Life Decisions Are An Individual Decision Essay

Furthermore, euthanasia is a disgrace to humanity. An individual person or group shouldn’t decide how, when, and if another person should die. The act of ending someone’s life just because another decided that the individual’s life gives no worth to the person or to society is unjust. That is simply the person’s opinion, and their opinion shouldn’t end a precious human life. Usually, people with disabilities who request euthanasia, do so because of how others treat them, not because of their actual disability. If we were to respect those with disabilities, that would remove hardships, not death. Another reason why euthanasia is wrong is that a person who can’t think straight or is a human vegetable, a person who does not have mental or physical abilities (O’Steen). She/he can be killed by a guardian’s request according to law, even if the patient never showed a desire to die. The Declaration of Independence states our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and euthanasia goes against that. If the right to live is reduced, all over rights are worthless (“Euthanasia Statement”).

Assisted suicide is an ethical topic that has sparked up many controversies. Individuals have heated disputes on whether or not patients who are suffering should have the right to die. Some worry that legalizing euthanasia is irrational and would violate some religions, while others argue that it provides a peaceful death towards terminally ill patients who are suffering from pain. Physician-assisted suicide is a contentious matter, in which there are many positive and negative aspects, whether or not it should be committed is a complex decision.

Many people would argue that it’s okay to end your life or someone else’s life, if they do not have the possibility of getting better and are terminally ill. Another reason is that maybe they have a mental illness or are a harm to themselves and others. On the other hand, some people believe that life has value and great worth and that being euthanized takes away that value in having life. There is much argument and debate over whether or not Euthanasia is ever justified. At the end of the day, it’s based on what a person believes is right. Everyone has the right to believe what they want to. However, Euthanasia can never be justified because it makes people believe that life is not worth living if you are terminally ill, deformed, in a coma, have a disability, feel that you are a burden to someone, in unbearable pain or have the right to commit suicide. No matter how bad life gets, people should know that life is always worth living. When someone consents to being euthanized or having someone else be euthanized, they may miss out on memories and life’s joys. There is a lot of pain in life that people have to deal with, but that does not mean that anyone has the right to decide that they or anyone else should die. This also does not give anyone the right to inject drugs into someone in order to kill them peacefully. It doesn’t matter if you are just trying to help

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?

Giving someone the right to die has been debated on both moral and religious grounds. Many believe that people have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies. The opposition to this argument is that as a society, humanity should work to preserve all life. Those against assisted suicide also believe that if it is legalized, the service would be abused and people would be trapped, unable to change their minds after deciding to die and possibly being unable to express their thoughts. Religion, Catholicism in particular has a strong view opposing physician-assisted suicide. Pope Francis has stated that he views euthanasia as a part of today’s, “throw-away culture,” that it puts social pressure on the elderly and sick to die and stop draining their families as stated by The Telegraph. Catholicism also views assisted suicide as a sin against God and creation, as publicly stated by Pope

To start off, watching the PBS Frontline Documentary, "Facing Death." was a bit tough for me since my family and I recently had to go through that whole process, prior to my grandfather’s death. I take decisions for end-of-life issues very seriously, as it is literally a matter of life or death. In my opinion, the decision should be made with no biases or selfish, ulterior motives into play, it should be for the benefit of the dying patient/family member.

Coming to the end of your life is already filled with so many ailments, the last thing a dying person needs is to make those final decisions. Most of the time when a person is at the point of needing end of life care they do not have the capacity to make crucial decisions. It’s best to know what your choices will be and have those in writing so when your time comes those who care for you will know that you have chosen hospice care or hospital care. However, sometimes you don’t get to make that choice, as it depends a lot on what care is available and how close you are actually dying.

With such a controversial topic comes the religious view. The reason most people are against assisted suicide is because it’s against their religion. Some people do believe that even though it’s against their religion, it’s in the best interest for those with terminal illness. According to Religion and Spirituality, the Death With Dignity Act allows the dying to ask themselves the question “What is the meaning of my life?” For most this is a spiritual question and the answer only comes when one is at peace. Not many religions have embraced the Death with Dignity Act as compassion, most are against it because they see it as morally wrong. Baptists have adopted the policy “To advocate within the medical community, for increased emphasis on the

I’d like to start by saying I was unaware that physician assisted suicide was legal in the United States. According to MacKinnon and Fiala it is legal in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana (2013). I believe that a person has the right to die when they are terminally ill and have no quality of life. If a person is forced to stay alive just to suffer a slow death, I feel this is cruel. In my opinion the laws that prohibit euthanasia have little to do with the terminally ill and more to do with religious and medical platforms. Furthermore, if religious institutions are lobbying for laws against euthanasia, I feel this goes against the separation of church and state as well as tax exemptions (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2015).

In my opinion, the dying days of any individual should be spent with quality palliative care so that the lives of patients and their families, who are associated with any sort of mental, physical or emotional suffering, are improved. It is very tragic to discover that some people have gone through so much despair in their lives that they have come to the conclusion that death is the only option. In contrast, Michael Coren from The Toronto Star has a very outdated opinion, especially since the time period in which he published his editorial on euthanasia, was when the government was failing to stick to their budget plan for home care. Additionally, I can defend my opinion by the universal principle of treating others the way you would like to be treated. I believe that a person shouldn’t feel that they have no purpose in society or that they are a burden on their loved ones. It is our obligation to care for those who we love and not to mistake suicide as a moral decision. Therefore, my impression on euthanasia is very closely related to the religious view as presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and The Catholic register, which is that we should go to great lengths to stop this desire for assisted

Religion plays an important role in the issue of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Most of the major world religions are against suicide in all forms, even in the cases of pain and suffering. The Bible says, "Thou shall not kill." This was meant for everyone, not just for specific people. Doctors have the power to save people who are sick and at the end of their lives. They work hard to help people, not kill people. If physicians tell a family there is absolutely no chance for a patient to survive, the family will most likely believe them.

I believe that communicating your wishes for end of life care is very important. Talking about end of life care to the people close to you can make a hard process easier and go smoother. It is also important that people document their end of life care and wishes for their medical records. A patient with documented end of life care and wishes will have autonomy and justice even when they are not mentally or physically able to express their wishes.

The controversy of a doctor assisting their patient who is already dying, end their life sooner to save them from continuous unnecessary pain and agony has been the topic of controversy for years. The practice of euthanasia is in my opinion a mercy and should not be banned because in reality it doesn’t physically hurt anyone. You could say it hurts the patient but then again that patient is already in tremendous pain or in an incapacitated state of no recovery, as in paralyzed or brain damage etc., so in reality it would actually help them by assisting ending their pain by assisted suicide. A doctors job is also always help their patients and the practice of assisted suicide in many ways is actually helping the person. However there has and probably always will be people who do not agree with the idea of a dying person end their life for sooner than nature had intended. This demographic would suggest that by dying by your own hand or assisted by a physician for medical reasons is still considered plain suicide. And for the religious people it is a sin by their beliefs. The people could also argue that it is not a person’s right to make that decision.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, Euthanasia is “conceding painless death to a patient who is considered to be hopelessly ill, because of a non-curable disease”. The term is used to refer to the act of deliberately taking the life of a sick person, especially those who are sick from terminal illnesses. Patients in this category are normally those who are nearing their death from a persistent terminal illness and medicine does not to have much effect on them. Different scholars hold different opinions on whether to legalize the practice. Some stage a very strong that attempt to justify euthanasia. They argue that it is a common practice in the US and that it serves to end a person’s suffering and save the family members a lot of emotional

Most people do not like to talk or even think about death; much less the topic of ending one’s own life. However, for some, death is a desired alternative to living in agony. Euthanasia has been a topic of debate since antiquity, and both sides stand firm on their beliefs. The right to choose death is illegal in most countries. I believe in people’s freedom to do what they please with their own bodies. The basic right of liberty is what America was founded on. Euthanasia should be a legal option.