Euthanasia:
Is it moral?
The term euthanasia comes from ancient Greek and it means “easy death” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Compared to the ancient times in which this word originated, it seems much harder in today’s society to achieve this epitome of a good death. In the ancient times, people died due to diseases that doctors could not cure, and their lives were ended earlier because it was considered cruel to watch a person die a slow and painful death. Today, thanks to the great advancement of technology, more and more diseases are becoming easier to cure and create a better living environment for the person affected. However, there are still many patients who have incurable diseases and disorders that disallow them to have a
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Another important question that is repeatedly debated about with euthanasia is does it devalue human life? When putting the arguments for the affirmative and the negative side by side, one would see that euthanasia does in fact devalue life. It deteriorates society’s respect for life because people could in theory pretend to be extremely sick and then have a doctor legally kill them. With the acceptance of euthanasia, society also accepts that some lives, as in those who would be candidates for euthanasia, are values less so than others, or the healthy and strong people in the world. As said earlier, there are two types of euthanasia; involuntary and voluntary. With the acceptance of voluntary euthanasia, there would be a slippery slope that would undoubtedly lead to involuntary euthanasia and the slaying of people who are considered to be objectionable. Then there is also the true thought that euthanasia may not actually be in the patient’s best interests. The patient could ask for euthanasia too prematurely, and if they are killed and the doctor realizes something could have been done, the blame would be placed on that doctor.
Additionally, how would the government’s role in euthanasia play out? Does the government have the right to tell people who are deemed
[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.
Thirdly, from the medical morality perspective, euthanasia is assisting suicide that violates the morals and values of the medical world. Current mindset of doctors is to heal their patients. They have the goal to fight to the end for the lives of their patients. But, if euthanasia is allowed, doctors will be put in a mindset which implies to only help patients if they measure up to a certain standard. Therefore, life is so devalued that it no longer deserves to be fought for until the end. This mentality that once life hits a certain point, it is a hopeless situation and should be brought to an end immediately sets the medical world in the pathway that leads to all types of immoralities.
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 should be considered in all aspects of the medical field because people need to be in charge of their lives, statements from critics, and the serious evaluation process when chosen. Euthanasia can reserve all rights towards an individual’s choice towards death or not, because it is the person who has to endure and agonize through the incurable illness. An individual’s perspective on a situation is through their eyes and no one else, that is why euthanasia produces the choice of being alive or
Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide, is the painless killing of a patient, suffering from a painful or incurable disease, like cancer, or alzheimer 's, the practice is illegal in most countries, including the United States, although in the United States, it is a state decision, the only state in the United States that it is legal in is Oregon. Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act in 1994, making euthanasia legal for chronically ill patients, the only caveat is that the doctor is allowed to prescribe the medication, but they are not allowed to administer the drugs, the patient must do that themselves (Arnold, 17, 2004). Euthanasia is a controversial topic that can spark many different feelings. Some people may feel that if they are suffering that they want to end their pain, or if they have a fatal illness that they just want to speed the process along. Others, generally not a patient that is in the situation that would be in a position to consider euthanasia as a real option, feels that it is murder and morally wrong. As a potential social worker, I must say that I feel that euthanasia is wrong and should not be practiced in any form. I feel that palliative or end of life care that would make the patient more comfortable in their final days is a more valuable option than ending a life prematurely with the assistance of a doctor.
Euthanasia can be a life reliever to the patients in pain and suffering from an illness that is incurable, or can go completely against the morals and values of cultural groups. It is quite controversial, and is debated among society whether it is right to take the life of a patient who requests it or not. The facts must be considered about this issue before any laws and/or guidelines are set into place.
The author states that “it is never justified to intentionally bring an end to human life in order to relieve one of a burdensome existence” (Doug). A human life should be sacred. To take away someone’s life breaks that sacred bond that a human has with another. Life should not be consider something that a person can take away. Euthanasia disregards the value of a human life, and it is a treatment that can act a double-edge sword.
To begin with, legalisation of euthanasia gives an option in people’s lives. According to a survey which was taken by Australians, 40 percent of Australian agree with euthanasia as it will lift their quality of life and dignity (Australian Doctor, 2011). In Chilli, 2015, there was a teenage Chilean girl who was suffering from cystic fibrosis. She uploaded a YouTube Clip saying, “I urgently request to speak to the president because I'm tired of living with this illness... I want her approval so I can get a shot that will make me sleep forever.” (Jay Akbar , 2015) Her dad also said, “...Now my daughter just wants to die in a dignified way,” (Jay Akbar , 2015).However, her request was rejected, so she had to die painfully after two months. If euthanasia was allowed to her, she could have ended her life as she asked for, ‘die in a dignified
Humans and human life should be valued. Immanuel Kant, a philosopher says, people shouldn’t use each other for a means to an end. Humans have dignity and are therefore valued. Life is a sacred gift from God. People should not have the ability to take someone’s life so suddenly and abruptly. “Therefore the deliberate taking of human life should be prohibited except in self-defense or the legitimate defense of others” (Seale). The use of euthanasia does not fit this quota; it is not used in self-defense.
The legalization of euthanasia has always been a highly debatable topic since it causes philosophical, religious, moral and ethical controversy where some people believe it reduces our respect for the value of human life and it will be a gateway for other immoral actions to be normalized even though it is a basic human right that patients all over the world are denied to this day.
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 a controversial issue. Many different opinions have been formed. From doctors and nurses to family members dealing with loved ones in the hospital, all of them have different ideas for the way they wish to die. However, there are many different issues affecting the legislation and beliefs of legalizing euthanasia. Taking the following aspects into mind, many may get a different understanding as to why legalization of euthanasia is necessary. Some of these include: misunderstanding of what euthanasia really is, doctors and nurses code of ethics, legal cases and laws, religious and personal beliefs, and economics in end-of-life care.
Pro-life groups contend that if we allow any type of euthanasia, sooner or later, we would begin killing off not only the terminally ill, but also the handicapped, the poor, the elderly and anyone else who becomes troublesome. The view that we should not make a decision because it could lead to other less prudent decisions later is not a reasonable foundation for setting policies, unless later decisions are definite, and are absolutely wrong. I would hope that the virtue of society would lead us to know where to draw the line between going far enough and going too far. At the present time, it is not clear if where the line is drawn now is where it should be drawn. 5. Euthanasia is killing. Most people believe that there are circumstances when killing is allowed, such as self-defense. The only question is whether or not the killing is justified under the circumstances. In the case of self-defense, killing is justified. The same is true of euthanasia. 6. People who request euthanasia may be requesting it because they are depressed and they may change their minds. I believe that psychological evaluation will detect the mental condition of a patient, and depression, if it exists, can be treated. Patients can be given
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
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.