Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

Physician-Assisted Suicide has always been a topic of great debate among individuals. Not only a contemporary issue, assisted-suicide, or euthanasia, has been practiced since the time of ancient Greeks and Romans; physicians often participated in the suicide of their patients for merciful reasons (Kopelman and De Ville 1). Euthanasia, which means “good death”, had a broader meaning than what we use it for today. According to Manning, it was “essential that death be met in a psychologically balanced state of mind, under composed circumstances, in a condition of self-control” (6). In other words, it was the manner in which one died rather than the method death was delivered that was important to the Greeks and Romans. Euthanasia did not have the negative stigma that suicide had attached to it, rather, it was advocated for by the ancients, granted that it was done for the right reasons.

Euthanasia has been around for a long time. In 1990 every state had laws that made assisting suicide a felony. Assisted suicide been in the news since the 1990s. A supporter of euthanasia Dr. Jack Kevorkian played an important role in more than 100 suicides before he was charged with murder. In Oregon voters passed the death with dignity act in 1994, but a lawsuit blocked its enforcement until 1997, when it went into effect. The consideration of potential harms is relevant because it’s deciding whether euthanasia should be legal or decriminalized. Some people are against euthanasia because they believe that taking one's life is immoral or against religion. Assisted suicide can be against because

Is there a real moral difference between killing and letting die? It seems inevitable that killing someone is far worse than letting them die. We often let people die without truly realizing the impact we are having. For example, if you fail to give blood (due to moral reasons, medical reasons, or whatever it may be), you are potentially letting someone die that may be in dire need of blood. Now, it is your right to choose not to donate blood, I am not going to argue that, but say our duty to aid others is more vital than we naturally assume. If that is the case, then how do our views affect matters such as euthanasia and assisted suicide? Many people believe that euthanasia is permissible (since it allows a terminally ill patient control on when they die and it does not pointlessly prolong their suffering), but at the same time believe killing patients is impermissible. It is argued that in passive euthanasia, the cause of death is the underlying disease, but in active euthanasia it is the physician. That is why active euthanasia is said to be worse. Personally, I find killing far worse than letting die. ADD THESIS

Euthanasia is a very controversial and sensitive topic because of the ethical, legal, and moral issues of it. In the United States alone, it is illegal almost everywhere, however; it’s legal in Colorado, Vermont, Montana, Washington D.C., Oregon, Washington, and California. But, what exactly is euthanasia? Euthanasia can be categorized in three different ways; voluntary euthanasia, non-voluntary euthanasia, and involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is when a patient agrees to receive assistance to end his or her own life, which is legal in some places around the globe. Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when the consent of the patient is not available. For example, if an individual is in a coma or vegetative state, they are physically

The controversy over euthanasia has recently become highly publicized. However, this issue is not a new debate. Society has voiced its opinions on the subject for hundreds of years. Euthanasia, which is Greek for "good death", refers to the act of ending another person’s life in order to end their suffering and pain.1 Two forms, passive and active euthanasia, categorize the actions taken to end the person’s life. Passive euthanasia involves removing a patient’s life support, withholding food and water, and discontinuing medical treatments. Active euthanasia includes any direct action taken to cause the death of the person, such as administrating a lethal drug.2 The debate over this issue stems from moral,

I would define euthanasia as the act or method of causing death painlessly to end suffering. Euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is considered a viable option by some people when extreme suffering from an incurable, painful, disease or condition makes life intolerable. There are 2 types of euthanasia – self induced assisted suicide or physician assisted suicide (PAS) allowing death without interference by either withholding medical treatment or providing the means to end life in a dignified non-painful manner.

Envision a situation where one of your family members is diagnosed with end-stage cancer that has spread throughout their entire body. They are helplessly suffering from pain that cannot be controlled with any type of treatment or pain medications and they are losing all quality of life. While some doctors believe that assisted suicide is morally wrong, it is the right way to end the pain and suffering of terminal illnesses in certain situations. If that family member could be given the option to use assisted suicide to end their life, they wouldn’t have to go through so much unnecessary suffering and they would be able to die with dignity.

Euthanasia. “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. This practice is illegal in most countries.” The actual word euthanasia originates from the greeks, being formed out of the words “eu”; meaning “good” or “well”, and “thanatos”; meaning “death” ("Euthanasia."). Chances are, you know of euthanasia. Euthanasia is definitely not an unknown subject in our lives. When it’s used in the United States, it’s commonly used practice on animals, specifically if they have some sort of disease or problem, if they do something violent such as bite a person, or if they are just very old and are having issues functioning. Euthanasia, while legal is countries such as Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, is completely illegal in all of the United States.

Long before medicinal advances, more dramatic measures were taken to help those who lived with incurable diseases, with the excruciating pain that accompanied those diseases, and with the inability to attain any value of life due to disease or uncontrollable pain. Now, as one of the most controversial topics, study and research on euthanasia is becoming more widespread in the medical world. Though some believe euthanasia is immoral or unjust, and those who are against it seek to stigmatize it; no definitive line can be drawn as to whether euthanasia is morally “good” or “bad” or “right” or “wrong.” In other words, the topic of euthanasia is not a simplistic one, but rather one which requires great consideration, contemplation, and evaluation. If the presumption, or belief, that universal morals do exist prima facie, then one can conclude that the practice of euthanasia, no matter what form, is indeed, morally upstanding. In the case of euthanasia, universal morals consist of, but are not limited to, the following: human dignity, an individual’s right to self-determination, accepting a duty of care (for self and others, which can fall under having compassion as well), and respect for the autonomy of others. Thus, it is permissible to actively kill a patient with or in the absence of their consent under specific circumstances, only after all universal morals have been considered, assuming that universal morals exist.

There have been many topics of controversy throughout the years, but none have been treated with the same degree of taboo as that of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Issues of the right to die, as well as a dignified death, have surfaced as topics of great debate, with many questioning when and if individuals have the right to end their own lives. There are many demographics that influence a person’s attitude towards voluntary active euthanasia (VAE) and physician-assisted suicide (PAS), of which ‘fear, loss of control, loss of dignity… appear to be among more onerous factors that have stirred the current euthanasia movement’ . This report identifies how these demographics, as well as age, gender, religion and level of education, influence a person’s attitude towards VAE and PAS using a variety of sources, including university theses/dissertations, (youtube video) and internet research. Additionally, a survey was completed by Australian citizens, ranging from sixteen to over seventy years of age.

At the beginning of your opening argument, you created a strawman fallacy by misrepresenting the definition of euthanasia. You said that euthanasia was a doctor killing a patient, but it is a painless death with the consent of the patient and most of the time the doctor is not even present. There is also a substantial difference between murder and euthanasia. Murder is the unlawful premeditated killing of one human by another and euthanasia is legal and has to be passed by the patient. The doctor usually prepares something for the patient to take as well. We are also not advocating involuntary euthanasia, which we believe is murder because it is without the consent of the patient. The patients also have to be in full consciousness and in the right state of mind to make that decision. You expressed that euthanasia is abominable because the Nazis did it involuntarily to anyone who was infirm, but nowadays euthanasia does not work that way. Euthanasia is for the people that are terminally ill and have no chance of survival. It saves them weeks or even months of suffering and instead gives them a chance to pass with their families and loved ones. If they are not given the opportunity of euthanasia, it is a possibility that they could commit suicide. There was a man named Maier-Clayton that committed suicide because euthanasia was not an option for him. In your speech you said that euthanasia was inhumane, but is it inhumane to end the pain and suffering in a peaceful way, where

Physician-assisted death (or PAD) is when a person that does not want to live due to a terminal and painful illness asks for help from a physician or doctor in taking their own life. Like PAD, euthanasia is when a person who is suffering from a terminal illness is allowed to die with dignity through the administration of a lethal dose of medicine, usually by a physician. Euthanasia differs from PAD in that the person suffering may or may not be able to let other people know that they want to have their life ended. Many people let loved ones know that they would not want to live if they fell into a vegetative state if they were in a bad accident or fell ill. Very sick people and their loved ones seek out help with euthanasia or PAD in order to die with the dignity before the sickness ravages their body. Being able to end your life prematurely is very controversial in our society even for those who are very sick and are likely to die anyway. Although there are many countries around the world that allow for some sort of euthanasia or PAD, there are very few states in the US that allow it currently. America needs to start accepting euthanasia and PAD since it is becoming a more-accepted practice across the globe and because it provides dignity in dying for those suffering from painful and terminal diseases.

    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.