Monday, February 17, 2014

Writer's Log #4: Current Event Analysis


What happened?

Why did you choose it?

Why is the issue significant to local/national/international community?

Who does it impact positively? Negatively?


Belgium becomes the first country to abolish age restrictions on euthanasia, extending the option to children for the first time. It is apparently widely supported in the country, with a poll suggesting 75 percent of Belgians in favor. The new law will be specific enough that only a handful of teenage boys and girls who are in advanced stages of cancer or terminal illnesses or suffering unbearable pain. Under its current law, patients under 18 have to let nature take its course or wait until they turn 18 to be qualified for euthanasia. I chose this topic because it was a previously mentioned topic in our classroom. It had been the subject of a presentation and aroused much discussion within the class. Euthanasia is along the same lines of other issues such as abortion and same sex marriages, and is widely debated in our world today. Some argue that is merciful, as it relieves much of a patient’s pain, and allows the patient to determine their own way of death. Others have argued that it is inhumane, and should be considered a form of murder. Belgium’s allowance of euthanasia for minors will “open a door that nobody will be able to close”. By becoming the first country to abolish age restriction on euthanasia, it is setting up an example for future countries to follow.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/12/belgium-euthanasia-legislation-children_n_4772271.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

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