No 'mercy' in killing!

Hippocrates, who is known as the father of medicine says in the famous 'Hippocratic Oath'- "I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel".

It is lawfully compulsory on every student of medicine to take this oath before he/she gets certified to become a registered medical practitioner.

This very clearly and explicitly shows that Euthanasia in its very basic sense in an act not morally lawful.

Euthanasia originated from the Greek word for "good death". It is the act or practice of ending the life of a person either by lethal injection or the suspension of medical treatment. Because of this, many view euthanasia as simply bringing relief by alleviating pain and suffering. Popularly known as 'Mercy Killing' around the world.

But whether intentional or accidental, killing someone just because he has been suffering or under torture can never be justified.

Medical science has been growing every minute by leaps and bounds.What is incurable today could be treated successfully tomorrow.

In such a scenario, Euthanasia to me appears nothing more than a blind folded pessimism.

As far as economic and psychological burden faced by the family and relatives of patient is concerned  I wonder if the value of someone's life would decrease if he is crippled or diseased?

Besides, God and nature can never bestow us with pain or suffering which is beyond ones endurance. Had this been a case, existence was next to impossible. No matter how trivial our breaths be or how fragile the beats of heart, the very fact that we are alive is proof enough that we ARE capable of carrying the burden the functions performed by various cells and organs. That our body has NOT given up yet and it is trying its best.So can forcing it to stop in between be justified as ethical or legal?

Legalizing euthanasia in the name of mercy and dignity is equivalent to glorifying murder and suicides!

It is against society, against humanitarianism and nothing more than a retrogressive and pessimistic approach to cater issues of medical science.

Even the most diseased condition (give what so ever pathological name you may to it) cannot mar our souls. For it still upholds its vitality and liveliness. 

The existence which you call meaningless is actually striving hard each moment to breath, to beat and to live. An act of dignity, an act of insurmountable courage and optimism.

power and blessing to that soul.

Let it thrive.

HAIL HUMANITY !!

'The human race has improved everything, but the human race' -Adlai Stevenson

We have a subject called FMT ( Forensic Medicine and Toxicology) as a part of our 2nd year Medical curriculum.
It basically deals with interpreting and establishing facts in civil and criminal law cases by the medical knowledge and knowing the underlying cause of death .
 As a part of this subject we students are asked to maintain a record of various crimes and transgressions ranging from murders/suicides/blasts to rapes/accidents/infamous conduct by doctors and so on in the form of newspaper clippings.

Now initially when we were handed this large 50 sheet file, my first reaction was how would I fill in these pages? It is impossible to find such extensive collection of criminal happenings and that too under so many sub-headings and that it was simply out of question to gather the articles in such a short span of 1 academic year.

But syllabus and files HAVE to be completed and so we took possession of it with utter hopelessness.
A month ahead to my extreme surprise and disgust at the same time I could identify not just one but several articles in the newspaper each day!

Come another month and many sections like rape, transportation injuries, criminal abortions, suicides and murders were already flooding with clippings and cuttings and managing them in a single page seemed to be daunting task now.

While I was obviously happy at my timely completion of work, the grim and gruesome scenario has left me anxious and furious.
Why are we heading towards such barbarism?
Is a socially civilized and tolerant society nothing more than a distant dream?
Are rights of fellow humans simply an on-paper pseudo political agenda?
 Has humanitarianism ceased to exist?
These and in numerous other questions envelop my mind every time I sit down to read and gather newspaper articles.

Where lies the role of education and reason- gifted minds? I fail to believe that we humans are the most superior and developed of all creatures.

If we can kill for money and stab someone to death in anger, if we can forget our duties and neglect our responsibilities, if cannot respect woman and uphold morals, if words like truth, justice and tolerance are mere words for us then where lies that difference between us and our ancestors hundreds of years prior to us?

I know my writing this wont make a zilch of a difference to atleast most of us. Coz majority believes that we are humble humans of a civilized society and the rest of us do not care to introspect where the world is heading to for its a matter too trifling to ponder upon.

I however still decided to write this as a part of my own duty. As Martin Luther King Jr. said "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity".

I strongly feel its time that I and those who wish to seek a change wake up to overlook within rather seek to understand and act for issues that are in interest of all humanity.

Leaving you all with what Carlos Fuentes said "There must be something beyond slaughter and barbarism to support the existence of mankind and we must all help search for it".

Its time that we start this search. Its time indeed.