8/12/2019 Debate on Euthanasia

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Host: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am Beatrice Abendan and I am here to welcome

you all to the “2012 Presidential Debate” between Mr. Raymond Mayo and Mr. Gene Perez.

This debate will tackle on the issue of whether euthanasia should be legalized in the Philippinesor not. But just to be clear to the audience, what is euthanasia? Euthanasia or mercy killing is the

act permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for

reasons of mercy. It could be in the form of voluntary, non-voluntary meaning the person didn’tgive a consent and involuntary meaning he made an expressed wish. It also includes assistedsuicide, euthanasia by action and omission. The factors that causes euthanasia are the unbearable

 pain, right to individual’s life, compassion for the patient and psychological factors such as

depression. To start, please welcome the speakers and give them a warm round of applause.

PRO:Ladies and gentlemen and fellow debaters, imagine yourself as a hospital patient who

only live because of life support machines attached to your respiratory system to breath. Your

 body has been kept alive by the machine artificially. You no longer feel and sense of those

around you as you are no longer a functioning person but a vegetable, brain dead and whollydependent to this life support system. What a pity, is it not?

Thus, I submit, that Euthanasia must be adopted in this country. For me this is notwrong, as long as the patient or immediate relative will agree and the reason is pure

humanitarian. Let the Congress pass laws to legalize Euthanasia on such circumstances, such as

the patient has been certified by the doctors, as clinically dead or life support system dependent.

Thank you.

ANTI:

Ladies and Gentlemen, my distinguish fellow debater, I beg to disagree to the pointsraised by the pro-euthanasia panel of debaters. He only cited purely medical situation to justify

his points. He saw the patient lying in the hospital bed as body of a person, whose life by a

stroke of pen can be ended. He analyzes the negative social and economic impact of maintaininga patient under a life support system, as reason to justify termination of life.

Thus, I don’t agree that a law shall be passed granting the Doctors to exercise mercy

killing to patient, even if under life support system. No man shall stop the life of any person asthis is tantamount to murder which is a criminal act. Nor the close relatives of the patient can

give consent, for they do not own the life of the patient, but God.

Thank you very much.

PRO:

An individual has the right to choose to end his or her life. It would be inhuman to make

them suffer with pain. Moreover, the financial costs of keeping a patient in a life-support system

would be enormous. Not many Filipinos could afford it. Also, if the patient has the right todiscontinue treatment, why would he not have the right to shorten his lifetime to escape the

anguish? Wouldn’t it be more painful to wait for them to die? And then you realize that the

medical and scientific skills of the doctors have been surpassed by the reality that the end to thelife of the patient is near. No matter what the doctors will do, no amount of money, scientific

inventions, modern drugs can cure and revive the life of the patient now under a life support

system.

8/12/2019 Debate on Euthanasia

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ANTI:

According to the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt do no murder” , “Thou shalt not kill”.

Isn’t it that the practice of euthanasia is an act of murder itself? It is even stated in the Book of

Ecclesiastes “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death”. It isn’t in man’s decision to decide for a life. Euthanasia is immoral

and therefore should not be passed. As Christians, we believe that we must treasure God’s

greatest gift to us- life. Our traditions tell us to care for our life and health and of others. But weare not morally obligated to use all available medical procedures in every set of circumstances.

As a responsible steward of life, one shouldn’t cause one’s own death, by either action or

omission.

PRO:

But isn’t it that it is also stated in the Bible that God gave humans free will so it is

someone’s right to decide when our lives end.  I quote from Thomas Moore " people choose to

die since they cannot live but in great misery." Surely, euthanasia would be the best option whena person doesn’t feel any purpose in life because he isn’t able to enjoy life anymore nor is he

able to communicate. Euthanasia isn’t always immoral, in some cases it promotes the best

interests of everyone involved and violates no one's rights.  

ANTI:

I beg to disagree. People tend to be wrong about their best interests, they may not realise

that euthanasia can harm other people. Pope John Paul II even said that the value of the life of a

man cannot be subjected to the judgement of quality expressed by other men. He also added that

euthanasia only seeks to establish who can live and who must die, instead of redeeming the person from suffering. The moral teachings of our Church encourage life preservation at all cost.

Thus, Euthanasia is not allowed because, it is anti-life.

Host:

Thank you debaters. It seems that both panels have shared their opinions well. Well then,

who do you think won this debate? Where will you side? (Ask audience)

Our group therefore concludes that as Christians, we have to value life, the life that was given to

us by our Almighty Father. We should not think that it is just a burden to carry but a gift to begratified for, from God. And as Christians, we should be the model of the life that God has

created f or gratitude, respect, and love. One should love his or her self to be able to see the true

 joy of life. We conclude that the challenges in one’s life do not par with death or wanting to die.

We should see it in a different way and be enlightened by God.