Euthanasia Or Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia is a controversial topic regarding whether or not physician-assisted suicide should be further legalized. Euthanasia is the act of a medical doctor injecting a poison into a patient 's body in order to kill them. Some argue that euthanasia should be legalized to put people out of pain and misery. However, others argue that some people with terminal illnesses would do anything to live longer and believe that it is a selfish and cowardly act. Euthanasia is disputable because of the various ethical issues, including, but not limited to: murder and suicide illegality, the Hippocratic Oath, and medical alternatives. As someone who has had many traumatic experiences and who wants to become a doctor, I am very passionate about the well-being of my future patients and the responsibility to do no harm to them. For these lawful, logical, and personal reasons, euthanasia should not be legalized.

Euthanasia, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is considered to be, “the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering” (2015).Within this can be found different methods of euthanasia including passive or indirect euthanasia which requires withholding of basic life-saving measures such as oxygen, nutrition, hydration, or resuscitation. Another form is direct euthanasia which can be caused by administered drugs, injections, or suffocation. In its entirety, euthanasia has been debated as an ethical issue through its many forms and reasoning (Methods of euthanasia, 2011).

Today, there is a large debate over the situation and consequences of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of ending a human’s life by lethal injection or the stoppage of medication, or medical treatment. It has been denied by most of today’s population and is illegal in the fifty states of the United States. Usually, those who undergo this treatment have a disease or an “unbearable” pain somewhere in the body or the mind. Since there are ways, other than ending life, to stop pain caused by illness or depression, euthanasia is immoral, a disgrace to humanity, according to the Hippocratic Oath, and should be illegal throughout the United States.

To address To fully understand the issue at hand, one must understand the various forms of euthanasia. The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition defines euthanasia as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals…in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.” Euthanasia can be either passive or active. Passive euthanasia occurs when a patient is relieved of medical treatment and is allowed to die naturally. Active euthanasia occurs when either a physician or a family member actively takes the life of the patient, perhaps through lethal injection, and eliminates a natural death process. Many people commonly use the word “euthanasia” to refer to assisted suicide. Essentially, assisted suicide is a form of active euthanasia in that a person, usually a physician, aids in the suicide of a patient.

Death is a touchy enough subject for people; add in the idea of assisted suicides and there’s an uproar in society. Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in our society today. Physician assisted suicide by definition is “suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient’s intent (Merriam-Webster). There are two modes of looking at assisted suicides; either it’s seen as an absurd immoral decision to take away the life of someone or it’s seen as a logical and peaceful release from pain and misery. There’s this idea that asking a healthcare provider to help you end your life is unfair and unnecessary, no matter how much a person is suffering suicide is not justified. People fear patients changing their minds, physicians being severely impacted by this, and families not agreeing with the decision making it hard to cope. On the other side people believe that it’s freedom of choice to choose to be medically assisted with a suicide; this is a right the patient has. Some believe if you’re in pain and dying why should you be forced to stay in a painful state of life. Freedom of choice versus life isn’t ours to take away. If you were in a terminally ill patients position, what would you do?

The word euthanasia, when translated, means "good death." Physician- assisted suicide is a fast, painless death that every terminally-ill person should have the liberty to choose. Euthanasia is not a drawn out process like many terminally-ill patients have to deal with. However most people want to die at home in peace and euthanasia gives people this right. The author indicates that more than half of Americans die in the hospital and that is a sad occurrence (Kim 171). PAS and euthanasia allows patients freedom from physical pain and emotional suffering. According to Willke, proponents of euthanasia are quick to accuse doctors of not letting a patient die in peace (1). The author states there are two different definitions for euthanasia. First voluntary active euthanasia is intentionally administering medications to cause the patient's death at the

Euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is an extremely controversial concept that is strongly related to HPS concepts. Physician-assisted suicide is patient suicide facilitated by a doctor under patient’s consent. There is a large gray area surrounding this concept and there are many different arguments surrounding euthanasia. Due to the fact that

Euthanasia and its Legal Status in the United States Today Willeaha Roper Prairie View A&M University Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is described as the practice of purposefully ending the life of a sick person per their request. It is illegal in most countries and most, but not all, US states. The process and regulations to being granted the legal right to euthanasia varies in each area. There are many stipulations within the law to avoid abuse. Among other things, patients must be of sound mind and having been suffering for some time. PAS is extremely controversial for several reasons. Medical professionals argue whether or not it is ethical and if it abides by the Hippocratic oath. And religious persons

Physician Assisted Suicide John Key once said “If I had terminal cancer, I had a few weeks to live, I was in tremendous amount of pain - if they just effectively wanted to turn off the switch and legalize that by legalizing euthanasia, I 'd want that” (Brainyquote, web). John

Physician assisted suicide or euthanasia should be a right granted to all citizens who are suffering from a degenerative, painful, or fatal condition that would cause them to be unable to enjoy their lives as healthy people do. The right to die with dignity is a fundamental issue that is debated in the spiritual side of everyone. Some of us may have known someone close to them who has seen or gone through an ordeal as watching someone take their last breath. No one should suffer in pain or have their dignity taken from them, when they should be celebrating the life they have left in them. Personally, after experiencing my mother and sister take their last breath, it was heart wrenching. Their lives were filled with pain medication, breathing difficulties, and last visits from old friends and relatives. Only the patient can ask, “How do I die?” They valiantly will themselves to stay, because of the love of family and friends. The end is inevitable. We all know this. When given the diagnosis of an incurable disease or debilitating news of no cure, we should have the right to die with dignity. The fourteenth amendment of the constitution of the United States states, "No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This clause, known as the "Due Process Clause," has been used by the Supreme Court to protect the right of individuals to make decisions about "...the most intimate and personal choices a person may make in a

Some would argue that euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is a perfectly good process in life. Most people feel comfortable at the fact that it is done in a professional health care facility when the death occurs. People also having the right to choose for themselves if they want to participate in the euthanasia. Feeling like a person has to suffer the mental and physical pain is not good for the person’s health in addition to the other occurring problems. While this option can be abused, some laws are set in place so it cannot be abused. A written, witnessed request is provided as long as the patient is mentally competent. If the patient repeatedly request the death, two doctors have to agree that the death is appropriate for the patient

Euthanasia Euthanasia refers to the intentional act of ending one’s life to remove intractable pain and suffering to the patient. It is also known as physician- assisted suicide (Argument For Euthanasia - Advantages and disadvantages.). Euthanasia can be classified as voluntary where the patient gives consent to have their life ended, non-voluntary, where the patient is not in a position to make the decision on themselves, but a close relative takes the initiative to make the decision. It can also be involuntary where the decision to end life is made without the expressed wishes of the patient (Jecker, Jonsen, and Pearlman).In most countries, euthanasia is considered illegal and is viewed as murder. There are mixed feelings worldwide towards

According to Webster’s Dictionary, Euthanasia is “conceding painless death to a patient who is considered to be hopelessly ill, because of a non-curable disease”. The term is used to refer to the act of deliberately taking the life of a sick person, especially those who are sick from terminal illnesses. Patients in this category are normally those who are nearing their death from a persistent terminal illness and medicine does not to have much effect on them. Different scholars hold different opinions on whether to legalize the practice. Some stage a very strong that attempt to justify euthanasia. They argue that it is a common practice in the US and that it serves to end a person’s suffering and save the family members a lot of emotional

In discussions of terminal illness, one controversial issue has been the legalization of euthanasia. On one hand, people contend that they should have the right to choose to die painlessly. On the other hand, skeptics argue that patients with a terminal illness should let nature run its course. Others even

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.