Possibly the only exception to the immorality of suicide arises as a function of the philosophical impossibility of violating the fundamental right of the individual - both at law and in moral principle - of refusing medical treatment. Adults who are mentally competent to make decisions for themselves cannot be compelled to accept medical treatment unless their illness presents a health risk to others, such as in the case of infectious tuberculosis (Miller 1984). In that case, it is not suicide specifically that is the issue, since it would be conceptually impossible to allow the (competent) refusal of defining medical procedures deemed "necessary for continued life" first, and second, to require an individual to seek unwanted medical care for some conditions but not others.
However, even if the mentally competent individual may refuse life-saving medical care himself, allowing the same decision made for an incapacitated person by another by proxy allows room for unintentional error, misunderstanding or miscommunication, as well as for subterfuge for personal gain on the part of the proxy. It is one thing to allow a person to refuse life-saving medical treatment himself; allowing his (supposed) prior wishes to be expressed by another on his behalf is a different matter altogether.
Conclusion:
Euthanasia, whether it is voluntary or involuntary or genuinely intended as mercy...
Whereas voluntary euthanasia may be benevolently motivated, the potential for abuse and mistake requires that society err on the safe side to ensure against both. In medical settings, patients and their families are too susceptible to suggestion and too deferential to physicians to allow both doctor-assisted and passive euthanasia, because physicians may impose their own fundamental beliefs on their patients. Even where individual rights allow individuals to refuse life-saving treatment, permitting others to express those rights by proxy is simply a passive form of euthanasia, and therefore, must be prohibited along with all of its other possible incarnations.
References
Abrams, N., Bruckner, M.D. (1985) Medical Ethics: A Clinical Textbook and Reference for the Health Care Professional. Massachusetts: MIT.
Breitman, R. (1998) Official Secrets: What the Nazis Planned, What the British and Americans Knew. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Dershowitz, a.M. (2002) Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York: Little Brown & Co.
Garner, B.A. (2001) Black's Law Dictionary. St. Paul: West Group.
Humphry, D. (2002) Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying. Junction: Norris Lane Press.
Martindale, M. (10/8/07) Kevorkian: Jail Reform Is His New Cause. The Detroit News. Retrieved, January 11, 2007, from: detnews.com Web site, at www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071008/METRO/710080323/1409
Miller, a.R. (1984) Miller's Court. New York: Random House.
" The question of death ceases to be a personal experience, a family experience, and becomes a societal decision. It suggests that the values that one inherits through the experience of dying and dearth are without merit, and do not serve to better humanity. It reduces the human body that holds life to a commodity, and the decision of whether or not the body's continued living is profitable to the bottom
Euthanasia is basically described as the intentional killing of an individual for his/her benefit, and is usually carried out because the person who dies requests for it. While it can also be referred to as physician-assisted suicide, it's known as euthanasia because there are situations where the individual can't ask for it. As one of the major issues in the medical field, there are various laws regarding euthanasia in almost
There are many other related reasons for arguing against euthanasia and its acceptance or legalization. One is that it contradicts the medical code of ethics and the Hippocratic Oath, which, "…expressly forbids the giving of deadly medicine to anyone who asks" (Cauthen). The argument that euthenasia is an act of compassion and mercy can also be contradicted. There are many drugs available today that can be used to control pain;
As palliative care specialist Dr. Gilbert puts it, "Despite this close involvement with the very patients for whom euthanasia is advocated we do not encounter any persistent rational demand" [Southern Cross Bioethics Institute]. The very point of 'Advanced Directives' is in itself confounding issue as frequently it is the patient's imaginary fears about loss of body functions and pain that drives them to such conclusions. So it is cleanly obvious
Collaborative Learning Community -- Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma Collaborative Learning Community: Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma Euthanasia and related ethical implications Euthanasia, referred to as "mercy killing" in common parlance, is the action of ending the life of an individual suffering from painful and extended injury or illness (Center for Health Ethics, 2011). Euthanasia implies that another individual, excluding the patient carries out an action with the intention of ending the patient's
The philosophy for example recognizes that more than one person is involved in the euthanasia process. The person in most physical distress is the one afflicted with illness and requiring euthanasia as a solution. What deontology does not recognize is the suffering of family members. Consequentialism also considers the suffering of family members, who are emotionally and mentally distressed by observing the long-term suffering of the ill person. They
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