Essay Euthanasia 2

Submitted By kathyclarke
Words: 851
Pages: 4
Open Document
It’s My Life!

He missed his companion, moping around the backyard; his usual child-like energy had disappeared. Years past his prime, he lived longer than anyone expected. He walked with a limp from losing his leg in an accident and his hips and back were twisted from tortuous arthritis. It was clear his body was no longer absorbing his food properly as we all watched him waste away. It wasn’t long after that that his loving disposition melted into lethargic days of watching us all play from a soft, grassy spot in the shade. The pain grew too much to even stand up to greet newcomers at the door.

We all let tears fall when my uncles took him to the vet knowing he would never come back. But at least we knew he would stop his suffering and finally find peace. If our grandfather reached this point in his life where his condition was terminal and each day was more excruciating than the last it would not be assumed it was time to ‘take him to the vet!’ Yes, it is a leap to compare an animal, like a dog, to a human but what about when it comes to quality of life? What if my grandfather woke up every day hoping to find comfort from a hug only to feel more pain than relief until one day he asked for the pain to stop – forever?

Why is this question so heartbreaking that it makes most not even see euthanasia as an option? It means assisted, gentle, painless, happy death. Thinking about it like that it doesn’t sound so bad. Still, the land of the free doesn’t allow us to legally have this option. Though modern medicine has its good points, has it allowed us to believe that death does not have to be a part of life? Is it this sense of denial that is keeping us from allowing a dying wish? Before the introduction of modern medicine, euthanasia was a common option.

Back when mankind consisted of nomadic tribes, everyone needed to be useful when it came time for the seasonal move. They needed to be able to help carry everything, help set up camp, help cook, help gather, help hunt. Once a family member became so ill they required more help than they could give, they were left behind when the others moved on.

Once a family member in an Intuit tribe becomes elderly or terminally ill they become a drag on the group. They are unable to hunt, gather, or build. Their advice and stories have been told – and they are left on a patch of ice as the rest of the family moves on.

These last two old-school examples of how societies applied their versions of euthanasia makes our version of assisted death not sound so cruel. Not to say that these older societies were heartless. They grieved the loss of their family members just as we do today. Archeologists have found traces of pollen from flowers on skeletal remains from these ancient societies suggesting that even then they grieved by using flowers as symbols of ‘good bye’ as we do today. The difference is that, unlike then, we are stuck in the denial that death does not have to be part of
Show More

Related Documents: Essay Euthanasia 2

Euthanasia 2 Essay

Should voluntary Euthanasia be legal? Voluntary euthanasia has been an on going controversial topic for many years. Euthanasia by definition means mercy killing or assisted death, in earlier years it was simply known as “good death”. I believe this is solely a choice and human right to decide for ones self. Euthanasia is a general topic in terms that there are many forms of euthanization. The most commonly practiced type of Euthanasia is non-voluntary. This is the act of euthanizing an individual…

Words 648 - Pages 3

Essay on 28 Euthanasia III

Medical Ethics Handout 27 Euthanasia III Recall: Active Euthanasia – performing an action that directly causes someone to die. Passive Euthanasia – allowing someone to die by not doing something that would prolong life. The Difference Thesis – All else being equal, killing someone is morally worse than letting them die. Rachels grants that there is a genuine difference between acts of killing and acts of allowing to die, but does not think that there is an essential moral difference between the…

Words 1156 - Pages 5

study guidetest 3 Essay

alteration of sperm and eggs, or early products of conception, such that the changes become permanently encoded in the sex cells of the resulting adult. ● Positive gene therapy ● Negative gene therapy ● euthanasia ● active euthanasia ● passive euthanasia ● voluntary euthanasia ● involuntary euthanasia ● physician-assisted suicide- that isn’t itself a bad or impermissible result to aim ● Triage- Emergency triage foreseeably leading to the deaths of the untreated. ● Eugenics-enhancement -- altering genes…

Words 2492 - Pages 10

Euthanasia Should Be Legal In America

Euthanasia Should Become Legal In America Just picture yourself fighting for each breath you take; you can’t even move your muscles without excruciating pain shooting through your limbs. Imagine your family members sitting in a small enclosed hospital room watching you suffer day after day with multiple tubes entering and exiting your body with strong medicines flowing through them just to keep you alive. Just to keep the pain at ease; even though they’re barley helping. Would you want to live you…

Words 1785 - Pages 8

Essay on Death and Euthanasia

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…

Words 1591 - Pages 7

Euthanasia: Voluntary Euthanasia and Dr. Jack Kevorkian Essay example

Euthanasia In the last stages of cancer, where the pain may become excruciating, doctors may give the patient a choice for euthanasia. Euthanasia, also known as “mercy killing, is the act of killing someone painlessly, especially to relieve suffering from an incurable disease.” A physician well known for his use of mercy killing was Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He was convicted of homicide and sentenced to 8 years in prison when he failed to notify other physicians of his use of euthanasia on a patient…

Words 653 - Pages 3

Essay on Euthanasia Assisted Suicide Debate

Euthanasia Assisted Suicide Debate Rachel Clark HCA322: Health Care Ethics & Medical Law Professor: Joan Chambers November 5, 2012 Euthanasia Assisted Suicide Debate Euthanasia and doctor assisted suicides is an issue that I have by no means had any personal experience with. My research on the question was appealing and enlightening, but did not change my initial feeling on the topic. Throughout this paper I will talk about my belief…

Words 1057 - Pages 5

Ethical Differences Between Active Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide

1. According to Rachels active euthanasia may sometimes be preferred morally to passive euthanasia for several reasons. First, a patient may be in such immense pain that they no longer want to sustain their life; however, if the life-sustaining sources are merely removed the patient may continue to live in even greater agony as the wait to succumb to death. Thus, the patient would be put through greater suffering with passive euthanasia which is not the goal of physicians. Additionally, Rachels deduces…

Words 491 - Pages 2

Euthanasia Essay

Brady Jones M-W 9:00-11:50 12/3/13 Exercise 2: Euthanasia Euthanasia, sometimes referred to as physician-assisted suicide, is the act of ending a very sick person’s (terminally ill) life to relieve them of suffering. Euthanasia is a topic of intense debate for religious, ethical, and practical reasons. Although illegal in the United States, people should have the right to be able to make decisions to end human suffering whether it be for themselves or their loved ones. How can a right to…

Words 1011 - Pages 5

The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

Another reason behind anti-euthanasia supporters reasoning is the belief that it gives the doctor too much influence and power over patients. Opponents believe that euthanasia goes against the Hippocratic Oath and the four principles of medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath states that is a popular medical statement written in the fifteenth century by Hippocrates, a Greek physician. The Hippocratic Oath states that deadly medicine should never be given to someone even if they ask (Cockeram 10). The…

Words 1087 - Pages 5