Euthanasia Paper

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Around the world, Euthanasia has become a controversial topic for many reasons. Many people debate over whether or not it should be legalized in the United States and so far only four states have legalized it so far; Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The Netherlands is another country that has already legalized euthanasia and many more should. Vegetative and terminally ill people should have the right to die by lethal injection, whether it be kids or elderly, but many people are confused about what it is and that causes issues. One of the many reasons euthanasia is frowned upon is the fact that many people don’t know what euthanasia is. Most people believe that euthanasia is the “right to be allowed to die by refusing treatment,”(Somerville) but it is not this. Euthanasia is when someone is put to death through lethal injection, not the refusement of medical attention and treatment. The failure to recognize this leads to the misinterpretation and unjust bias towards euthanasia and its victims:
Pro­euthanasia advocates use recognition of this right to refuse treatment even when it results in death to argue that, likewise, patients should be allowed to exercise their right to autonomy and self­determination to choose death through lethal injection (Somerville).
In 1997, Oregon became the first US state to legalize euthanasia. Many people believed that the legalization of this practice would greatly influence the amount of death occurrences throughout time, but approximately only 0.15% (292 people) of Oregon deaths were due to assisted suicide in the nine years it has been in place (Smith). Many people also feared the rise in the deaths of those in vulnerable­groups because they have a reputation of giving in easier under special circumstances. Evidence shows that

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the elderly, women, people with low educational status, the poor, the physically disabled or chronically ill, minors, those with psychiatric illnesses including depression, or racial or ethnic minorities did not have elevated rates of doctor assisted dying (Smith).
In order for euthanasia to be a successful practice people need to understand what it is and how it can be beneficial to those in need of it.
Kids who are terminally ill or in excruciating conditions should have the option to die by euthanasia to stop the suffering. The problem of euthanasia for babies began to rise when the Groningen Protocol was introduced in 2005 in the Netherlands.
Its development was triggered by the case of a baby girl with excruciatingly painful and progressive skin disease whose parents asked doctors to end her suffering. The request was refused on the grounds that the doctors concerned could be prosecuted for her murder. The young patient died three months later (Carlowe).
Babies and other infants should have the right to die by euthanasia if they are in unending pain and have only a short time left to live. The practice is only practiced "with the explicit intention of hastening death” (Carlowe) and has to follow a series of regulations in order for it to be considered as an option. For all ages, there is a five­criteria protocol that must be fulfilled: diagnosis and prognosis beyond doubt; presence of hopeless and unbearable suffering; a second independent medical opinion to confirm the first; the consent of both parents; and compliance with strict medical standards (Carlowe).

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If individuals allow the practice of euthanasia among children who are in excruciating pain and have a terminable illness they will not be doing an injustice, but helping those in need of it with
the
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