Euthanasia Debate
Euthanasia is the practice of voluntarily ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering (Euthanasia.com/definitions). The act of euthanasia differs from the act of murder in that the person who will die makes the decision to end their life. In the case of murder, the person does not wish to end their life, but anther person intervenes to bring about their death against their wishes. Euthanasia is categorized as active and passive (Euthanasia.com/definitions). Passive euthanasia means failure to provide life prolonging medical treatment and letting a disease state take its natural course without intervention. Active euthanasia means to take measures to end a person's life (Euthanasia.com/definitions). When the topic of euthanasia is discussed, active euthanasia is typically to what is being referred.
The debate over whether euthanasia, particularly physician-assisted suicide, is acceptable is a debate of global concern. The question has clearly defined sides of opposition. One that feels assisted suicide is a form of mercy killing and that under certain conditions the patient feels that this is their wish. However, others clearly oppose euthanasia, claiming that regardless of the circumstances, to end someone's life early is wrong. The following will explore both sides of the euthanasia debate.
Proponents
The Netherlands and Switzerland were the first countries to legalize assisted suicide for those that were suffering from a painful or deadly disease (Pollard). The issue in the United States is still hotly debated, with states switching back and forth on the issue continually (Euthanasia.com/history). On the pro-side of euthanasia, it is recognized...
The findings reveal that the pain is unbearable yet the patients tend to become immune from it, or at least surrender to it. The purpose of this article as it relates to the topic of euthanasia is that one popular argument for the legalization of euthanasia is that it is inhumane to let a patient suffer. This study attempts to validate this argument by showing what exactly the patient
It is important to realize that this perspective is still highly prevalent in many countries, and that even the notion of euthanasia could be hugely offensive to some people, especially in sensitive situations such as end-of-life discussion. While this argument is admittedly built on subjective individual views of morality, it is still a very valid ethical view (Paterson 2003). Other ethicists take a more moderate, middle view of the issue,
Euthanasia The power to control the destiny of another person's life is an opiate which no person should have the ability to ingest when the control is over the persons life, or death. While medical technology has been creating new conditions by which individuals can live longer, and medical science has entered a new era regarding treatment of conditions which only a few years ago would haven the lives of those
Euthanasia is a difficult topic for many people, and opinions about it are often very strong. These opinions generally fall into two distinct categories: those who think everyone should have the right to choose, and those who think the practice should be completely illegal. There are several reasons why people have these deep-seated views regarding the issue, and it is important to address those in order to facilitate a better
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;
Again, my rebuttal to this argument is that proponents of euthanasia are not trigger-happy killers. Any legal request for euthanasia would have to be processed for validity by qualified doctors. Any signs of depression would be properly treated and a reasonable "cooling-off period" be provided to the patients to change their minds. Only a bare-minimum number of patients who are suffering without any chance of relief and only those
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