Essay on Death and Euthanasia

Submitted By KayleighFaber
Words: 1591
Pages: 7
Open Document
Euthanasia The topic, or more commonly known as the controversy, of euthanasia has been talked about for many years. This controversial issue should not be taken lightly due to the moral, religious, ethical, legal, and compassionate arguments that have surfaced. A lot of the moral arguments are basically trying to get people to understand that euthanasia is a gateway to murder and an easy way out like suicide. The procedures used are not always painless nor are they necessary. Euthanasia, by definition, is “the act or practice of killing or permitting death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy (Euthanasia 1).” Currently, euthanasia itself is illegal in all of the United States. However, physician aid-in-dying (PAD) or assisted suicide is now legal in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Montana. Assisted suicide is interpreted in so many different ways (Balch 1). The most common and accepted interpretation is “The intentional hastening of death by a terminally ill patient with assistance from a doctor, relative, or any other person”. 2) Most people believe euthanasia and assisted suicide are the same thing but they are not (Nordqvist 2). The key difference between the two is who actually administers the lethal dose of medication. Euthanasia has the physician or another third party administer the lethal dose, whereas, assisted suicide has the assistance of a physician or third party but requires the patient to self-administer the lethal dose themselves. The patient must decide whether and when to do this (Balch1). Euthanasia is classified in many different ways using several different terms. Active and passive euthanasia are just two of those classifications. Active euthanasia is administering the lethal medication which “actively” ends that person’s life. Passive euthanasia is when the medication that is keeping a person alive is stopped or simply not performing a life saving procedure at all. These two classifications carry very different moral and social issues (Biswas 20). Non voluntary, involuntary, and voluntary euthanasia are also terms used to classify euthanasia. Non voluntary euthanasia is when a person is unable and can not express their choice of early death. They must use some sort of proxy request to have their life ended. For example, a doctor may have a terminally ill newborn or a patient that is senile and incompetent. In both these cases the decision to end life is left up to a third party because the patient is unable to make the decision on their own. This form of euthanasia is the one that is of most concern to medical professionals (Biswas 20). Involuntary euthanasia differs from non voluntary euthanasia in that it does not require a personal invitation or proxy request. Simply put, it is the ending of a life to “relieve the suffering.” This is also the classification where a criminal’s execution would be listed. There have also been cases where involuntary euthanasia was the most socially acceptable option at the time (Balch 1). The latter is a good example and should serve as a warning to those who would give more power over life and death to the medical professionals. This class of euthanasia appears to be merely a justification for murder (Biswas 20). Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient specifically asks for their life to be ended and requests help to make it happen. This class is the most controversial of them all. Voluntary euthanasia is in essence assisted suicide or PAD. The majority of the time the request must come from a person who is either 1) in an enormous amount of pain, or 2) someone who is diagnosed with an illness that is determined to be fatal. In either case, the decision must be their own and can not be the result of being pressured in to it by a family member or medical professional. This form of euthanasia can be carried out before the actual illness
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Death and Euthanasia

Euthanasia: Death and Euthanasia Essay

Research Essay – Euthanasia Euthanasia is a serious moral and ethical issue in today’s world. Rightly so. Approximately 1.2million people in the United States and about 564,600 Americans annually – more than 1,500 people per day are suffering from terminal illnesses (Growthhouse). However, most people think that euthanasia is murdering, even if they believe that suffering is a horrible thing. Being bed-ridden in pain because of a disease or sickness is completely horrifying. Interestingly, someone…

Words 1857 - Pages 8

Death and Euthanasia Essay

suicide and has criteria that her illness meets. California does not have a law that allows terminally ill patients to end their own lives, so Brittany and her family had to relocate to Oregon so that she could get the care that she needs. Under the Death with Dignity Act, patients that are facing a lot of suffering in result of their terminal illness can choose when enough is enough and that they would like to end their own life before it becomes any more painful. Brittany plans to take the lethal…

Words 3171 - Pages 13

Death and Euthanasia Essay

The Ethicality of Euthanasia Lindsey Brewer Beckfield College In the medical field, there are countless issues that are highly debated in reference to their ethicality. From stem cell research to health care laws, the topics of discussion spread far and wide. One of the most controversial of these subjects is euthanasia. Euthanasia, defined 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…

Words 1274 - Pages 6

Euthanasia: Death and Life Support Essay

Euthanasia, also known as assisted-suicide, physician-assisted-suicide, doctor-assisted suicide, and loosely termed mercy killing, by definition is to take deliberate action with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable suffering. (What Is Euthanasia (assisted Suicide)? What Is The Definition Of Assisted Suicide Or Euthanasia? 1) In 1999, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in a maximum security prison for his work in assisting more…

Words 753 - Pages 4

Essay on Euthanasia: Death and Best Answer

Euthanasia personally affects the lives of many people. Many people agree with it. Some disagree. Others are not sure where they stand on the issue. Many reasons prove why euthanasia is the best answer. One way euthanasia is the best answer is that it will quicken the death process and put people out of their misery. In the sixteenth century, Thomas More spoke of a Utopian area in which it helped those who wished to die. It was said that dying was better than suffering. For example, if one knows…

Words 474 - Pages 2

Euthanasia: Death and Student Resources Essay

medical assistance in all states and territories in the United States. It is true euthanasia is against some people’s moral or religious beliefs. A belief that an individual is put on earth to live a life and make a positive impact. Furthermore, other people may feel pressured to make a decisions as they may feel as a burden to others. But in fact, 89% of people who wanted to have assistance in their death was because of their loss of abiltity to engage in enjoyable activities. Only 36…

Words 981 - Pages 4

Euthanasia: Death and Agonizing Person Essay

Euthanasia and assisted suicide There is not a legal way to let people have a “good” or “peaceful” death. Have you ever imagined having an incurable, terminal, or painful disease and not being able to decide whether you want to die in dignified manner or live through all that suffering and pitiful pain? Euthanasia is the solution for every agonizing person that is ready to leave this earth; its meaning refers to what people call ending another person’s life to relieve otherwise uncontrollable…

Words 327 - Pages 2

Euthanasia: Death and Terminal Palliative Sedation Essay

Euthanasia is a serious and tricky problem in the modern society nowadays. The doctor-assisted suicide can be taken as an act of mercy to the terminally ill patients, but it also can be considered as a non-moral process, which undermines the value of the human's life itself. In fact, these two viewpoints became the battleground for people who are interested in this problem. The opponents of the legalization of euthanasia argue that the doctor-assisted suicide is unethical; this process is a murder…

Words 707 - Pages 3

Essay on Euthanasia: Death and Archibald Macleish

possibility of choice and the exercise of choice a man is not a man but a member, an instrument, a thing" (8). Another source states that, "Since there is no absolute legal, medical, or moral answer to the question of what constitutes a good or correct death in the face of a terminal illness, the power to make the decision about how someone dies can rest with only one individual--the person living in that…

Words 562 - Pages 3

Essay about Euthanasia: Death and Killing Machine Dr

Those assisting death are responsible for murder, do you agree? People who assist others to die are not responsible for murder. The definition of murder is ‘the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another’. When a person thinks about dying, he would presumably consider all options before deciding. Murder is the unlawful killing of another with an evil intention. It is an act of ill will. However, assisting suicide is associated with kindness and good will, an act of mercy killing…

Words 387 - Pages 2