Legal murder: the science and ethics behind it

This bio blog post is dedicated to my guinea pig, Nibbles, who was euthanized on March 18th, 2021.

I sat at the dinner table as my mom told me about her friend's facebook post, asking if anyone could take her daughter's guinea pigs. Immediately my brain filled with ideas. My hamster had just died, and because I owned little furry friends for most of my life, I felt almost incomplete. After some discussion, my parents approved and allowed me to take in the guinea pigs. I renamed them Rosie and Nibbles, because Nibbles bit my finger the first time I held her. 

After one or two years, Rosie (the mother) passed away. After Rosie passed, Nibbles and I had years together by ourselves. Ironically, she never bit my finger again. We bonded and I felt a real connection to her. So when she got visibly sick in early 2021, it was heartbreaking to see. Nibbles was 9 at that point, which is very old for a guinea pig. I knew I didn't have much time left with her. Nonetheless, I was still shocked when she could no longer walk and I had to take her to the vet. After driving home and awaiting a call from the vet, I sat and stared at the ceiling. So when my phone started vibrating, I immediately picked it up to hear a sympathetic voice on the other end. I knew exactly what she was going to say, but that made it no easier to hear. Later that day I returned to the animal hospital to say one last goodbye to my childhood companion, before she peacefully slipped into permanent sleep. 

What is euthanasia?

Euthanasia can be defined as the practice of injecting lethal drugs to painlessly end one's life. Euthanasia is generally used to alleviate the suffering of a living organism who is either terminally ill or has an incurable illness. Human euthanasia is illegal in most countries and states, although some states have legal euthanasia with certain restrictions (California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington). On a global level, euthanasia is legal in certain parts of the world, such as the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Australia, and France. Euthanasia for animals is also a common practice in the United States and around the world and has far fewer restrictions than human euthanasia, understandably so. There are many classifications of euthanasia, including active, passive, voluntary, and involuntary. Read about the different types and some euthanasia-related vocabulary below. 

Active euthanasia

Active euthanasia refers to a deliberate act to end one's life. This could be the injection of fatal drugs, or purposely overdosing on painkillers. The point of active euthanasia is that it involves an action to kill someone.

Passive euthanasia

Passive euthanasia refers to withholding something that is keeping someone alive to ultimately end their life. This could be removing ventilation or a feeding tube. From an ethical standpoint, many people distinguish passive from active euthanasia and say passive is morally sound, while active is not.

Voluntary euthanasia

This is a form of euthanasia where the patient gives their consent.

Involuntary euthanasia

Contrary to voluntary, involuntary euthanasia happens when the patient is unconscious and their wishes are unknown. 

Physician-assisted suicide

In this method, the patient is given the means of euthanasia by a physician. It is administered by the patient, however. This type of euthanasia is active and voluntary.

If you'd like to read more about the listed forms and the ethics behind each of them, click here. This site does a great job of explaining the factors that go into these forms of "legal murder" as well as the opinions held in regards to them.  Now that you understand the basics of what euthanasia is and how it's performed, it's time to discuss how it actually works scientifically, specifically active euthanasia. 

The science of active euthanasia

We know that the injections used in euthanasia painlessly kill the organism that it's injected into. But how? 

In animal euthanasia, the most common injection used by vets is pentobarbital. While pentobarbital is usually used for medicating seizures, it serves a different purpose in large doses. First, the injection knocks your pet unconscious, and then very shortly after stops the animal's heart and brain functions. But how does a quick shot accomplish this? Doctors say that pentobarbital has the ability to cross the bloodstream very efficiently, so much so that it enters the brain tissue within a minute or so. Pentobarbital can then stimulate gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. On the surface of the neurons lie these receptors, something I think all AP Biology students know about. These receptors, which are inhibitory receptors, respond to the GABA neurotransmitter. This results in a decrease of neurons being fired, ultimately stopping brain activity. A decrease in neuron firing stops other bodily functions too, such as breathing. However in the end what causes the heart to stop is a very high dose of pentobarbital, which has a cardiovascular effect rather than a neurological effect.

Many drugs that are used for animal euthanasia are illegal for human euthanasia use. The most common drug group used for human euthanasia is barbiturates, which is a group that includes pentobarbital. However, human euthanasia is commonly a "cocktail of drugs," not just a barbiturate. Oftentimes, barbiturates and neuromuscular relaxants are used together. Many studies have been done on the best injections to use for human euthanasia, and which the administrator prefers to use. Although different drugs might be used for human and animal euthanasia, the method by which the drug stops a previously functioning brain and heart is the same. 

My opinion on the ethics behind "assisted suicide"

I've lost two pets from euthanasia, both pictured at their final hours below. 

Nibbles (left) and Missy (right) 

As much as I'd like to say the saddest thing about the picture on the right is my bangs, that would be a lie. The death of anything that you love is heartbreaking, which can make euthanasia that much harder. If you can delay the death of a loved one, why wouldn't you? But it's not that simple. When someone is suffering, the best thing is not always to let them suffer until they can't anymore. Euthanasia, at least for animals, is a humane and selfless thing to do, despite how painful it can be. Prior to her death, Nibbles was in a lot of pain. When we took her to the vet, they gave us two options- put her down, or perform a variety of tests and procedures that would not only prolong her suffering, but were also not guaranteed to work. As much as I didn't want to lose my childhood pet, I truly believe that I made the right decision. It would have been selfish of me to force her to stay alive on the off chance I could get 6 months or so more with her. It's one of those things where the right decision is the harder one. From my experience, the vets who administer the injection ensure that no pain will be felt and that your pet can die in peace. In my opinion, animal euthanasia is ethically and morally sound.

Human euthanasia is a different topic. It's very controversial and has many layers to uncover. Philosophers spend a lot of time thinking about the ethics of euthanasia. From the research I've done, I've formed the opinion that human euthanasia is morally sound and should be legal, under very certain circumstances. While there is a gray area, I don't believe anyone should have to suffer for long periods of time, as many people have to. I think we can all agree that murder should not be legal, but unless it is "mercy-killing," euthanasia does not qualify as murder in my opinion. It's a very hard thing to think about, but in some cases, I feel it might be the right choice for those who want it. Some of the most common arguments against physician-assisted suicide are that it effects other peoples lives and not just the patient's, euthanasia pushes a narrative that some lives are worth more than others, and it giving "too much power" to doctors. Read about a full list of different arguments against euthanasia here

Conclusion

Euthanasia is a process that has been utilized for many years, dating back to the 1800s. It combines science and ethics and continues to be debated today. Medically, it is a painless process involving signal transduction pathways. As someone who has been in the room as two childhood pets took their last breaths, I've seen the well-intended ideas behind it. It's likely euthanasia at the human level will never be legal in most places, including the United States. However, this doesn't diminish the fact that if performed in a good way, euthanasia could be a solution for some suffering. The rationale behind euthanasia is summed up perfectly in this quote by Daily Jstor "The idea that death should be merciful is not new. When a person is gravely wounded or terminally ill, when death is inevitable, and the suffering is so great that living no longer brings any joy to the person, it is understandable that he or she may wish to die." As many people say, dogs are man's best friends. If we trust euthanasia for our "best friends," why is it any different for humans?