Is Euthanasia Morally Permissible?

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.

When a patient is terminally ill or is experiencing extreme pain, often Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide can both be plausible options to end any suffering. Euthanasia is currently legalized in seven countries and parts of the United States (New Health Guide). This number is not likely to increase soon because of the high controversy, which is due to the very serious topic of this matter: a person 's life. The general process of these medical methods is usually understood as a doctor somehow deliberately causing the death of a patient or helping with their suicide. Many believe that it is unethical and violates laws, oaths, and more. Though people believe this, it is truly unethical to not give a person a choice in the manner in which they will perish.

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.

There is a fine line between mercy killing and blatantly murdering someone. If a fatally ill person turns down the option of euthanasia, but gets euthanized anyway; that would be murder, not an act of mercy. Murder would also include ending a healthy individual’s

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are actions at the core of what it means to be human - the moral and ethical actions that make us who we are, or who we ought to be. Euthanasia, a subject known in the twenty-first century, is subject to many discussions about ethical permissibility, which date back to as far as ancient Greece and Rome. It was not until the Hippocratic School removed the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide from medical practice. Euthanasia in itself raises many ethical dilemmas – such as, is it ethical for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient in ending his life? Under what circumstances, if any, is euthanasia considered ethically appropriate? More so, euthanasia raises the argument of the different ideas that people have about the value of the human experience.

Euthanasia is defined as the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. Euthanasia is also known as mercy killing, it relieves the patient from a long-term suffering. The word Euthanasia is from the Greek words meaning easy or good death. This voluntary means of ending one’s life is a way to die with dignity, instead of allowing the body to continually decay, it allows the pain to come to an end quickly. Patients who are stuck in hospital beds and cannot move and are unhappy with the life they are living can use this means of death as a freedom to choose. This means of death can bring about a sense of peace, granting the patient to know that they will no longer have to endure

Physical pain hurts; and sometimes it’s too much for us to handle. So to end the suffering, we do what will stop everything from hurting any longer. The idea of doing this is known as mercy killing, or euthanasia. When a patient is suffering from a painful, incurable disease, they can request to end their own life as the only resort to end the pain. Euthanasia is an illegal act, as it is considered assisted-suicide and murder. However, patients should have the right to control their own life, and even the right to end their life. Euthanasia is merciful as it ends a hopeless patient from pain and suffering, and also allows a quiet, peaceful death.

Euthanasia is one of the subjects that have faced intense debate over time, the legalization of euthanasia has been debated for many years with different views presented in terms of ethical and legal consideration for both patients and health care providers. Healthcare providers are faced with ethical dilemmas when caring for terminally ill patients. They are forced to make tough decisions by using their moral reasoning to overcome some of the ethical dilemmas related to euthanasia.

“An assisted dying law would not result in more people dying, but in fewer people suffering”(Selby). Euthanasia, also known as physician assisted death is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma (Nordqvist). There are many famous cases involving euthanasia. For example, on April 15, 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan lost consciousness after mixing alcohol and the drug Valium, restricting oxygen to her brain(“Karen Ann Quinlan”). “After several weeks, doctors at St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville, New Jersey, say she is in a persistent vegetative state, with irreversible brain damage”(“Karen Ann Quinlan”). In August, her parents asked doctors to remove their daughter’s respirator. This was the first case of physician assisted death. Another right to die case involved Terri Schiavo. “In February of 1990,at the age of 26, Terri Schiavo collapsed at home and oxygen was cut off to her brain for several minutes”(Lynne). More recently,

Euthanasia has been a well discussed issue in the arena of biomedical ethics. Many are against it; as well as many also favor it. This is evident with the fact that some countries and states have already legalized it or had made laws with regards to its practice. Ever since I can remember, euthanasia has been a very delicate issue since it really involves the one thing which we regard as the most important in this world: life. But we must also be aware that the issue of euthanasia really involves so many layers than just the taking away of a life. In this paper, I would aim to answer the question of whether or not euthanasia should be legalized and be introduced as an option for patients who really need them the most.

In Chapter Three, it is discussing the topic of euthanasia and whether it is considered morally or ethically right. Euthanasia is when you are able to kill someone who has a painful or incurable disease without it hurting the person. There is active and passive euthanasia. Active is when you are trying to make the patient die by giving them some kind of injection, this is usually the more preferable option. Passive is when you stop giving the patient what they need to keep them alive, this is usually seen as the more cruel of the two. If someone is in too much pain they might use the method of terminal sedation, when this is done the patient is being place unconscious or in a coma until they die. Another distinction in discussing this topic

Death is one of the most emotionally charged times in a person’s life. From the beginning people have viewed death as inevitable and universal. Yet, different cultures have reacted to death and dying in different ways. Most people say that euthanasia should be kept illegal, but I think otherwise. Life is meant to be a beautiful, joyful experience, and once these enjoyable aspects of life have ceased, the will to live diminishes. Euthanasia is ethically right because it permits the sick to choose death or life of suffering, and it is not the same as suicide.

Euthanasia is “The act or practice of ending the life of a person or animal having a terminal illness or a medical condition that causes suffering perceived as incompatible with an acceptable quality of life, as by lethal injection or the suspension of certain medical treatments.” Tracing back the history of how the concept of euthanasia emerged, we are made aware of various facts. It was during the Hippocratic Era when physicians had two obligations, one was to cure and the other to kill if no cure was available. However, euthanasia was first formally legalized in 1935 in Nazi Germany. The laws of euthanasia vary from country to country, however, there are some categories of euthanasia that are extremely unethical and oppose human rights. These include involuntary euthanasia, where the person who is euthanized is able to provide informed consent, but does not, either because they do not intend to die or because they were not asked. Non-voluntary euthanasia ,on the other hand, is performed against the patient 's will, this is illegal and unacceptable around the world. The only form that allows “the practice of ending a life in a painless manner” but with the consent of the patient is via voluntary euthanasia.

Death and dying is inevitable. At some point every living person, thing, or creature will meet the last day of life due to regular or unusual circumstances, but now ethically the topic of death has changed by the introduction of euthanasia. According to The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health, euthanasia is the act of putting a person to death painlessly, or allowing a person to die by withholding medical treatment in cases of incurable and usually painful disease.1 Otherwise in a more basic terminology, euthanasia is loosely defined as the merciful killing of the hopelessly or terminally ill. There are many different ways for a patient to be euthanized and many different feelings towards the matter.

Euthanasia is an action with a medical profession’s help to finish a patient’s life with the patient’s requirement (D, np). In many people’s mind, euthanasia gives them a picture of patients struggling miserably at the edge of death (E, np). It is a controversial topic through centuries. A lot of people support it because they consider it is a useful treatment to those patients suffering from physically and mentally. Meanwhile, same amount of people try to find negative impacts of it to against it. Euthanasia can be classified into three conditions. First, patients ask for it of their free will. Second, patients who do not have capability to make the choice to live or to die are carried out of this treatment. Third, patients who have ability to agree or reject the treatment are euthanized by medical professions without notice (Diaconescu, 474). Although legalizing euthanasia might bring peace to the patients who have been suffering, it does not have effective protection and enough controls.