Imagine a brother, a bestfriend, suffering through the pain of battling cancer. Clearly, he is being defeated. So if the choice was up to the family, why would anyone let him die in pain and sadness if no one would want to die that way themselves! Euthanasia is represented in John Steinbecks novel Of Mice and Men when George shoots and kills Lennie. Euthanasia is a choice of death for a human being for his or her alleged benefit. The five types of euthanasia are voluntary, non-voluntary, involuntary, active and passive. Voluntary euthanasia is when the person asks to be killed. Non-voluntary is when the person does not give any consent to be killed, but is killed anyway. If a person makes a wish to the contrary to be killed, this is involuntary euthanasia. Being taken off of life support is called passive euthanasia. Active is a lethal dose of a drug. In the novel, George uses euthanasia to kill his best friend Lennie. They had to escape from Weed, Texas because Lennie was accused of raping a woman by touching her soft red dress. Lennie is mentally disabled so he doesnt remember things very well. Therefore, Lennie always got himself into a lot of trouble, but George always got him out of it because George was Lennies protector. This time, Lennie accidentally killed Curleys wife by suffocating her, but he wanted to get her to stop screaming. Lennie was facing being lynched because he was unaware of his own strength. Being a good friend, George felt obligated to shoot Lennie in the back of the head rather than Lennie being humiliated in front of the whole town. Euthanasia should be legalized because it ends suffering, relieves stress, and fulfills dreams.
Euthanasia puts an end to suffering through battles we cant win. Euthanasia also relieves the familys pain. No one wants to see someone close to them suffer. Everyone - whether it be a person with a life-threatening illness or a chronic condition - has the right to pain relief. With modern advances in pain control, no patient should ever be in excruciating pain. However, most doctors have never had a course in pain management so they're unaware of what to do. Doctor Gerrit Kimsma, a general practitioner at the University of Amsterdam, is talking about the painless way of euthanasia. He doesnt believe that people should suffer. Dr. Kimsma states, My patients can be sure that I will not let them suffer unnecessarily alone. That is my goal and duty as a physician (The Right to Die). Hes right! No one deserves to have a painful death by suffering. Just like in the novel, ending suffering helps the patient in ways that they cant help themselves. Curley was telling Slim about how he will kill Lennie to get revenge for Lennie killing Curleys wife. Curley said, Im goin, Im gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand, Im gonna get im(Steinbeck 42). If George didnt kill Lennie then Curley would have shot out Lennies guts then lynched him. Thats a lot more painful than getting shot in the back of the head when you die almost instantaneously. Euthanasia ends suffering for patients that cant live a life anymore because they are so ill.
Similarly to euthanasia ending suffering, it also relieves stress on the patient and their family. The family now has to deal with hospital bills and insurance coverage in addition to their mortgage payments and other daily expenses. Euthanasia is very inexpensive compared to keeping someone alive in the hospital. Preforming euthanasia is only $35- $45. On the other hand, one night at the hospital costs $4,000- $5,000. Dr. Kimsma, a supporter of voluntary euthanasia at the University of Amsterdam talks about relieving the stress on people that use euthanasia to die. Often, people who have chosen euthanasia have such a peace of mind that they die naturally anyway (The Right to Die). Kimsma informed his readers. No one can be stressed if they are at peace when they are dying. Therefore, euthanasia relieves stress in such a way that no one in the family is regretful of the decision. Just like in the novel, Lennie is put under pressure to not mess up or else he wont tend the rabbits on the dream farm. All Lennie ever wanted to do was tend the rabbits on the farm. He was in a lot of stress to make sure that happened. On the other hand, George was stressed because of his constant need to protect Lennie. Also, George and Lennie always had to escape the town because of Lennie messing up. He always worries about Lennie getting in trouble. George is talking to Lennie about how good his life could be without having to protect Lennie all the time. George exploded, God amighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job, an work, an no trouble. When the end of the month come, I could go into town and spend my fifty bucks and stay any damn place I want and order any damn thing I could think of (Steinbeck 11). George shows that he is in a lot of stress always having to take care of Lennie. It would be better for both of them if Lennie was dead. Euthanasia relieves stress not just for the patient, but for the family and loved ones too.
Euthanasia not only relieves stress on the patient, but it gives people a reason to fulfill dreams. Choosing Euthanasia means the patient doesnt have to worry about suffering. We all want the opportunity to travel to those mystical far away lands, share lasting memories with our loved ones, or climb a mountain to feel accomplished. After I do all of this, I know I will be able to die with a smile on my face and a no regrets attitude. By fulfilling dreams, euthanasia lifts the spirits of the patients which makes them forget about the bad things. Dr. Gerrit Kimsma also tells us about euthanasia fulfilling dreams Gerrit believes, They can also focus on the things they really want to do, like taking a last trip, or making up a fight with someone in the family, or saying goodbye (The Right to Die). I agree with Dr. Kimsma because when someone has a dream, it makes life easier for them. It puts them at ease if they accomplish that goal or dream before they die. In the novel, Lennie has a dream to tend the rabbits on their farm. Before George performs euthanasia he talks to Lennie by the Salinas River about how their life is going to be on their dream farm. George says to Lennie, Look across the river, Lennie an Ill tell you so you can almost see it (Steinbeck 105). Lennie had a painless, almost happy, death because he was picturing his dream of tending the rabbits. Euthanasia fulfills dreams so the patient isnt regretful that they made this decision.
We arent talking about playing house, this is a life or death situation. As Freddy sits on the hospital bed waiting to hear news about his broken leg, he looks over at an elderly woman in the bed next to him. She has all kinds of cords around her connecting to 4 different machines. The whole family is there watching her suffer, wishing there was something else they could do to take away her pain. Suddenly, the sound of the heart monitor hooked up to the womans body makes the dreaded long beep that no one wants to hear. Everyones eyes widened! Doctors rushed in to see what was happening. Freddy looked at the grandmothers face with her eyes bulging. Her eyes seemed to scream, HELP! Finally, after 3 tries, they got her heart to start beating again. The whole room breathed a sigh of relief that she was alive! This woman shouldnt be gasping for her last breath when she could be dying peacefully with euthanasia. No one deserves to die suffering. The family members wouldnt have to have that suspenseful situation if they used euthanasia. Imagine if a little child saw their grandma die like that! They would be scarred for life. Euthanasia is the right thing to do. Instead of spending her last moments suffering, she could be out parasailing or accomplishing her goals. Theres no reason for anyone to suffer or be in stress before they die. George and Lennie are best friends. In many ways, Lennie is like this dying grandmother because he was suffering. Its not fair for him to live like that. Overall, euthanasia is better for everyone, including the dying patient.
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