euthanize a beloved pet in horrible pain and yet it is unacceptable to assist suicide for someone who is terminally ill and in great pain?

Answer 1

Part of this comes down to religious belief, many religions believe that if you kill yourself you are committing a sin and will not go to heaven. Part of it also involves the fact that animals have no monetary assets. If for example assisted suicide were legal, what would happen to that persons money? Would there be lawsuits between family members where the family members accused each other of encouraging suicide so that the assets would be delivered sooner? What about someone who could not make the decision for themselves such as children and the mentally disabled?

Finally assisted suicide really need not be an option any longer with the creation of Hospice which allows the patient as much pain medication as needed to relieve pain.

Answer 2

Well, a pet having a medical problem, and putting the animal out of the misery is about no more physical pain, this is necessary. And it is okay. But, assisting in suicide is both illegal, and unnecessary. The person is going through emotional pain, and that can be easily solved. Also, the medical condition of a human is held higher, than a medical condition of an animal, just as the first answer said.  

Answer 3

"What do we mean when we say 'life'? Do we mean the continued functioning of the body? Of the brain? Or do we mean the continued experience of the human being?" (Pridonoff, pg. 73). Many doctors are now performing what is known as physician-assisted suicide, which is when a doctor sets up a machine, but the patient actually kills him or herself. Whereas, euthanasia is the act of the doctor killing the patient. There are two sides to this issue. One side is whether or not a person should be allowed to end his or her own life. The other side of the question is, "who's decision is it to end a life?" There is a difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia. The choice to have a doctor help end a terminally ill patient's life is the patients decision to make.

Many people are opposed to physician-assisted suicide because of their religious beliefs. Traditional Christian beliefs are that assisted suicide violates one's natural desire to live, suicide harms other people, and life is a gift from God and God should be the only one able to take a life from a human being. However, there are also religious organizations that believe in physician assisted suicide. One of them is the Mainline and Liberal Christian denominations. They are pro- choice for this form of assisted suicide. Many of these beliefs urge followers to choose life over death, unless life is sustained by a machine. Physician-assisted suicide for patients who are in a great amount of pain should not be illegal.

  

Answer 4

Human life is considered more precious than animal life. When you kill a sick animal your putting it out of misery. Assisting suicide has a lot of religious and moral connotations attached to it.  

Answer 5

What anti-ignorance said, although in some cases its the opposite.  For example did you know that in the state of New York its illegal to idle a truck (my husband drives an 18 wheeler), unless you have a pet in it.  If you have a pet in the truck you're allowed to idle.  But people have to suffer in the heat and cold, or fork out money they don't have for a motel room I guess.  Whoever made that law needs to be forced to sit for just one night in a truck without heat or a/c.  They'll change the law ASAP.

I think the answer to your question though is more than just what anti-ignorance said.  I think its also that animals are thought to not have any control...they're at our mercy basically.  Humans aren't thought about that way...which in fact would coincide with the way of thinking that would cause people to make the law about the trucks.  Hmmm...never thought about that.  (I still think the anti-idling law is wrong though.)