The United States Should Legalize Euthanasia

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 is argued to be defined as depriving of life or causing the death of a living being. A primary and controversial component to euthanasia is the idea that the physicians are acting in “God” like form. Christians are thought to believe that “thou shall not kill.” Christians believe that all human beings have been in created in God’s image and should be cherished in all circumstances. However, according to the article written by Ann-Marie Begley, she explains, “if only God can end a life, then clearly all instances of killing are wrong, including killing in war and self defense” (Begley 300). The only way this philosophy can be upheld is with complete pacifism in which most Christians would not agree with. The other argument opposing euthanasia is the concern about the perceived public role of the physician. The metaphorical stance of doctors seen around the country is that they are the ‘enemies of death.’ The fear is that the image would be eroded resulting in the lost of trust within the public. Ann-Marie Begley explains, “the trust does not rest with the cure and healing but with the compassion and a recognition that there comes a time when the healer has reached the limits of his or her ability” (Begley 303). The argument of depriving someone of life is also seen in equivalence to murder. Scholars also differentiate murder from euthanasia in that euthanasia there is no malice

Euthanasia is defined as a gentle and easy death. This term is used for people who want to end their own lives peacefully. There are two types of euthanasia. Active euthanasia occurs when a physician kills the patient by means of drugs. The other type is passive euthanasia. This process occurs when a physician holds water, food, and drugs from the patient. The argument whether humans should help other human beings die due to sickness, old age, disabilities, and even the lack of motivation to live has been an issue since ancient times. Although, this topic has made headlines in recent years (Pickert). Countries have begun to make it legal, and some states such as Oregon have made it legal to have the “right to die” since 1997 (“State-by-state Guide to Physician Assisted Suicide”). Should euthanasia be legal in the United States as a federal law? Euthanasia is ethically and morally wrong because humans would be playing the role of God, physicians would disown the Hippocratic oath, it is against most religions, and it would lead down a slippery slope to where euthanasia becomes a cheap “treatment” for the sick.

Euthanasia is defined as deliberately putting to death someone who is suffering from an incurable disease. The word ‘euthanasia’ has Greek roots, meaning “good death”. Euthanasia, the deliberate hastening of a person 's death, was supported by Socrates and Plato in ancient Greece and Rome. The Hemlock Society, a national right-to-die organization, likely took its name from the practice of using hemlock “as a means of hastening death” (S. Biswas). Should terminally ill patients be allowed to end their lives through euthanasia? Is it morally or ethically wrong to allow doctors to assist patients in killing themselves? What are the limits? Who sets the rules? Where has the value placed on human life gone? Euthanasia is morally and ethically wrong and

Euthanasia, can also save many lives as well. Euthanasia patients can give their organs that are healthy, to other human beings who need them. With organ transplants, other people can extend their lives and become healthy again. Euthanasia patients would be contributing back to the world by donating their organs to others. They can save other human lives, while peacefully and happily being content with ending their own. Patients can also take the burden of medical bills from their family. Medical bills and treatments can become very expensive and families can build up quite a high amount of debt and patients who want to be euthanized can save their families thousand of dollars. “However, this should only be done with the patients consent. When done in time, the family may not have to spend all their savings on medical bills (benefitof).” They can also give hospital machines, beds and doctor care to other patients who need them as well. “Low budget in the health care industry and the current economic climate will force many hospitals to make budget cuts, leading to less funding for hospital beds and nursing staff. With the increasing

Euthanasia should not be an option for patients to end their lives because euthanasia is not morally justified, and corrupts, while contradicting the point of medicine. Euthanasia also should not be used because euthanasia itself puts to much focus on suicidal drugs and not enough on finding better treatment plans for patients. In January 1991, a Gallup Poll was taken of the broad acceptance of assisted suicide in which 58% of people agreed that a person has the “moral right” to end his or her life when he or she has a disease that in incurable (Somerville, Margaret). How can this act be morally right if it is not morally justified? Do you think doctors by law should be allowed to end a patients life if the

In conclusion, euthanasia is never the solution to anyone’s problems. It’s an unorthodox method that has no right to even exist. Legalizing this would be a definite way to eliminate all the other options patients could use if they were to decline this procedure, the reasons people recommend going through with this are inhumane, and it completely ruins the trust between a doctor and their

Euthanasia is a subject most people wouldn’t touch at all. Any argument on this subject usually evolves into a series of complex, abstract questions about freedom of choice, morality and so on. There are many reasons to considering legalization of euthanasia/assisted-suicide, reasons that involve hard statistics, evidence and lived experience.

About 55% of terminally ill patients die in atrocious pain. Euthanasia is a practice that hasn’t been legalized in many places, and is usually performed by lethal injection. In the United States euthanasia is only legalized in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and certain areas of Texas. Some citizens feel that euthanasia should be legalized because they should have the sole right to their life. Others feel that God is the one that has the authority over a person’s life. There have been many cases where people have to go to court in order to have euthanasia performed on them.

Some of the most basic principles of the Hippocratic Oath, the oath most doctors are required to take, are being violated by pills or a lethal injection. Physician assisted suicide, or euthanasia, is a very controversial topic in today’s society. Some argue that people should be in control of their death, while others argue that euthanasia has many risks and side effects that are too great to ignore. Physician assisted suicide, or euthanasia, does not abide by the Hippocratic Oath nor basic societal principles therefore, it should not be legalized.

If a patient was going to die because of an extremely painful, incurable terminal disease and wanted to end their life as soon as possible due to the unbearable pain, then they can submit a request to be euthanized. If this request is approved and the physician chooses withdraw treatment, the patient would die an even more painful death. The act of passive euthanasia is seen as more moral than active euthanasia because the disease itself is killing the patient, not the physician. Unfortunately, death does not come right when the machines shut off. They would have to slowly succumb to their illness though infection, dehydration, or even starvation. The ultimate goal of euthanasia is to end persistent and extreme suffering. Letting someone die through this method instead taking a more direct action, such as giving a patient a lethal injection for a quick and painless death is inhumane. Not only is it difficult for the patient and their families to go through this process, but the hospital staff has to live through this ordeal as well.*** Physicians have an introspective view of euthanasia because it pertains to their

Hospitals are just wasting time and money on a situation that won’t get better. If the patient wants euthanasia they deserve a quick and painless death. Doctors cannot end the huge amount of money wasted on a treatment that won’t help so why not alleviate some of those expenses from family members and taxpayers.

Euthanasia is one of the most pressing social issues of our current times. It is a concept that has been under discussion for centuries due to its scientific, legal, and moral ambiguities. An ancient Greek tragedian once stated, “Death is not the worst evil, but rather when we wish to die and cannot...” (Torr 12). There will be a time in everyone's life where they will pass away, but the decision of when and how should ultimately be an individual’s choice. With that being said, doctors should be allowed to aid patients in physician-assisted suicide to give them an opportunity to go without suffering, and have a painless death.

Differentiating between euthanasia and assisted suicide is essential when discussing the right to die. When a third party has performed the last act in the patient’s death, euthanasia has occurred. When a lethal injection is presented to the patient and the patient decides to insert it into their veins, assisted suicide has been partaken. The patient should have a right to decide whether or not they would like to continue living or perish. The doctor should not be the one in control when advocating the decision their patient would like to commit. Euthanasia makes the doctor the primary source to what should happen with their patient. Assisted suicide should be promoted instead of Euthanasia due to the fact that the patient overall decides their final fate.

Death is profoundly personal and utterly unavoidable. However, modern medicine is now quite advanced and can delay our biological expiration for extensive periods of time. Which is obviously desirable for the many people lucky enough to be living a life without suffering, but should those spending their days in unbearable agony, both physical and mental, be forced to continue living? Euthanasia is a term derived from the Greek, “eu,” meaning good, and, “thanos,” meaning death. It is the act of mercifully putting to death painlessly. Euthanasia should be legalized out of compassion for those slowly and painfully dying. The following arguments show the benefits of Euthanasia. It will end the suffering of patients, it will give the patient the right to die, it will legally regulate euthanasia’s use, it will lower health care costs, and it will give the patient the ability to die with dignity.