Euthanasia: The Right Choice Essay

“A serial mercy killer” (The Right To Die, 80). This is what some would define what Kevorkian did. Kevorkian, however does not feel this way. He performs his acts for the greater good in his eyes. However, he never hesitated to try any other treatments that could result in the patient’s improved health, whether it be antibiotics, or even experimental drug maintenance programs (The Right To Die, 82). He feels that medically assisted suicide is an essential option to those that are incurable and dying (The Right To Die, 83). Kevorkian’s main concern for his terminal patients was their comfort and confidence in their decision. He explains the death his patient’s experienced as being “like a painless heart attack in a deep sleep”(The Right To Die,

“Dr. Death and his suicide machine”. Jack Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, was an American pathologist who was also a painter, a composer, an author, and an instrumentalist. He is best known for publicly championing the belief that it is morally correct to put terminally ill patients out of their misery through a practice called euthanasia. Dr. Kevorkian assisted around 130 patients to suicide and went to jail because of what he believed in. In 1999 Dr. Kevorkian was charged with second-degree murder, he was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison but he only did a time of 8 years. Even after he went to jail for this practice he continued to believe in it. Euthanasia isn’t acceptable unless it’s in extreme circumstances. Usually a doctor has to do

It was in 1990’s when the topic of assisted suicide reached an all-time high. It was the work of Doctor Jack Kevorkian that began in 1960 that sparked the topic of “right to die” legislative action. Doctor Kevorkian was a Michigan doctor responsible for the deaths some 44 suicides for terminally ill patients. Doctor Kevorkian along with many accredited doctors such as Marcia Angell, agree on one main point; terminally-ill patients should have the right to determine how they should end their life. Marcia Angell, states in her article The Supreme Court and Physician-Assisted Suicide-The Ultimate Right that “Although others may consider

Ever since Dr. Kevorkian or “Doctor Death” drove his car around the united states assisting over 40 patients to take the own lives physician aid in dying has been a topic which has sparked controversy (DiManno). Although his actions did receive large amounts of negative feed back it did lead much of the population to the question of whether or not it should be legal for an individual to have medical assistance to take their life in certain situations such as terminal illness or chronic physical pain. Through the years this idea has adopted the name physician aid in dying. Personally I believe that we should, because when it comes to our body we should have 100% control over what we choose to do with it. Even if that is choosing to take our own life in times of great physical pain and suffering. Although physician aid in dying is already legal in five states, I believe that it should be legal in the remainder of the states in the United States. While I know that the thought of a doctor prescribing a lethal dosage of a medication to help a patient to take their life can be disturbing to some people it should not be illegal. If that were the case eventually it could be illegal to get tattoos or have hair cuts that may be disturbing to some people. The way I see it is that if PAD is really what someone wants it should be an option to them no matter what state they live in. The thought of someone suffering from a

In today’s society it is taught that life is a precious gift and to cherish every second that is allowed, but what if it is full of endless pain and misery? Starting hundreds of years ago in Ancient Greece up until modern times with Doctor Kevorkian, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia are all highly debated topics that cause both legal and moral dilemmas, but provide patients with benefits such as financial and pain relief. Assisted suicide should be legalized in the United States to prevent pain and suffering for the patients and their families.

Dr. Kevorkian makes a compelling argument when he states, “They cut off their feeding and their water. And they let ‘em die. And it’s all legal. The United States Supreme Court has validated the Nazi method of execution.” (Ferguson & Levinson, 2015). It can be inferred Dr. Kevorkian was outraged by this practice as well as the fact that the medical profession labeled this as legal and ethical. In his opinion, this method lacked compassion and violated the ethical principal nonmaleficence- do no harm.

The topic of assisted suicide is very controversial and is heavily debated upon all around the world. While physician assisted suicide is only legal in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and a few states in the U.S., it is illegally practiced widely by physicians and nurses, such as Dr. Jack Kevorkian. I first heard of physician assisted suicide when the death of Dr. Kevorkian, an assisted suicide advocate and a suicide aid, was on the news in 2011. Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of many patients who could not find any more reasons to live. Many people oppose of his practice, but I believe Kevorkian was trying to help these patients find peace. This topic is important because it can help end the long pain and suffering of patients. Seeing the struggles of the patients Dr. Kevorkian has worked with makes me believe that the legalization of physician assisted suicide it necessary, but not everyone agrees.

Physician-assisted suicide is the act of aiding an individual end their life by means of a lethal dose of medication prescribed by a physician. The term assisted suicide was first coined after an infamous pathologist named Jack Kevorkian would devise a machine that would aid terminally ill patients end their lives. Dr. Kevorkian would go on to help over one hundred people end their lives, earning him the nickname Dr. Death (“Jack Kevorkian”). Society has come a long way since the invention of the suicide machine. This is a sensitive topic that can be quite personal for many individuals, but nonetheless, is a subject of many heated conversations. Aid in dying has been a topic many have been divided on, but if we can put in place an improved

Have you ever heard a grown man cry; a cry so loud that you can hear and feel the pain within his voice? No, well it happens daily, here in the United States. There are thousands of people that are going through so much suffering that pain killers are like putting a band aid of a bullet wound. As hours pass the wound is getting bigger and the band aids are helping less and less. Most of these people just want a release, but even professionals cannot grant that request.

Euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is one of the most controversial issues in health care. Euthanasia is intentionally ending one’s life to relieve persistent pain and suffering. Dr. Kevorkian, an assisted suicide activist, was known for using unorthodox methods of terminating a life. As a result, he made headlines in 90’s. Dr. Kevorkian brought dignity to those suffering from unbearable terminal diseases by terminating their life with a lethal dose of potassium chloride. (Schencker, 2015)

Physician-assisted suicide is defined as the patient’s willingness to end his or her own life with the help of a clinician. The clinician may participate by relaying detailed information on the best way to commit the suicide or by prescribing pills that are of lethal doses. He or she may also be physically of help when the patient commits the act by assisting the patient in setting up medical procedures that cause euthanasia. This form of death became widely popular when the media caught wind of Dr. Kevorkian’s different methods of participation. He helped more than “130 terminally ill patients commit suicide between the years of 1990 and 1998” (McLellan, 2011). When his actions caught

Was Dr. Jack Kevorkian justified in using physician-assisted suicide to help more than 130 patients die with dignity? He fulfilled patients’ suffering from terminal illnesses using his self-devised suicide machine. Legalizing Euthanasia will benefit the patient especially those who has been trying to bear the unbearable suffering.

As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations,

In cases of involuntary euthanasia, the patient is able to provide informed consent, but does not do so. For example, a young man is in agony after being severely injured in a car accident. He begs the doctor to do anything to save him. Knowing that the young man’s pain is only going to get worse and that he will die in a matter of hours, the doctor gives the young man a lethal dose of medication in order to spare him additional pain and end his life. Despite the fact that someone’s motive for euthanizing another person against their will could seem moral, I believe the practice of involuntary euthanasia is highly immoral and equivalent to murder. Not surprisingly, involuntary euthanasia is almost universally condemned in civilized society.

Humans, like all animals, attempt to evade death. Though death is usually seen as an unwanted end, some see it as an alternative to suffering. Most people cringe at the thought of suicide, but is euthanasia the same thing? Do human beings have the right to choose death?