Euthanasia

There has been a lot of press given to individuals who have horrible illnesses and wish to die.

I believe that people in that kind of condition where they are perhaps in constant pain or are brain dead should be given the right to end their life.

There is a difference between suicide, murder and euthanasia in my opinion.
Suicide is usually when you take your life because psychologically, you can not face the prospect of life. It is mostly a psychological problem, however, things can change, aid can be given to those who need help and are on the brink of suicide. Suicidal thoughts and tendencies (in most people) can leave them forever.

Murder is usually committed by somebody who does NOT love the person thats dying. This is what makes it different from euthanasia.
A person who is perhaps brain dead and extremely unlikely to wake up, being kept alive by machines and fed through tubes needs somebody else to ask the doctors to let them die. This does not make the person who does that a murderer.

I think crucially, 99.9% of opponents of euthanasia are not in any position to be considering it and I think thats the key issue. Of course, religious irrationality comes into it too. Under the guise that allowing someone in extreme, constant pain to live like that when they want to die is somehow merciful - in my eyes, its wrong and intrusive.
Not to mention, the religious can talk about 'God's plan' that only God should decide when a person dies, ignoring the fact that that individual would probably be dead already if it weren't for the medical care they're currently receiving thats keeping them alive. Also, the fact that all of us at some point will be living on borrowed time, granted to us by advances in medical science where otherwise we would be dead. God's plan counts for shit.

I know if I got to the age where I felt I didn't really feel like living anymore - there wouldn't be any way anybody could stop me from killing myself. If I had to, I'd do it. But I'd much prefer to be in a clinic, with my family around, where no one has to have the horrible surprise of dealing with discovering a dead body. Why shouldn't I have control over when I die and whats it got to do with anybody else?

We need to grow up and stop being so scared of death. We perhaps need to understand what life is and what its about. What gives it value. Sometimes life has lost its value when a person has everything to lose - and has to face the prospect of losing it slowly and painfully. A dignified, if early, death is surely preferable to an agonising, drawn out over weeks/months/years death where every day a person wakes up hoping they'd die.