Child Suicide- Cynthia & Adeila

The dictionary definition of the word euthanasia is, “the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. The practice is illegal in most countries.” There are strict rules about how the patient is able to go on with the procedure such as, he or she must be terminally ill, close to death or suffering beyond medical help and the patient themselves must request this procedure. In Belgium, they have extended this to kids. This meaning that kids with a terminal illness may request euthanasia. There were 86 people in favor and 44 people opposed to this.  We are opposing to this idea because obviously finding yourself going through all these hardships at once or whatever they may be, you will always want to take the easy way out. Using euthanasia to end a battle that they are tired of fighting is suicide. Kids shouldn’t have consent on ending their lives because they are just kids with a life ahead of them, sure this is a terminal illness and they will not have a full life like normally but why end it? Why not see the blessings that they have currently? Go to a homecoming, prom, on a date, graduate, etc. There are several terminal illnesses that affect many people in the world. It is all about how the person takes the bad news. The parents might also have a big influence on that child. Depending on the child’s age, that could also affect how the news might be taken in which also affects the ultimate decision. If the child is six years old, they could have a hard time understanding what is happening. The parent may want to have those last six months with their child, getting ice cream, going to movies, living out the rest of that child’s life. If the child is fifteen however, they could understand and comprehend the news better. Then, they may want to go to homecoming, try a new class or learn to drive before their time is up. The, that teenager has a bigger say in what happens because the brain is more developed than the six year old’s. As the body is developing throughout their child and adolescent years, their brain isn’t fully developed. Their frontal lobe is not 100% attached to the rest of the brain, affecting their decision making. This meaning, a child could make a rash decision due to what could be happening to them emotionally.