Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia is the practice of ending the life of an individual for the purposes of relieving pain and suffering. Over the years, there has been a big debate about its merits and demerits, and the debate is not about to end anytime soon. However, no matter what side of the debate one supports, it is important to consider a few facts. One, the prolonged stay in hospital is bound to raise medical costs. Two, some medical complications bring suffering and pain to the patient without any possibility of getting back to one 's normal activities of daily living. However, ending the life of a person intentionally may be treated as a serious crime in some jurisdictions. Given these facts, it is evident that making a decision about euthanasia is bound to be a challenging task. Although not everyone might agree, euthanasia is a necessary procedure that relieves the pain and suffering of the patient and rids the family and the government of expensive medical costs that would not necessary improve the life of the 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?

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).

Being able to decide the fate of your own life is not an easy decision to make, and is not something to be toyed with. However, when someone is in a desperate situation, and must choose before they lose their mind (quite literally), death may be more appealing, instead of living, and being forced to suffer. By legalizing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, we would provide “vulnerable” patients with better overall protection and health care, give patients (who are excruciatingly suffering and have no chance of recovery) the option to end their lives before they ever needed to go through such an ordeal and giving them peace of mind, and spare the families of the patients the emotional pain of watching their loved one slowly and painfully passing away. For these reasons, I believe that euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide should be legalized in Canada.

Imagine laying in bed; your eyes are open and you cannot move. Your brain is working but cannot tell your body how to function. We as a society have a right and a moral obligation to legalize physician-assisted suicide. The legalizing euthanasia grants terminally ill patients; the right to die without withdrawing from life support. Also giving the right for patients to die on their own terms. Euthanasia is a publically supposed issue that needs to be changed and allowed into hospitals. People may believe that assisted suicide by a physician is wrong and unmorally just but they must understand that Criminal Code 241 must be changed.

The debate over Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide is becoming more and more complicated as doctors develop a better understanding for its purpose and usefulness. Euthanasia is a Greek term meaning “good death” and it can be described as a killing of a patient who chooses to take this course in action by applying, administrating, and undergoing a procedure to end their life. Euthanasia is prescribed when a patient is in intense pain or suffering and is ready to end their life in a safe and logical way with the help of a doctor. It is a simple procedure with a choice of either drug administration or a lethal injection. The injection is much faster than the drugs, but both work in the same way. The significance of euthanasia is to be able

We are taught early that every life in the world is precious. Whether it’s a new born baby with a lifetime ahead of them, an elderly man at the end of his journey waiting for what comes next, a man who has studied his entire life to earn everything he has, or a criminal who looks for every opportunity to steal what he wants. When so much value in life is placed on every person’s right to do what they want, why is it then frowned upon when the same person wants to end their own life? I believe that Euthanasia should be legalized in Canada under certain terms and conditions.

[The criminal code of Canada states] “everyone who councils, aids, or abets someone to commit suicide whether or not suicide ensures , is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.” 1 It is this law which violates the human right to life as well as creates a widely spread controversy over whether or not euthanasia should become legalized in Canada. 2 Legalizing euthanasia would create many benefits for those who suffer from a terminal illness, giving them freedom and control over their own lives. Euthanasia should be legalized in Canada; this is because the euthanasia law is not consistently applied, it would create medical advances for Canada which would bring the country up to speed with other countries around the world, and legalizing euthanasia would benefit those who wish to die by preventing inhumane suicidal crimes from occurring. 3

Active euthanasia means that someone other than the patient commits an action with the intent to end a patient’s life, for example injecting a patient with a lethal dose. Voluntary euthanasia is when a patient asks for help in committing suicide or is refusing treatment. Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when a patient is unable to make his or her own decisions such as: a person in a coma, an infant, a person who is senile, or a person who is mentally unstable. Physician assisted suicide is when a physician provides medication or other means to a patient with the understanding that the patient intends to commit suicide. (Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?,

Euthanasia, formally known as mercy killing, is the act of intentionally causing the painless death of a sick person, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. In terms of a physician's actions, it can be passive in that a physician plays no direct role in the death of the person or it can be active in that the physician does something directly to cause the death (Yount, 2002). Euthanasia may also be formed into three types of act, which are voluntary, involuntary, and nonvoluntary. Voluntary involves killing the patient at his or her request. Involuntary occurs when the patient does not give consent, or refuses. Nonvoluntary is where the patient is not able to make the decision about their medical treatment so it is up to a third

Euthanasia in Canada has been a big issue, both morally and politically in Canada over the past couple years. Different groups argue that euthanasia is a basic human right, whereas opposing groups argue contradictory to that, saying it is not. There have been quite a few legal battles over the right of euthanasia due to this difference in views in Canada -Rodriguez V. BC & Latimer Case-. All cases in Canada however have been shot down by the Justice system in very close votes; the Rodriguez case is a great example in which it missed by 1 vote in a 5-4

The controversy of euthanasia and assisted suicide are moral issues, legal issues, and economical issues. People who are pro euthanasia believe that people should be able to die sooner rather than later to maintain their dignity. There are many aspects when determining when someone’s illness and suffering are prolonged. Pro euthanasians also believe that they should legally be able to determine time of death. Courts have varied opinions on the criteria for allowing euthanasia and assisted suicide, which can be relaxed with time. Medical professionals are also put in a circumstance to make a decision that is unwanted. Society argues that allowing people to determine time of death can affect someone’s financial obligation among other things.

The controversy of assisted suicide and euthanasia was first brought to life in the 5th century B.C. when the ancient Greeks and Romans believed in the Hippocratic Oath which said that doctors were prohibited from giving patients any type of deadly medication even if the individual asked for it, as well prohibiting physicians from suggesting such actions. Although some followed the Hippocratic Oath, some physicians often complied with their patient’s wishes and gave them the deadly medicine. Similar to current times, back in the ancient Greek and Rome times, there was widespread support of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Before the earliest statute that outlaws the practicing of assisted suicide and euthanasia came in 1828, there was already a common law that stated that such practices by physicians is considered a

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.

The atmosphere around the topic of euthanasia and assisted suicide are controversial and bring up images of frail and suffering people screaming for their lives to end. This leaves you with two choices: to listen and end their lives or to alleviate the pain till it is bearable using modern medicine. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word euthanasia derives from Greek, which means “The action of inducing a gentle and easy death.” With this definition in mind I will determine the pros and cons of assisted suicide and euthanasia by using Neil M. Gorsuch's “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia” and Kathleen Foley's and Herbert Hendin's “The Case against Assisted Suicide” and choose a side. Those who