You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Euthanasia, or mercy killing, has been a controversial issue for many years.
Although many people are strongly against such a practice, there is a
growing demand to have it legalised. How far do you agree with euthanasia
being made legal?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your
own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Although certain human right groups and religious organisations may raise
objections to the legalisation of mercy killing, from a practical point of view it
has enormous benefits for the critically ill patients who have no hope of
coming back to normal life.
In the first place, legalisation of euthanasia can save the expenditure
involved in sustaining lives of many terminally ill patients, who just live with
the help of sophisticated medical equipments like ventilators. It is
unreasonable to spend huge amounts of money on medicines, medical
personnel and equipments, since such people are unlikely to recover.
Governments in many orthodox Muslim countries spend millions of dinars for
sustaining the lives of patients in vegetative state, because their religious
law prohibits euthanasia. In fact, the money wasted for this purpose can be
used for treating other patients who can be brought back to a healthy life.
Again, in certain extreme cases, it can also be end the hardships and
excruciating physical and mental agony of patients who are in the last stages
of certain critical illnesses like cancer. Since the law does not allow mercy
killing, the last few days are often a trying time for both the patients and
their close relatives and friends. Legalisation of this practice can definitely
give these patients a peaceful end through a clinically assisted death.
On the other hand, there are arguments that there could be incidents of
illegal elements misusing this law for their personal advantage. Strict laws
and proper surveillance can definitely prevent the occurrence of crimes
related to this issue. Religious people who object to the legalisation of mercy
killing or moral grounds should consider the practical difficulties involved in
preserving a life in vegetative state.

If proper guidelines are put forward by the authorities, to determine the

validity of a legal euthanasia, it will prove to be a great blessing for many
patients who survive just because of a life-sustaining equipment attached to
their body.