Euthanasia
Your elderly grandmother had recently contracted a ruthless disease which rendered her terminally ill. She has now only have a few weeks left of life but she is considering the option of euthanasia as an ultimatum for the near future. She wishes to die with dignity but most of her family members don’t support her. Would you? Voluntary euthanasia has to be legalised because not only do humans have the right to live, they also have the right to die. There are numerous arguments as to why euthanasia is moral and needs to be law. Euthanasia, being a controversial subject of debate, seemingly meddles with human’s essential right to live but what anti-euthanasia enthusiasts fail to realise is that our life as humans suggests
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A difference in interest can potentially lead to a conflict between interests so it is our responsibility as humans to ensure the resolution of conflicts without the transgression of one’s essential human rights. Human rights are fundamental and are lawfully set as a main importance therefore the violation of one’s fundamental rights can be seriously penalised.
Not only does euthanasia protect self-hood, it also defends human dignity. Self-determination is a strongly important aspect that makes us human. It is the capacity to decide for ourselves and determine our fate as individual human beings. Imagine a life like your elderly grandmother; terminally ill, unable to think for yourself, move or even breathe. Your ability to perform basic tasks is rid of thus also removing your ability of self-determination. Without the existence of self-determination comes the disappearance of one’s self. Our own “self “is procured as we progress through life from our decisions and experiences; the existence of the said “self” is the foundation of our human dignity. If we go back to your grandmother and input the elements of unbearable pain to the point where they would rather be dead than suffer. If this persists, the said person will gradually lose their own “self” and ability to self-determine. They will forget themselves and the only vivid memory they will have is the constant excruciating pain they will be in. Screaming for pain would not
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.
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
In recent times, there has been much debate about whether or not Euthanasia should be permitted. Voluntary Euthanasia is when terminally ill people wish to have their lives ended with the assistance of medical procedures before nature takes its course. This is because they may be suffering and in great pain, or cannot live a reasonable or comfortable life. Voluntary Euthanasia should be introduced, provided that there are safeguards to stop the system from being misused.
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.
Out of the 196 countries in the world, only nine countries have legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide,” a quote brought up by Storypick. (). Euthanasia is one of the most controversial topics currently, but what can euthanasia offer patients and people all around the United States? People have different opinions and facts about euthanasia; so what are the pros and cons? In the end, euthanasia should be legalized because people will face pain mental and physical, people’s opinions should not be deterred as well with a death that will contain dignity, despite the moral thoughts it goes against. 10.2
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
Voluntary Euthanasia has been considered a controversial topic for many decades. The idea of committing an act that involves the taking of human life is not one that many people would care to discuss openly. The main argument is that a person who has been diagnosed with an incurable illness and is in extreme pain and their ability to move has been limited, while that person still has control over their destiney should they be allowed take their own life (Bowie, R.2001). The worldwide debate weather one should be allowed to end a life is still one of the biggest ethical issues. The attempt to providing the rights of the individual is in conflict with the moral values of society. Voluntary Euthanasia has been highly rejected by many religious and pro-life institutions.
In the case that I became a terminally ill patient, I would strongly consider the different types of end of life care that are available to me. I believe that both passive and active euthanasia are reasonable end of life treatment options for terminally ill patients. If an individual is in unbearable pain and they have already been diagnosed with a terminal disease, it is inhumane to keep the individual alive longer than they need to. If I knew that I was going to die why would I want to bear not only the physical pain of the illness, but the pain of watching my family and friends suffer as well. They would have the burden of taking care of me, paying my medical expenses, as well as dealing with an extended amount of grief in watching me suffer. The last thing I would want is to be remembered in that way and cause a sense of grief and sadness whenever I am remembered in that state. All of this pain and suffering is completely unnecessary and can be resolved by quickly and painlessly through acts of passive, and when necessary, active euthanasia. Mill’s Utilitarian theory focuses the concept of happiness in terms of the gain of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Utility implies that actions overall should have a higher proportion of pleasure that outweighs the overall pain caused by the action. By choosing to end my life I eliminate the unnecessary prolonged pain associated with my terminal illness. I also eliminate the overall pain and suffering that my family
Active euthanasia is a subject that is raising a lot of concern in today’s society on whether or not it should be legalized and under what circumstances should it be allowed. This is a very tricky subject due to its ability to be misused and abused. There are a wide variety of things that need to be considered when it comes to who should be allowed to request active euthanasia such as, is it an autonomous choice, do they have a terminal illness, is their quality of life dramatically decreased, and are they in pain and suffering. Both James Rachel and Daniel Callahan have very different opinions on active euthanasia and whether or not it should be allowed. However both authors manage to provide a substantial argument on where they stand regarding active euthanasia.
Today, voluntary euthanasia is getting closer to being legalized in more than just one state in the United States. “‘Voluntary’ euthanasia means that the act of putting the person to death is the end result of the person’s own free will” (Bender 19). “ Voluntary euthanasia is an area worthy of our serious consideration, since it would allow patients who have exhausted all other reasonable options to choose death rather than continue suffering” (Bender 19). The question of whether or not voluntary euthanasia should be legalized is a major debate that has been around for years. Because the issue of whether people should have the right to choose how they want to live or die is so complex. With the advances in technology today we have made
John Finnis, in his article A Philosophical Case Against Euthanasia, provides a compelling theoretical framework through which to view contemporary discourse surrounding euthanasia. First, this paper will draw on Finnis' position in order to establish the natural law understanding of the intrinsic value of human life. It will be argued that the right to life comes from a source other than the individual who is alive, or his family or caregivers, granting it either implicitly or explicitly. It will further be argued that the individual's duty not to have oneself euthanized, or euthanize another, is not an incident of any special responsibility that one assumes or undertakes, but is a straightforward incident of an ordinary duty everyone owes his
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
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.
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.
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.