Religion Of Euthanasia Research Paper

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.

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.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian may have been onto something though. Today, physician-assisted suicide is legal in one state: Oregon. Medical Doctor Suzan Okie stated that Oregon has a set of laws for assisted suicide. The patient must be 17 or older, be able to communicate and make decisions, be terminally ill with less than six months to live, and the request must be written and spoken orally. If the doctor is suspicious of the decision, a psychiatrist can evaluate the patient’s mental condition (1627).

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

Albert Camus once quoted, “But in the end, one needs more courage to live than to kill them self.” Today I will be discussing the topic of Euthanasia also known as “assisted suicide.” The word originated from the Greeks, meaning “good death”. Euthanasia refers to the ending of one’s life, primarily to end suffering and pain. Euthanasia is a controversial topic and generates many political and religious debates. Although euthanasia is illegal in Canada, in some jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the American states of Washington, Oregon and Montana, euthanasia is a legal and common practice.

The subject of legalizing physician-assisted suicide is hotly debated these days. There have been many high profile cases including Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the 90’s to the young Oregonian Brittany Maynard who ended her life just this year. Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in Oregon, Washington, and Montana. However, even where legal, it is unethical for medical professionals to engage in assisting patients to end their lives. There are many good alternatives to physician-assisted death available to terminally ill patients. Physician-assisted suicide should not be legalized.

California has introduced the “End of Life Option Act” as of January 2015, which resembles

Euthanasia is the practice of ending one’s life who is in a position of having an incurable illness in order to stop their suffering and die peacefully at their request. When a patient who fits the

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.

The prevalent human ethics have made this topic enormous and highly controversial to its core. People around the globe have opposing views as to what Euthanasia is, and whether it should be allowed or should the practitioners of euthanasia be punished. The National Health Service in the UK has declared it illegal to help someone take their life whatever the circumstances may be.

ASSISTED SUICIDE or euthanasia On July 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld decisions in New York and Washington State that criminalized assisted suicide. As of April 1999, physicians-assisted suicide is illegal in all but a couple of states. Over thirty states have established laws prohibiting assisted suicide, and of those who don’t have statues, a number of them prohibit it through common law. In Michigan, Jack Kevorkian was initially charged with violating the state statue. He was charged with first-degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a license. The assisted suicide charge was dropped, however, he was eventually convicted of second-degree murder and delivering a controlled substance without a

Euthanasia or Physician-assisted suicide as some call it has been done for centuries. The controversy of this has also existed since those times. Back in Greek and roman times as today regular suicide, as in a person who is not dying or incapacitated, was not accepted and I agree but that’s a whole different topic. But back in

This paper is concerned with the notion of euthanasia, which for the purposes of this paper will be defined as quickening the death of a person who is dying in order to alleviate that person from their suffering (Collier & Haliburton, 2015, p. 340). Euthanasia is usually described as a process that is either active or passive (Collier & Haliburton, 2015, p. 320). Active euthanasia will be defined as killing a person who is dying through a direct act such as administering a lethal injection (Collier & Haliburton, 2015, p. 311). In contrast, passive euthanasia will be defined as allowing a person to die naturally through withholding or removing treatments that would otherwise sustain the life of that person (Collier & Haliburton, 2015, p. 311).

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.

“Active euthanasia defines the practice where death is caused by direct administration of a lethal substance” (Sayers, 2005). Dr. Jack Kevorkian is a physician well known for his cases of physician assisted suicide. “In his writings and statements, Kevorkian advocates a society that allows euthanasia for the dying, the disabled, the mentally ill, infants with birth defects and comatose adults; and he sanctions experiments prior to their death and organ harvesting.” (Betzold, 1997). Many other physicians and also nurses have performed euthanasia causing public alarm that some cases are actually murder. In one such case a physician and his nurse, Dr. James Gallant decided to take a Ms. Clarietta Day life into his own hands: “Day collapsed on the phone while calling 911 in the early morning of March 22. She was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage (burst blood vessel in the brain), a condition that is invariably fatal. Sometime before she died, Day had filled out an advance directive, which included instructions from August 1995, in which she wrote that should she become unconscious, she wished to be kept alive for at least forty-eight hours. However, following the diagnosis, Day received painkillers every five to ten minutes for a four-hour period, even though there was no documentation that Day was in discomfort or agitated. She was removed from a respirator and had a magnet applied to her