Euthanasia is a very controversial topic in our society today as mercy killing is seen as a personal choice that is currently being controlled by the law. Euthanasia is deemed a personal choice that should be decided by the individual and not by the law, due to the fact that it is essentially assisted suicide; as depicted in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the act of mercy killing is clearly depicted through George’s shooting of Lennie. In the novel, Lennie is a mentally challenged character that faces many setbacks in his development; social aspects, especially. Even though Lennie may have good intentions, generally speaking, he commits many faults throughout the novel. Due to Lennie’s obsession with all things that he considers to be soft and his mental inability to monitor or control his social awareness, he ends up crossing many given social boundaries to the point of entirely breaching legalities. Even though George is deemed as Lennie’s designated caregiver, he does not always have full control over his actions.
Lennie does not mean to bring harm when he is in pursuit of his obsession with soft things, but sometimes he does not have the mental capability to weigh the consequences or measure his own strength. In the duration of the novel, Lennie succeeds in not only accidentally killing a puppy he had intended to show affection to, but also in killing his employer, Curly’s, wife by breaking her neck in the process of simply stroking her hair. This obviously shows exactly how Lennie lacked common knowledge and self control. Thus, unknowingly committing crimes he himself was not even aware he was capable of committing. (Steinbeck)
Due to the fact that Lennie is not only a danger to himself, but especially to others; George, being in the role of his caregiver, must weigh Lennie’s options on his behalf. This not only came down to Lennie’s day-to-day activities, but even as to how it would be possible for Lennie to be functioning part of society. Since Lennie was clearly lacking the ability of higher thought processes that allowed him a sense of secure awareness, George became the only thing saving Lennie from himself. However, that in itself was not able to prevent the tragic happenings from occurring altogether and it got to the point in which George had to come to terms with the fact that he could not control Lennie to the extent in which was necessary in order for Lennie to perform a stable role in society. This means that George had to take into consideration that fact that had Lennie been caught for the crimes he had quite accidentally committed, he would have faced steep legal charges and consequences. (Steinbeck)
Although, at the time, the act of mercy killing had not been quite as controversial as it is today. This was because when it came to acts situations such as this, matters were typically taken into more personal hands and dealt with without judicial say. However, when it came to the discussion of obvious murder and not an act of mercy killing, actions were met quite harshly when it came to the given judicial consequences. This is exactly what George had to contemplate when it came to how his life was going to ensue from that point on with regards to Lennie. George was fully aware of the consequences and hardships Lennie would come to face in his life, only further proving as to why George shooting Lennie was an act of mercy killing. George genuinely cared about Lennie, hence as to why he gave Lennie false hope for the future to keep him motivated and content in life. He did not want Lennie to feel any sense of discomfort or to be met with any harm; physically or mentally. George chose to shoot Lennie before his image of a happy future became distorted or diminished in any way by the consequences and painful reality of life he would have eventually had to face due to his past incidents; it was simply an act of care and was taken as a preventative measure on Lennie’s behalf. (Steinbeck)
Euthanasia is seen as the intentional killing of an individual with an incurable or painful disease as essentially an act of mercy; in the case of the novel, Of Mice and Men, Lennie’s mental disabilities were classified as the incurable disease that provoked his mercy killing. (Merriam-Webster) In the modern day society, Euthanasia is classified as physician-assisted suicide in which there are four subclassifications; voluntary, involuntary, passive, and active. Voluntary euthanasia is conducted with consent, as involuntary euthanasia takes place when the individual in question is not able to consent for themselves and consent must be given through another person since the patient is unable to do so for themselves. Passive euthanasia takes place when any life-sustaining treatments are withheld from a patient; thus making a specific definition for passive euthanasia not entirely clear. Active euthanasia is the act of any lethal substances or forces being used in order to take an individual’s life altogether, active euthanasia includes any life-ending actions conducted by an individual or anybody else. (MediLexicon’s medical dictionary)
When it comes to actually initiating the euthanasia, there are many methods in which it can be gone about. In some cases of passive euthanasia, the outcome of the procedure can be extremely painful; such as withheld or withdrawn treatment of a patient. Or in the case of active euthanasia, an individual may resort to life-taking measures through the use of plastic bags, helium inhalation, or carbon monoxide poisoning. Activists often emphasize their protest through intentional dehydration and/or starvation, making their point heard by engaging in the act itself. In a common case, however, euthanasia is conducted through the use of drugs, injections, or Nitschke’s ‘peaceful’ suicide pill. (The Life Information Website)
As previously stated, euthanasia is a highly controversial ideology in our modern society. When put in the situation, most are hesitant towards the possibility or option of euthanasia when it concerns their religion, morals, or ethics. In some religious aspects, mercy killing is still considered an act of murder. Thus, making it against their religion’s ethical guidelines and immoral. In addition to this, some patients may face internal conflictions when they take their loved ones into consideration and how such a decision could impact their lives in long-term reasoning. There will always be the risk of an individual feeling a sense of guilt; it may even develop to the extent of feeling as though they are a burden upon others mentally, emotionally, and financially. Many will argue the points that euthanasia is a choice or basic human right; as demonstrated by right-to-die activists. The basic quality of life is a major key point when the given topic is being argued, especially in a political standpoint, as many will state that no one should have to suffer if presented an alternative option. This is when the prolongation of dying is used as an addition to discussion, since the majority of those being introduced to the topic will believe that this should not be a necessary stage of death when being offered a less drawn out method of passing; such as completely humane euthanasia. The last point that is also most commonly argued, in regards to mercy killing, is the standard of competence. The mental awareness and adequacy of an individual is a difficult aspect of life to determine. Not only this, but most are concerned with as to how euthanasia were to be regulated to the public population of the nation. (Medical News Today)
It all comes down to whether Euthanasia is legal or illegal in our culture and society today. The first piece of legislature passed in the United States as an anti-euthanasia law was in New York in 1828. In the years ensuing of the law being enacted, many states followed suit with similar laws. Although, after the Civil War, many doctors began to advocate for euthanasia as a valid and legitimate option to be utilized in our society. Support for euthanasia in the United States peaked in the 1930’s, in the duration of the Great Depression. (ProCon.org)
Euthanasia has always been a controversial topic in our society, it’s level of communal support dependent upon the societal and economic status of the population as a whole. Regardless of the overall health of our society, euthanasia will always be a personal choice that should be left in the hands of the public. The matter of one’s own death, if given the chance to control it, should be left up to the individual entirely and not controlled by the government. The quality of life, and when someone is ready to end their own life or suffering of any median, can only be determined by the individual themselves. Not by law, not by government, but through the competency of the given patient seeking euthanasia as a suitable option. The right to die is a basic human right, not just a law laid down by societal governing or any religious moral.