Can We Be Better Off Dead?
Supporters of Euthanasia often claim that a person can be “better off dead” when he or she suffers from a low quality of life.
Yet, death renders a person non-existent. How can a person benefit if he or she no longer exists? A person cannot benefit by his/her death because they no longer exist to benefit!
But what about a low “quality of life?”
“Quality of life” used to refer to determining whether or not a particular treatment was worthwhile for a person. For instance, a frail elderly person might prefer one treatment or another based on quality of life concerns.
Unfortunately, “quality of life” today has been reinterpreted to refer to the very worth of a person’s life. On the contrary, focus should be on whether a particular treatment is worthwhile, not whether a patient’s life is worthwhile.
Life does not become worthless merely because a person misses out of certain valuable aspects of life and finds treatment burdensome. Even a diminished life, can still participate in a wide range of goods like family, friendship, beauty etc. There are still many ways that even the very sick can find life meaningful and it is our job to help them realize that.
If people believe they are suffering from a low quality of life, that only makes it important to work to improve that quality; it is not a reason to kill the patient.
Stop Assisted Suicide NY 