Death with Dignity Should Be Legal
In the article, "Euthanasia Can Never Be Justified," author J. Budziszewski defends why euthanasia should stay illegal. The basis of his argument comes from his idea that all bad things come from good things that have been "spoiled". To relate this to assisted suicide, he takes on the feelings of those involved. To be able to assist someone in suicide, Budziszewski says that one must have a reason to not say no. These reasons, even though they may have good intentions, lead us to pollute our morals. These morals such as pity, prudence, amenity, honor, remorse, love, and our sense of justice make us feel like killing a human being is the right thing to do. Budziszewski has linked it to one of these spoiled morals for every reason one could have for agreeing. If one would say yes because they could not take the sight of them suffering, then it would be pity. If they said yes to go along with their wishes, then it would be spoiled amenity. If it was because of a promise, then it was honor. To explain his argument, his break down of the human thought process needs to be evaluated.
The virtue of honor is being able to respect another person as human being, different from any other but similar in the fact that we were created equal. In assisted suicide, both the person asking for help and the person asked feel honor for one another, but they consciously misinterpret their feelings to justify breaking their morals. For example, a person who asks for help in suicide feels as though they are honoring the other by releasing them from their burden, but in turn is doing the opposite by thinking they could not accept it. The person who agrees to assist misinterprets honor when they say yes to a morally wrong plea, because they know they would want them to reject if ever asked the same. Budziszewski says that even with good intentions, euthanasia destroys your values and leads y...