Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

Imagine laying in a hospital bed living everyday in extreme pain with no hope of getting better. This scenario explains what many people go through everyday, which is a living with a terminal illness. M. Lee, a science historian, and Alexander Stingl a sociologist, define terminal illness as “an illness from which the patient is not expected to recover even with treatment. As the illness progresses death is inevitable” (1). There are not many options for the terminally ill besides dying a slow and painful death, but assisted suicide could be best option for these patients. Assisted suicide is “any case in which a doctor gives a patient (usually someone with a terminal illness) the means to carry out their own suicide by using a lethal dose of medication” (Lee and Stingl 1). Some feel that assisted suicide is unnecessary because it is too great of a controversy and will only cause problems in society. However, assisted suicide should be legal in the United States as long as there are strict regulations to accompany it.

Imagine you have a terminal illness. You are in immense, overwhelming, and constant pain, and it grows hard to bear. The medical bills are rapidly rising to keep you alive, and you know your family is going into debt. Waking up every day hurts more than the last, and the doctors say you have a month, if that, to live. They have checked your results and they know there is nothing you can do but wait. You often find yourself wishing there was a way you could have a peaceful, safe end to everything, surrounded by your family and loved ones. They can get out of debt and go back to their normal lives, and you will be in good hands and choose when you go. Assisted suicide is the practice that can allow an individual to do just that. It is when one

Assisted Suicide/ Euthanasia is wrong and should not be allowed to be a law. Families shouldn’t have to go through that pain of their family member killing themselves because they hate the pain they are going through. The pain will go away with time and there is medicine for any kind of pain. There are some people who believe that there should be a choice for people who are in pain and they should have that choice because they want what they think is best for themselves. However, there are people who take Assisted Suicide/ Euthanasia to the extreme and people who “have pain” use it and they use it for the wrong reason. Many people don’t think this is a necessary reason for killing yourself. Studies show that there is a great amount of people who suffer from pain or depression that commit suicide(Why Assisted Suicide). Dr. Eli Robbins found that 47% of those committing suicide were diagnosed with schizophrenic panic disorders and

Many people in the world are suffering from illness that cannot be cured. They live their last days in pain and suffering wondering when and why it happened to them. Instead of suffering, many people dream of suicide to take their pain away but they know no one would understand. In very few states, it is legal for people to get assistance to put them out of their pain and suffering. It is called assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is the help from a physician to end their patients’ lives with their permission. The patient must have a terminal illness with less than six months to live to qualify. Many people are against assisted suicide because they believe that it is just a cover for murder. People should be thought of as dying with dignity

Today, assisted suicide also known as the Death with Dignity Act has become legal in nearly four U.S. States, the act has legalized the ability for terminally ill patients to determine the time of their death. Since the act becoming legal the amount of patients that participated in it grew 65 percent. The act does come with it’s flaws, but it does ensure major things such as; patients can put an end to pain and suffering when they no longer have hope to of recovering, they can arrange for final good-byes with loved ones, and the act prevents in humane suicides.

The process of assisted suicide, or physician-assisted death, is a hotly debated topic that still remains at the forefront of many national discussions today. Assisted suicide can be described as the suicide of patient by a physician-prescribed dose of legal drugs. The reason that this topic is so widely debated is that it infringes on several moral and religious values that many people in the United States have. But, regardless of the way that people feel, a person’s right to live is guaranteed to them in the United States Constitution, and this should extend to the right to end their own life as well. The reasons that assisted suicide should be legalized in all states is because it can ease not only the suffering of the individual, but the financial burden on the family that is supporting him/her. Regardless of opposing claims, assisted suicide should be an option for all terminally ill patients.

Even if assisted suicide was passed, there are still requirements that the patients need to meet in order to qualify to make the decision. Paul Menzel’s article “Advanced Directives, Dementia, and Physician-assisted Death” states that the patient must be “terminally ill and suffering terrible and unrelievable pain” (Menzel). The patient has to have ran out of options and is just waiting to die because there is no treatment to help treat the person’s disease anymore. These patients would rather choose death sooner than later because they don’t know of anything else they could do. They gave up on life. According to Susan Benedict’s article “Historical, Ethical, And Legal Aspects of Assisted Suicide,” patients that are requesting physician assisted suicide are those that have “uncontrolled pain, disability, and realization of impending death” have decided that this is “their final option for relief” and will only qualify if seen by multiple doctors that all agree that this is the only option (Benedict). Not all ill patients will be able to end their lives this way. They would need to be checked by many doctors that have to agree there’s no other way. One of the testing that they do are a depression test because patients that are depressed are more likely already wanting to end their lives’ so they are not applicable for physician assisted suicide. The legalization will allow terminally ill patients to use physician assisted suicide within their own comfort and end their

Terminal illnesses are terrible diseases that will ultimately end in death. What many people do not understand is that many terminal illnesses can cause an inability to function. Which is challenging for patients that have lived independently. The frustration of them not being able to function at the level they are used to would consume them. Although there are many reasons to ask for a life-ending medication, in 2014, Oregon reported that the inability to partake in events, the loss of independence, and the loss of dignity were among the top reasons why patients requested the medication (Goodale, Grossman, and Grundy 16). In addition to the patient's feelings, it can be as tough for the family of the patient. As humans, one of the most difficult things to do is to watch someone we love struggle. Physician assisted suicide would end the

Imagine being diagnosed with a life-ending disease and experiencing such excruciating pain that doctors say cannot be healed. Pain is a terrible thing to experience, especially when it is permanent. What can be done to relieve that pain? What if the only option to rid the pain from the patient is death? No one knows how that feels until it happens to them, that is why assisted suicide is used. Assisted suicide is a practice throughout most of the United States that terminates the lives of dying patients. This process is when patients are in agonizing pain that is too overwhelming to bear; therefore they beg physicians to end their lives. Physicians have the ability to end a patient’s life by withholding medication or removing the patient from a life supporting device. Patients have to meet certain requirements before the procedure can be completed. Many people wish that this practice was legal, but there are others that do not believe in it. Legalized physician assisted suicide is not common in all areas throughout the United States. There are many different views about physician assisted suicide, and the subject is a rather touchy one to discuss. There are many details about this issue that many people are not informed about like the past situations dealing with assisted suicide and physicians, areas that allow the procedure to be done, and the rules and regulations that patients have to meet before anything can be done.

Some individuals with terminal illnesses find solace in knowing that they can exert some power over their illnesses and choose how they want to die. Just as any individual has the legal right to plan out their healthcare wishes and ensure that their end-of-life concerns are taken care of, terminally ill patients should also have the right to have the choice to want to die naturally or end their lives. Legalizing physician-assisted suicide can give the dying individual comfort in knowing that they have options. Physicians presently are allowed to relieve the dying of their pain and suffering by administering lethal doses of pain medications. Terminally ill patients should be able to access lethal doses of medicine voluntarily through their physician to allow them the choice of death. Strong morals and ethics surrounding this issue have split society on whether or not physician-assisted suicide should be legalized across the United States. Nevertheless, the diagnosis of a terminal illness can create feelings of uncertainty, fear and helplessness and therefore, physician-assisted suicide laws should be passed nationwide to be able to give those who are dying of

Assisted suicide, whose life is it? In reality it is the person’s life, and if they are suffering from a terminal illness they should get to choose whether or not they want to suffer. One very aggressive form of a terminal illness is the Glioblastoma Multiforme. This type of brain tumor is more common than a person may think it is also very deadly (Markert). Who is to say a person can’t end their terminal illness, pain, and suffering? They are just like every other human being who wants to die with dignity.

As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations,

    America’s founding fathers declared that every person had certain inalienable rights they are born with and cannot be separated from. They listed citizens’ rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today's government must decide if a right to life equates to a right to death.

Most adults diagnosed with cancer undergo years of treatment in attempts to cure that cancer. However, sometimes these treatments may not work, or the cancer is found too late in a patient to be stopped, and a patient’s cancer can be determined terminal, which means that the cancer can not be cured and will lead to death. If cancer is determined terminal, end-of-life care can be administered patients to control lasting pains, including shortness of breath, nausea, and constipation. However, this treatment does not cure the cancer, and will not prevent death in a terminally ill cancer patient. In some cases, patients decide that receiving end-of-life treatment is not worth it if the treatment does not prevent death. Terminally ill cancer patients may also continue to experience unbearable suffering, despite end-of-life treatments, as it is not always effective. These factors may push some terminally ill cancer patients to request to be actively euthanized. Active euthanasia is the merciful ending of a patient’s life through a single act, such as an injection. Terminally ill cancer patients should have the right to determine if they are actively euthanized. However, only patients who consider their suffering unbearable should have the right to be euthanized.

Voluntary euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, has been a controversial issue for many years. It usually involves ending a patient’s life early to relieve their illness. Most of the controversy stemmed from personal values like ethics or religion. The euthanasia debate puts a huge emphasis on what doctors should do for their patients and how much a person’s life is worth. Supporters of euthanasia primarily focus on cost and pain alleviation. Opponents of euthanasia tend to focus on morality. Whether euthanasia is legal or not could significantly affect future generations’ attitudes about death. Euthanasia should be legalized nationally because it helps patients that could be in unimaginable pain, offers more options for more people, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to the alternatives.