The Issue Of Euthanasia And Euthanasia

Euthanasia refers to the intentional bringing about of the death of a patient, either by killing him/her, or by letting him/her die, for the patient's sake to prevent further pain or suffering from a terminal illness. Euthanasia is a complex issue in many underlying theological, sociological, moral, and legal aspects. Its legalization is heavily debated around the world, with strong arguments made for both sides of the issue. The supporters of euthanasia often repeated that "We have to respect the freedom of the patient" or "people should be able to exercise control over their own lives and death." However, Euthanasia, by nature, is "wrongfully killing" or "mercy killing", and if we allow any type of euthanasia, all sorts of negative

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.

In the “Catholic Teaching on Euthanasia and Care of the Dying” doctument it states that as a new medical student have finished they’re course of learning in the department of medicine and caring for patients, they must take the Hippocratic Oath. In this oath it incorpurates that as the medical students graduate into becoming a staffed doctors or nurse that will do anything to save a patient’s life before exuding any other options on to them. A particular pharse that has stood out in the translated oath is “firstly do no harm” meaning that as a doctor you do everything in you power to save lives and never intencially end them. ”Doctors are trained to promote life… the deliberate act of killing a patient is unethical”. In another document

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.

For the sake of uniformity we will look at the federal government in this matter, as well as solely focusing on people who are terminally ill and wish to die by their own means, in a dignified manner. As I stated, the Supreme Court upheld in 1997 that assisted suicide ought to be criminalized, as well as asserting that people do not have a “right to die” (The Kevorkian Verdict). With that said, despite a few state outliers, if an individual is in a circumstance where they wish to die, they have no other option than to take the matter into their own hands. Methods of suicide contain firearm, strangulation or suffocation, falling or jumping, and poisoning or drug overdoses, all ranging in effectiveness (NSPL).

Assisted suicide or any type of suicide is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. A criterion in some states where assisted suicide is legal are strictly followed. “Eligibility is managed so that patients do not suffer from a terminal illness may not participate”. In the article Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon: A Medical Perspective, authors Herbert Hendin and Kathleen Foley evaluate Oregon’s Death and Dignity act legalized in 1997. When discussing the criteria, Hendin and Foley say that these safeguards include “presenting patients with the option for palliative care; ensuring that patients are competent to produce end-of-life decisions for themselves; limiting the procedure to patients who are terminally ill; ensuring the voluntaries of the request; obtaining a second opinion on the case; requiring the request to be persistent; encouraging the involvement of the next of kin; and requiring physicians to inform OPHD of all cases in which they have written a prescription for assisted suicide” (Sullivan). This action of assisted suicide is for terminally ill patients who choose to be in control of his or her life and death and end their

A newlywed diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Brittany Maynard, lived in California. California is one of the many states in the United States that prohibits euthanasia and assisted suicide— euthanasia is the act of assisting in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease (Macionis 402-403); however, assisted suicide and euthanasia are not the same thing. The law denying euthanasia and assisted suicide brought conflicts because Brittany wanted to pass peacefully. In order to fulfill her wish, Brittany and her husband moved to Oregon, a state that allows euthanasia and assisted suicide with the “Death With Dignity Act.” Brittany joined a non-profit organization named “Compassion & Choices” to make a video on her choice and to become an advocate for the “Death With Dignity Act.” Millions have watched the video, and since her death, four states have introduced end-of-life bills (Sanburn). The controversy over the legalization and the requirements of euthanasia and/or assisted suicide has been debated for many years. To understand the issues, one must know the ethical point of views in both religious and in the workplace, the laws and requirements currently in place.

Assisted suicide is the act of committing suicide with the help of another person or doctor, most commonly referred to as Physician Assisted Suicide. It is currently legal in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, California, and Colorado. Considering the increase of people dying from terminal illnesses, assisted suicide should be legalized across the nation. People that suffer from a terminal illness that can’t be cured or treated and will result in death have the right to end their suffering and die with dignity. However, there are people who are against assisted suicide due to religious and moral reasons, others because of their compassion and respect for those who are dying. Although the majority may not agree in making assisted suicide legal in every state, there is an agreement that no one should ever suffer because they are denied the right to stop suffering. Terminally ill patients also have rights just like normal, healthy citizens do and they should not be denied the right to not suffer.

“With the right safeguards in place assisted suicide can help terminally ill patients a semblance over their lives as disease, disability, medical machine tries to wrest them away from them” (www.nytimes.com). In other words, assisted suicide should be legal overall. Assisted suicide is an act of taking someone’s life on their own terms. So far, the right of passage is legal in six states which are Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, California, and Montana. The death laws are based off of Death with Dignity Act Organization, which help provide the proper safeguards to perform the act. In general, the act of assisted suicide should be legal.

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.

What is euthanasia and why is it such a complex matter that raises all different kinds of opinions? According to the American Dictionary, euthanasia is defined as "the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment." It can be active euthanasia (relieve person from pain by killing) or passive euthanasia (letting die). Newell-Smith raises the questions if the person has

The ethical issue is Euthanasia, there are many groups that support or oppose this issue. Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. The different viewpoints are based around whether it is humane to assist someone in dying and whether it should be illegal for someone to assist the death of someone who has a terminal illness and are suffering incurable pain. Groups that oppose the issue generally believe that it is inhumane to end someone 's life early, these groups generally believe these people should be given care and as much comfort as possible until their last days. Groups that support the issue generally believe that if someone has lost their mental state or are suffering unbearable pain that cannot be cured, that they should be allowed the option of euthanasia because it is inhumane to make someone suffer unbearable pain if they do not need to. An ethical issue brings systems of morality and principles into conflict, ethical issues are more subjective and opinionated and generally cannot be solved with facts, laws and truth. Euthanasia is an ethical issue because there are two equally unacceptable options. It is considered wrong

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

This is why Euthanasia is important and summarizing the research that I found on Euthanasia. Euthanasia is important because there is a lot of arguments about Euthanasia. Some people support it and some people do not support Euthanasia (Euthanasia and assisted suicide- Arguments). Euthanasia allows people to be free from physical pain. It is the hastening of death of a patient to prevent further sufferings (Euthanasia Revisited). The religious argument states God chooses when human life ends. Euthanasia also causes mental suffering because they are in physical pain or they are experiencing with terminal illness. It is a debatable issue. There are many different opinions on Euthanasia.

First of all, what is euthanasia? It is something that not many people think about until they or a friend or family member is put in a position where they might actually have to consider it. Euthanasia, in the dictionary, simply is: the action of ending someone’s life in a painless way. It seems pretty simple but in reality it is a lot more complicated, not only for the people involved but for the society in general as well.