“With an aging population, falling tax revenues and ever increasing demands being placed on the NHS, it makes good sense to change the law, so that assisted dying is decriminalized.”
Perhaps this will be condemned as a liberal outburst, but surely a human life should never be compared with numbers and figures in economical terms? Regarding a human as a negative figure is possibly one of the most dehumanizing actions one can take. A civilized society does everything it can to take care of the weak within that society, and therefore to neglect those who require society’s help the most is a sure path to the break-down of society. Morally, it is completely indefensible to say that merely for economic reasons people should be allowed to commit suicide.
Another reason assisted dying should not be decriminalized is that people are subject to changing their minds. For a brief period it could be a very attractive idea to have an assisted death, and then only days later decide that it would be the wrong decision entirely. This could be especially the case amongst those with terminal illnesses, as bouts of depression are more prevalent than the general population. At the present, all those who have an assisted death make a very conscious and considered decision, as legal matters, transport and other factors have to be taken into consideration. However, if the act were to be decriminalized, then obstacles like transport and legal obstructions would not be in place, and the opportunity for a rash decision would be open. And a decision such as assisted death is, regrettably, irreversible.
Another aspect to the legalization of euthanasia is that it can be exploited. Relatives of those who wish for an old relative to pass away, to gain their inheritance or merely to cease having to look after them could exploit the system. However, in the Netherlands, it appears they have safety-netted the possibility of exploitation.
The legalization of abortion in the 1967 Abortion Act...