Commentary on Janelle Slater's, "Euthanasia: The Right to Die"

            I would say that Janelle has a good start for her ethical argument paper. Based on the thesis of her argument which states, “Euthanasia should be legalized in all countries, because it is not the choice of anyone else but a person’s own personal choice”; this gave the reader a clear view as to the direction of her argument. It is very evident to me that she feels it is unethical to not allow euthanasia to take place.

            As far as the subject matter that she presents to the reader, it appears to me that she has a good criteria selection that matches her thesis. The main point that she mentions that stood out amongst the others was that terminal illness is a slow and painful death and that a person should be allowed to choose if they wish to move on.  I enjoyed her take on the matter when she said, “Having your life slowly and painfully drain away from you is considered to be terribly excruciating.” This pathos driven appeal makes the reader feel empathy for her argument.

            The question as to whether a skeptic will accept her criteria can be answered with a maybe. I only say this because I feel she may need to add several more examples to back up her main thesis that not allowing euthanasia is unethical. This can be achieved possibly through finding some actual accounts of cancer patients and such that really wanted to take advantage of euthanasia and were not allowed to. She could use quotes from the patient or families that showed their pain and struggle with not being able to make a choice that they should have been able to make.

            I think another fact or anecdote that she could use would be to discuss how other countries are able to utilize the process of euthanasia, such as Belgium and the Netherlands. She could go over the pros and cons of the recent legalization of it. This could help her general weighting of the subject for a skeptical reader. It would show a person who absolutely believes it is unethical to use euthanasia to maybe see the benefits if it has worked well in these countries.

            Like I said before, Janelle has a good start. I think if she adds the couple of ideas that I have it would make someone who is skeptical accept her point of view a little better. There is the possibility that someone may counter-argue her argument if she doesn’t provide a bit more information to back her beliefs. I already feel that euthanasia should be legalized and it is truly someone’s right to take his or her own life. I fear that because I feel this way I may not have been the skeptic that she needed to read this, but I hope that my input can assist her with the final draft.