My PHIL 1400 class, entitled Intro to Contemporary Moral Issues, has been quite fascinating, as I've mentioned before. It really makes you think. This week, we're talking about euthanasia and suicide. There's an interesting point that was made, though I'm not sure whether I agree or disagree with it:
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When our dog gets real old and feable, we "put him to sleep." For those of you who have ever had a pet who was "given to a family who lives on a farm," this really means that they killed it. When pets outlive their usefulness, we kill them and say this is the humane thing to do: putting them out of their misery. If a cowboy got in a gun fight back in the day and his horse got shot in the leg, he would just shoot the horse in the head. There's no point in keeping a horse that you can't ride.
So why, then, do we not consider it the same with people? If someone is in a car crash and will literally be a vegetable the rest of their lives, why not just put them out of their misery? They won't know the difference, and this would allow the family to move on, eliminate hospital expenses, etc. There is a rare disease that some babies are born with that is basically like having 3rd degree burns all over their body - extremely painful. No baby has ever lived longer than a few months with this condition. Should we try to keep them alive, just to have them die a few months later? Or should we just kill them at birth and put them out of their misery? And what if someone says, "If I go into a coma, just pull the plug; I don't want to put you through that"? They're asking us to kill them? What if we didn't pull the plug and they woke up the next day? Then how would they feel?
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They are all very intreguing questions, and I'm not too sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, the argument does make sense. But on the other hand, I believe in miracles. Why not give fate a chance? I'm just not sure.
5 comments:
But do you belive in the same miracles for your dog? The one who is old and can't climb the steps and can barely chew his food? The one who can't control his bladder? Do you think he'll be granted a miracle and will be like a puppy again?
And the horse?
Keep in mind that horses are big 1200 lbs. creatures. They are also animals of movement and motion. You can't tell a horse he has to remain on bedrest, he won't listen. Getting a fracture to heal is a long and difficult process with horses because of their size and the need for them to remain still. If the leg is not kept immobile, it will likely never heal and the chances of getting infection skyrocket. Compared to a slow painful death with infection, euthanasia is still the most humane scenario when dealing with severe leg injuries.
I understand what you are saying about the chance - but we don't give dogs or horses the same chance. We belive we are doing the best thing for them. Ending pain and suffering. We generally don't believe in miracles for our pets.
I think the baby issue is a good one. If there have never been any cases of a baby surving, why risk it? Why force the baby to be in pain longer than necessary?
Comas are harder I admit - because doctors can sometimes tell you if they expect the patient to awaken and it never happens. Then sometimes doctors tell you the patient will never wake up suddenly they do. Do you wait? Or do you carry out the patient's wishes?
Miracles are so rare. Me, I'll do as my loved ones ask.
Interesting points.
Also, it depends on your definition of "miracle". If you think big things like paraplegics walking again are miracles, then they are rare. But if you think little things like children obeying their parents are miracles, they are quite frequent.
Ahh, yes, definition. There's the rub.
And to answer your question from my blog. I just started reading you today. This was the first post I read and I was moved to comment. Doesn't happen often. But I'll keep reading.
Killing healthy frogs: Evil, vicious, bloodthirsty.
Killing sick babies: Hmmm, maybe that is the best way...
Question: Is there a difference between us and the beasts?
Abu,
I love how you and Bungee have continued to take my comments completely out of context. I hope it warms the cockles of your heart.
I was actually asking questions about keeping a baby in pain - I never said it's the best choice.
And about the frogs - good Lord, please forgive me for ever bringing up the frogs. I was making an apparently horrible example about malice. Can we please move past the frogs now?
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