eli5: Why is putting down animals so much more acceptable than putting down humans?
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Generally speaking we value the lives of humans more than animals and we are willing to take more extraordinary actions to keep them alive.
Cost for procedures for pets + livestock can be very high and ending their suffering is often the most humane option available.
Humans are also capable of making their own decisions regarding what is best for them medically.
There is also the Hypocratic oath
Doctors take an oath to ‘do no harm’
Taking a patients life deliberately can be seen as a violation of that trust, although many would argue that prolonging suffering is also a violation of that.
By law and convention in most Western nations euthanasia of patients is outlawed or considering highly immoral
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