Heroin Battle Controversy: Saving People Who OD

Should They Save People Who Overdose?

In My Opinion: YES!

I came across this video on Facebook, and it just really frustrated me. Apparently, a lawmaker in Ohio wants to have medics stop responding to people who overdose on heroin to save money. Seriously? That is morally wrong. Just become someone does drugs or experimented with drugs does not mean that they should be left there to die. They are living and breathing human beings just like everyone else. They do not deserve to die.

Every addict or alcoholic still has a chance to turn their life around if they seek treatment. Addiction is a very hard and challenging thing to overcome. If the person in question were to try to get help and they relapsed, which really does happen a lot – especially in early recovery, that does not mean that they are a lost cause or a hopeless case and that they have no chance at recovery. Someone could overdose, and nearly die, a handful of times before they finally get clean and overcome their addiction. Sometimes it takes more than one try to get clean, but it does and can happen for anyone.

There is always that chance that the person who wasn’t rescued could have been someone who changed something in this world, even if was small, for the better. That person could be someone who kicked their addiction and became a motivational speaker, or an overdose awareness advocate, that helped other addicts realize that there is hope and that they have a chance to get better – one of those, “If I can do it, you can do it too!” things. That person could have helped save someone else’s life. They could have turned their life around fully, but we would never be able to find out what potential they may have had if they die just because someone decided money was more valuable than another humans life.

If they were to actually make this ridiculous law, the person who told the medics not to respond to that overdose should be held accountable for that person’s death because that is what they are intentionally doing – killing them.

The person they let die could be somebody’s child, sibling, grandchild, friend, partner, parent… the list could go on. If the tables were reversed, and it was someone that lawmaker loved or cherished that overdosed, the first responders would do whatever is in their power to save that loved one’s life.

That is just my opinion though.

–Samantha♥