I opposed its legalization… but supported its existence in practice. In fact, I need its existence… Medical technology has created a lot of complicated situations because we have the ability to keep people alive to carry on in suffering even when there is no hope of recovery.
It is the unspoken duty of a modern doctor to deliver a coup de grace when this point has been reached - I think even without asking permission. The old Greek or Mexican lady with a cross around her neck and the Priest coming to visit her and deliver communion can never assent to be euthanized… She needs her doctor to read the situation and to send her off when recovery is impossible and only suffering remains.
When we make it a process that requires her consent & signature, we deny her a peaceful death…
And, when we legalize it, we open the door to some upsetting things, like the euthanization of people for merely mental health conditions. There’s something profoundly ugly & disturbing about someone in their 20s being put to death by a doctor for their mental anguish. Yes, mental suffering is very real, and it should absolutely be addressed… But, just like in the case of prostitution, it is just not something the state can set a moral precedent of approving of it when it happens.