Euthanasia Essay examples

[1]Euthanasia, derived from Greek literally means good death. It is the act or practice of killing someone who is terminally ill or injured in order to prevent any more suffering. Some people could call it mercy killing. But is killing someone prematurely right? Why haven't more countries legalized euthanasia? Ask someone involved in caring of the terminally ill, they would simply argue that it is a slippery slope to assisted murder.

More than likely, a good majority of people have heard about euthanasia at least once in their existence. For those out there who have been living under a rock their entire lives, euthanasia “is generally understood to mean the bringing about of a good death – ‘mercy killing’, where one person, ‘A’, ends the life of another person, ‘B’, for the sake of ‘B’.” (Kuhse 294). There are people who believe this is a completely logical scenario that should be allowed, and there are others that oppose this view. For the purpose of this essay, I will be defending those who are for euthanasia. My thesis, just by looking at this issue from a logical standpoint, is that if someone is suffering, I believe they should be allowed the right to end their

Euthanasia as defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is a quiet and easy death. One may wonder, is there such a thing as a quiet and easy death? This is one point that I will discuss in my paper, however the question that my paper will answer is; should active euthanasia be legalized? First, I will look at Philippa Foot's article on Euthanasia and discuss my opinions on it. Second, I will look at James Rachel's article on active and passive euthanasia and discuss why I agree with his argument. Finally, I will conclude by saying that while the legalizing of active euthanasia would benefit many people, it would hurt too many, thus I believe that it should not be legalized.

Another pro is death by dignity. Usually for people it is very degrading to have everything done for them by nurses or family members because then they feel like a burden so euthanasia puts those people in control of their life and let’s them make a decision that changes their lives and the lives of their families. It’s much easier for families to let go of someone that they know won’t suffer in death and it’s easier for the person dying because then they know that they aren’t burdening their family members. People who are terminally ill and choose the path of euthanasia also save a lot of money because they’re not using up the medical facilities that they normally would. This lessens the burden once again on the family and the patient as well as the hospital. Lastly, euthanasia gives the individual a freedom of choice and allows the person to take control of their own life rather than being unstable and having to be at the mercy of others. This gives a sense of peace and hope to the patient and their family because they’re making their own choices and deciding how they want to carry out the rest of the life they have

To begin, I would like to take a utilitarian approach to the subject of euthanasia. Utilitarians believe that an action should cause the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. As a terminally ill person continues to render further implications of their disease, more and more pain will bestow upon them. They may become bed ridden and unable to enjoy the activities and pleasures that made their life intrinsically good. As time

Ethicist Peter singer is an influential member of pro euthanasia advocates. Singer justifies his pro euthanasia credentials based on two grounds the first being voluntary, which means the patient, has the capacity to choose between life and death and can make a rational decision to die. The second ground is non-voluntary, where the patient is incapable of understanding the choice between continued existence and non-existence and therefore cannot consent to death. (Singer, 1993) Singer maintains the notion that a person who wishes to die has made an informed decision based on careful exercising of one’s reason and then consents to death in the form of voluntary

Euthanasia is a word that comes from ancient Greece and it refers to “good death”. In the modern societies euthanasia is defined as taking away people’s lives who suffer from an incurable disease. They usually go through this process by painlessness ways to avoid the greatest pains that occurs from the disease. A huge number of countries in the World are against euthanasia and any specific type of it. One of the most important things being discussed nowadays is whether euthanasia should be legalized or not. This essay will focus on comparing positive and negative aspects of euthanasia in order to answer to the question whether euthanasia should be legal or not.

Today, the fact that euthanasia is morality or immorality permissible is a very controversial issue debated and discussed by doctors and philosophers. This point generated a controversial debate. The discussion takes into account the ethics of medical

After stating all the flaws of Euthanasia, I must describe all the benefits of it. The essential goal of someone committing Euthanasia would be in order to end a dying human being's suffering. In order to fully comprehend what it is like to have a family member asking for you to take their lives, one must refer to the situation stated earlier. If the relative whose every breath was a torment wanted you to help them kill themselves, what would you say to them? Would you deny them an escape

Euthanasia can be a big help to people and their families. Some people have terminal illnesses that causes them to feel down on themselves. Other people have illnesses that cause them excruciating pain that cause them for hurt daily. When people are going through these things, then a lot of them lose the will to live. Once a person no longer has the will to live, then they will not live long anyway.

Nowell-Smith looks at moral right based and utilitarian theories. The right of not to be killed can be argued against by the right to want to end living. He provides an example of euthanasia societies where a lot of older people who still enjoy live just have a desire to have an opportunity to end their lives the way they want to. The fear of being helpless and slowly dying in the institutions drives these people to join these societies and ask for a law to be changed. Nowell-Smith also makes an argument against Law Reform Commission of Canada’s report Euthanasia, Suicide and Cessation of Treatment that suggests that euthanasia laws should not be changed. One of the arguments is that it may go out of control and could lead to serious abuses and mistakes. Nowell-Smith argues that it can be controlled stating the example of Dutch system where voluntary active euthanasia practices only in hospitals and where everything is considered before any action is done so there is no mistake.

Voluntary euthanasia may be looked down upon within active medical practices, although in some cases, the view of passive euthanasia is morally acceptable. For instance, within common life-threating illnesses, a patient will take extreme measures into

“Autonomy is the right of a person to control his or her own body and life decisions” (Manning 26). This is absolutely correct. Governments, groups, and various people can argue against autonomy forever. The simple fact is we have control over ourselves, whether people like it or not. It gives us an added responsibility to thoroughly think about what it is we do with our bodies. These are decisions for the individual. Many of us go through life trying to control everything that happens around us and, at times, situations that do not involve us. The one thing we can control is ourselves. Everyone passes judgment and often overlooks what is within. Nobody takes euthanasia more seriously than those considering it. The choice is not a split decision. This is something people deeply meditate upon before going through

First of all, what is euthanasia? It is something that not many people think about until they or a friend or family member is put in a position where they might actually have to consider it. Euthanasia, in the dictionary, simply is: the action of ending someone’s life in a painless way. It seems pretty simple but in reality it is a lot more complicated, not only for the people involved but for the society in general as well.

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.