Active Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending someone’s life so that any type of suffering and pain will come to an end. It was first seen throughout 5th century B.C. and 1st century B.C. by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Prior to Christianity coming forth, ancient Greece and Rome had a tolerance for assisted-suicide. Few physicians followed the Hippocratic Oath which “prohibited doctors from giving ‘a deadly drug to anybody, not even if asked for,’ or from suggesting such a course of action” (Dowbiggin). During this time there was much support for euthanasia rather than prolonged suffering. This led many physicians to comply with a patient’s request and administer the poisons. Later on between the 12th and 15th century, with the rise
of Christianity, the view of euthanasia changed. In the religion of Christianity human life is a trust from God. This viewpoint only strengthened the view of the Hippocratic Oath. Essentially this made euthanasia forbidden. In the 13th century there was a man by the name of Thomas Aquinas who supported the Catholic teachings, and who condemned euthanasia as wrong. He did this because it “contravenes one’s duty to oneself” as well as “injures other people and the community of which the individual is a part” (New York). Aquinas also believed it “violates God’s authority over life, which is God’s gift” (New York). The idea of euthanasia was rejected for many centuries. For example, the Common Law Tradition was adopted in the American Colonies in the 17th century and in the late 18th century the American Evangelical Christians rejected suicide and euthanasia. In the 19th century people considered euthanasia and assisted suicide as rebellion against God's will. By the 1920s euthanasia was not a secret anymore, newspapers published the stories about it and there was also a movie released on the topic. The dispute against mercy killing blew up in the 1930s and these years proved to be an essential juncture in the history of euthanasia in America. Speaking openly about death and dying had become fashionable and a majority of Americans (53 percent) believed that doctors should be allowed to end the lives of terminally ill patients by painless methods if the patients and their families requested it. An even larger majority (62 percent) supported the right of terminally ill patients to refuse unwanted medical treatment. Things started to turn around in 1905 when Ohio attempted to legalize euthanasia but was defeated. In 1994, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act and in 2008 Washington followed. During 2008 to 2015 the states of Montana, Vermont, New Mexico, and California legalized physician-assisted suicide. While there is no such thing as a life not worth living, all states should allow euthanasia to be legal because it is inhumane to make people suffer; keeping it illegal has the potential to cause more harm than good, and everyone deserves to have autonomy over their medical decisions.
Everyone should have autonomy over their own medical decisions.
There are two different types of euthanasia, active and passive. Christian Nordqvist writes the MediLexicon medical dictionary defines active euthanasia as a mode of ending life in which the intent is to cause the patient’s death in a single act. This is considered to be mercy killing. He goes on to say passive euthanasia is when a physician is given an option not to prescribe futile treatments for the hopelessly ill patient. Brittany Maynard partook in active euthanasia in Oregon which is one of the few states that allows physician-assisted suicide. When passing the Death with Dignity Act in November of 1994 making it “the first law in American history permitting physician-assisted suicide” (“Oregon Death”). Not everyone has the resources to go to Oregon or places such as Washington, California, Vermont, and Montana. For instance, if someone is terminally ill and lives in Florida, the closest place that offers legal euthanasia is Vermont which is roughly 1,480 miles away.
Euthanasia causes no harm to others, it is a basic human right. Everyone holds the right to a good death, so why should a good death be denied to someone who would like one? In the states where it is legal, they are made sure that it is properly regulated. The patient is required to go through a tough process just to get their consent, make sure they have a valid reason such as a terminal illness and lastly to make sure he or she and the physician
are protected. As you can see, people are not able to get euthanasia for an invalid reason.
There is no such thing as a life not worth living. Some would say that taking death above living with an illness is cheating your own life. In other words even if one has a disadvantage in life due to a terminal illness that should not prevent anyone from living the life they want to live. According to the Family Research Council every human life has inherent dignity, and that it is unethical to deliberately end the life of a suffering person. Euthanasia goes against religion and many individuals’ morals and ethics. Assisted-suicide is widely accepted as “the intentional hastening of death by a terminally ill patient with assistance from a doctor, relative, or another person (Nordqvist). Just because someone is terminally ill doesn’t mean that person cannot enjoy the time that is left. To be able to spend time with loved ones and enjoy the little things life has to offer. Families, friends, and loved ones should be taken into account and by having euthanasia legal we are bypassing that. Instead of partaking in euthanasia those that are sick should consider palliative care. The World Health Organization (WHO) says palliative care is the “approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness” (Nordqvist) which would provide a better alternative than suicide.
Permitting physicians to engage in euthanasia can be seen as doing more harm than good.
Euthanasia contradicts the main reason of being a physician. Doctors are known to be healers not killers and this could cause ethical issues. In Kirk Johnson’s letter on behalf of the American Medical Association (AMA) he addresses how euthanasia would make a negative impact. “The involvement of physicians in euthanasia heightens the significance of its ethical prohibition. The physician who performs euthanasia assumes unique responsibility for the act of ending the patient's life. Euthanasia could also readily be extended to incompetent patients and other vulnerable populations. Instead of engaging in euthanasia, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life. Patients should not be abandoned once it is determined that cure is impossible. Patients near the end of life must continue to receive emotional support, comfort care, adequate pain control, respect for patient autonomy, and good communication.” He stated an alternative to the suicide, which was that physicians should get the patient ready for his death and make him feel comfortable rather than just ending his
life.
Many people would agree that there is no life not worth living due to ignorance, but it is inhuman to make people suffer. By allowing euthanasia to exist legally in all the states every citizen who has a terminal illness would have the ability to die in peace knowing they would not suffer or have to deal with their organs failing on them. They should also be able to die around their loved ones. An example of a patient who had a terminal illness that believed in euthanasia was Brittany Maynard. She suffered from a brain disease called glioblastoma which is a highly invasive malignant tumor of the glial of the nervous system in the brain. Brittany Maynard then chose to move to Oregon to be able to legally pass away using euthanasia.
Legalizing euthanasia in every state will alleviate the expenses and stress that get put on the family of the patients. Many would say that by choosing death your loved ones suffer in the long run; however, when one decides to end their suffering, those who cared for the patient wouldn’t have to see the pain. It would help shorten the grief the families would have when the terminally ill pass away.
All in all, every state should allow euthanasia to legally be performed because it is inhuman to make people suffer; keeping it illegal has the potential to cause more harm than good, and everyone deserves to have autonomy over their medical decisions. Euthanasia is a part of allowing people to have free will and to make their own decisions without being questioned or doing things in the dark.