My doctor is killing me! Well, maybe not. In a society that values life, doctors are trained to “do no harm”. Unless a doctor is a psychopath or incompetent, or practising beyond his capabilities, I can be confident that my doctor has my best interests in mind.

Any course of treatment that he proposes is designed to “do no harm”. Yes, I know that sometimes some treatments may have detrimental side effects, but the intention is to fight my disease and prolong my life.

But, once euthanasia or medically-assisted dying is legalised, I cannot be certain if my doctor – at the behest of vested interests – has determined that my life is no longer worth living and is actively seeking to kill me.

Perhaps family members – who are destined to inherit from my estate – have persuaded my doctor that it’s time for me to go, even if I have not requested euthanasia (something that is already happening in the Netherlands and Belgium where euthanasia was legalised more than a decade ago).

Perhaps my health insurer has told my doctor that they will not cover the cost of that complicated procedure but will cover the cost of administering that end-of-life pill (something that’s happening in some US States where euthanasia is now legal).

Once a society legalises euthanasia and gives a ‘licence’ to some doctors to intentionally kill their patients, it forever changes the relationship between doctor and patient. We would no longer be certain that our doctor is seeking to “do no harm”.

Let’s not take this dangerous step.

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Image: Pixabay.