Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

Physician assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician” (“Medical Definition of Physician-Assisted…”). Throughout the years, assisted suicide has been a slippery slope for Americans to accept, therefore, making individuals believe this practice is murder while nations across the world have been carrying this out well before the United States planted their hands on the idea. On that account, euthanasia is only legal in six different states, while it is strictly illegal in the other 44 because of the racking up reasons individuals have implanted in their brains (“State-by-State…”). Every person has a specific outlook on mercy killing, although, physician assisted suicide is a patient's given right if they are terminally ill.

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.

First, it is relevant to have an overall understanding of euthanasia. According to American Heritage Dictionary, euthanasia refers to “the act or practice of ending the life of a person having a terminal illness or a medical condition that causes suffering perceived as incompatible with an acceptable quality of life, as by lethal injection or the suspension of certain medical treatments.” The word “euthanasia” can be traced as far back as in the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and it literally means a good death. (American Heritage Dictionary)

In 1997, Oregon passed The Oregon Death With Dignity Act, which became the first law to permit physician-assisted suicide. Since then, six other states in the U.S. have joined Oregon. The topic debates that assisted death goes against religion and that it devalues human life. Many churches will tell people that if anyone commits suicide, that person will be condemned to hell. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated, “The movement to legalize euthanasia does not enhance freedom or self-determination because many of those fighting to kill themselves are depressed and need treatment or may be unduly influenced by familial, societal, or institutional pressures to end their lives. Furthermore, one cannot enhance human freedom and dignity by devaluing human life, the bishops explain” (“Euthanasia Devalues Human”). However, that’s far from the truth, people that choose assisted death have one hundred percent control of the whole process. Because most of the country doesn’t fully agree with physician-assisted death, it continues to be very controversial.

Euthanasia is the act of ending an individuals’ life to relive any associated pain and suffering. This particular section will discuss the origination of euthanasia, provide real-life examples of euthanasia and discuss the various classifications of euthanasia. It will also discuss alternatives that can be used.

Grey’s Anatomy fans may remember an episode in season six in which there was a patient that was grappling with terminal lung cancer, she then decided that she wanted to end her life. Not by jumping off a bridge or shooting herself, but by a lethal injection. She asked her doctor, Teddy if she would sign off, but the rule with physician aided suicide is that you need two signatures. This caused conflict in the hospital between moral values and ethics. Over the past few decades, assisted death has been a debate in the government. Is it murder? Is it ethically ok? In today’s world, the controversy of physician aided death (PAD) is a problem that should be decided on once and for all.

When a person commits an act of euthanasia he believes the present existence is so bad that the person would be better off dead or believes that until he intervenes and ends her life, it will progress to be so bad that she would feel better off dead. Euthanasia is the act of assisted

Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient who is suffering from a terminal or incurable disease. There are two different processes of euthanasia, active or physician-assisted suicide and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is when a terminally ill patient requests someone, usually a doctor, to intentionally cause their death via overdose or lethal injection. Passive euthanasia is the act of refusing life-sustaining treatments or the removal of life-sustaining technology from a patient who is in a vegetated state. Euthanasia originates from the Greek roots eu and thanatos, meaning “easy death,” yet the legalization and practice of euthanasia is a highly controversial topic that is heavily debated and discussed. In this paper I will review the history behind euthanasia, explain the current manifestations, the pros and the cons behind legalization, and my personal stance on the subject. Based on the research that I have gathered throughout this process, I have come to the conclusion that euthanization should be legalized due to the consideration of the patient’s quality of life and the notion that it is their life, therefore they should have the option to end it.

Euthanasia is defined as, "The act or practice of putting to death painlessly a person suffering from an incurable disease." Euthanasia can be traced back as far back as the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. It was sometimes allowed in these civilizations to help others die. Voluntary euthanasia was approved in these ancient societies. Today, the practice of euthanasia causes great controversy. Both pro-life groups and right-to-die groups present arguments for their different sides. Pro-life groups make arguments and present fears against euthanasia. I contend that the case for the right to die is the stronger argument.

Euthanasia is the practice of ending an individual's life in order to relieve them from an incurable disease or unbearable suffering. The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek word for "good death" and originally referred to as “intentional killing” ( Patelarou, Vardavas, Fioraki, Alegakis, Dafermou, & Ntzilepi, 2009). Euthanasia is a controversial topic which has raised a great deal of debate globally. Although euthanasia has received great exposure in the professional media, there are some sticky points that lack clarity and need to be addressed. Euthanasia is a divisive topic, and different interpretations of its meaning, depend on whether the person supports it or not. While a few societies have accepted euthanasia, there are

When people hear the words euthanasia, mercy killing or physician-assisted suicide, they immediately start to think that it will open doors to countless deaths of depressed, suicidal individuals or people who are think life would be better off if they died. They feel like there will be a switch where it starts off as a voluntary procedure, but soon becomes something one can be forced to do. However, critics look over the fact that euthanasia is voluntary, and it’s a person’s right to decide what happens with their body. As stated by Sue Rodriguez, a Canadian advocate for PAS, “If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?” (Sue Rodriguez AZ Quotes).

Looking at the criteria to be able to be presented euthanasia, only the terminally ill are able to complete this action. One inspects the positives and negatives of this. People argue that other illnesses, yet are not terminally ill, are still experiencing the amount of pain and low quality of life of someone who is terminally ill is experiencing. Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are examples of the illness that can ruin all meaning of life, but are not diagnosed terminally ill. People with these problems state that their illnesses are just as horrible and miserable as those of a terminally ill patient. Therefore, some people disagree that it is not fair to give this option only to the terminally ill. On the other hand, if anyone said to have a problem is allowed to choose assisted suicide, this will lead to a slippery slope (Goodman 1). People will begin to think it is okay to end a life just for the sake of someone not living the regular life they are used to living. Suicide should never be an option for a way out of this precious life (ProCon 1). The only reason for assisted suicide is to end the pain and suffering that is unbearable for these terminally ill patients. They experience pain in which no one else has to deal with, which is why the criteria for assisted suicide should stay as strict as it is to prevent others from taking this path considering they want a way out. Human life is to precious to take it for a non-terminal illness.

    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.