Mrs. Williams
10th Lit/Comp
29 April 2013
Euthanasia in America
Murder or Justice, who knows? What is the exact purpose of life? Who is it that decides our fate, stating/deciding whether or not it’s worth being sustained? Euthanasia is a very controversial topic that is constantly being debated by many politicians. Some of these politicians have formed groups opposing the legalization of euthanasia. These politicians’ main argument is over the immorality of it, but still who are they to choose man’s fate. The individual should make his/her own decision and if not able to then the individuals family. Consider this, a woman is in her late 70’s and is diagnosed with Parkinson’s and cannot control any of her body and has lost her ability to speak. In this situation this patient is unable to decide her own death because she cannot voice her own opinion on whether she is ready to die or not. This is where the family would step in and decide for the individual. It is a waste to let a patient stay on life support who will never recover because this will only waste money, time, and space for the hospital in addition to the pain and suffering of the patient. This is America, the place of freedom and human rights. The people should be able to voice their own opinions and make their own decisions on when they should die. Liberty is a lawful right given to the people of America by the constitution that was written in place for situations like these. If death must be the outcome, then consent it to be accomplished.
Euthanasia is an ancient term used back around the Greek and Roman times. The word euthanasia is a Greek word meaning ‘“Good Death”’. This term is stating that euthanasia is a painless way of dying. Euthanasia is not just a practice that is used on humans this also applies to animals as well. Many animals that are old and useless or are dangerous are “put down” painlessly. The difference in this case is that animals cannot have a voiced opinion in this because for one, they cannot speak. People must keep in mind the guidelines in which euthanasia will be introduced as an option. Around the time that the issue became widely know
1. Marker, Rita L. "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Today." Society 43.4 (2006): 59-67. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
2. Cokeram, Paul. Euthanasia / Paul Cokeram, Book Editor. N.P.: Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, C2007, 2007. GIL Universal Catalog. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
3. Aghababaei, Naser, Hojjatollah Farahani, and Javad Hatami. "Euthanasia Attitude; a Comparison of Two Scales." Journal of Medical Ethics & History of Medicine 4.1 (2011): 1-6. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Euthanasia is another term for mercy killing. It is said to be the act of putting to death painlessly a person suffering from such incurable or painful disease. Meanwhile, in the 21st century it has been argued that euthanasia is one of the famous social concerns nowadays. Moreover, it is usually done by doctors to their patients who are terminally ill. Although euthanasia ends the suffering of the patients, it can damage the teachings of some religions, principle of medical ethics, and the patients trust.…
- 616 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
<br>When we hear the phrase voluntary euthanasia people generally think of one of two things: the active termination of life at the patient's or the Nazi extermination program of murder. Many people have beliefs about whether euthanasia is right or wrong, often without being able to define it clearly. Some people take an extreme view, while many fall somewhere between the two camps. The derivation means gentle and easy death coming from the Greek words, eu - thanatos. Euthanasia was formerly called "mercy killing," euthanasia means intentionally making someone die, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. Put bluntly, euthanasia means killing in the name of compassion.…
- 2774 Words
- 12 Pages
Good Essays -
What happens to plastic bottles after we throw them away? An interesting fact about plastic fabric or fleece is that it is a man-made fabric created from polyester fibers, which are created from recycled plastic soda bottles. The fibers are twisted into yarn, which is woven or twisted into fabric. Fleece is used to make blankets, throws, and clothing.…
- 355 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The debate around euthanasia is a tricky topic from the perspective of both patients and doctors. Should it be allowed, and if so, when is it appropriate to practice? Should doctors be held to moral standards when practicing euthanasia, and if so, which ones? Is killing a patient any different than letting a patient die? Daniel Callahan has responded to philosophers such as James Rachels in his article, “When Self-Determination Runs Amok,” and insists that recognizing the moral distinction between killing and letting die is crucial in evaluating whether euthanasia is permissible. Callahan discusses how euthanasia should not be permitted under any circumstances based on three important turning…
- 2172 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
What is euthanasia? Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful diseases, in other words assisted suicide. There are different types of euthanasia that can be distinguish, the performing of killing with drugs or life-saving treatment because the patient…
- 863 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Definitions of euthanasia abound in the medical community. John Keown in his book Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legalisation, creates a succinct definition of euthanasia based on various understandings of the process, "Euthanasia involves doctors making decisions which have the effect of shortening a patient's life and these decisions are based on the belief that the patient would be better off dead" (Keown 10). One often sees manifestations of euthanasia on the death beds of those close to death. Doctors, loved ones, or the patient himself decides that it is better to be dead than alive. However, a major distinction must be made between active and passive euthanasia.…
- 1545 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
A hotly debated issue regarding the quality of life for terminally ill patients revolves around the morality and legal implications of euthanasia, or physician assisted suicide which is defined as the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease, or in an irreversible coma. There are already a multitude of laws in place regulating physician assisted suicide in some states and countries, as well as laws preventing the practice. But despite these preventative laws physician assisted suicide remains an underground practice to relieve patient suffering. In lieu of the supposed moral issues associated with physician assisted suicide,…
- 3211 Words
- 13 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The word 'euthanasia' comes from the Greek words 'eu' and 'thanatos', together translating as 'good death'. The Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary defines euthanasia as the 'act of taking life to relieve suffering'. In practice euthanasia proves to be far more complex, as it comes in a variety of forms. Passive euthanasia is the deliberate withdrawal of treatment and nourishment for the terminally ill patient. Active euthanasia is on the authority or for the best interests of the patient who perhaps is unable to speak for him or herself. For example, a hospital could decide when to take someone off a life support machine. Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient makes a request to have their life terminated, through the administration of a drug or other means. There is also involuntary euthanasia, which is when a life is taken away without and individual's consent and against their will and is one of the many causes for the sensitivity and distress surrounding this matter.…
- 510 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
1. What pressure is required to contain 0.023 moles of nitrogen gas in a 4.2 L container at a…
- 1084 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Why should doctors, lawmakers, ethicists, or anyone else claim to know what is best for them? They don’t know what the person is going through, or how much they are suffering. The patients go through all the needle pokes, side effects, and weaknesses. It is their decision; they have the right to decide what to do with their life. Why have a person who is suffering lie in bed waiting to die? What is the good thing about that? They are not enjoying their life; they have a sudden hope of just dying. That intentionally becomes the thing they’d most wish upon anything. There have been many cases where families began to notice their loved ones suffering and fought for the right to remove them from life support. Although, the government began granting families wishes in 1990, only 4 out of 5 people would be granted the wish to die. In order for the government to consider patients for assisted suicide they wanted evidence from the patient. They wanted to make sure that this is what the patient desired. "Because it is impossible to know how much another person is suffering, only the dying patient can make such a serious decision. “If there was no proof of a patients wish to die the government would not grant the families wishes.”(Torr). This is why the most important requirement for euthanasia to be justified is that the dying patient specifically requests it" (Torr). "The central question…
- 1387 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Who are we to say when we should die? Are we trying to play God, or do we just want the right to end the inevitable a little sooner than God’s plan for us? This paper will discuss pros and cons of euthanasia with stories and research. Such as the case of a ninety five year old comma patient, whose family receives the news that she could live for months, years even in a vegetative state on life support; leaving the family questioning whether or not to pull the plug and put an end to what otherwise would be like the “death of a hundred deaths.”…
- 1189 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
To look at the right to die one must first question if it is compassionate to keep a person in a consistent state of suffering until they succumb to their illness? Suffering, disease, pain are all synonymous with deterioration, in this case, it’s deterioration of life itself. Euthanasia of a beloved pet is the ‘humane’ way to say goodbye in many cases due to our humanitarian obligation to preclude pain, this humanity should be extended to humans. Our society under the preconceived notion that death is a punishment that is only inflicted to those who have committed the greatest of crimes, or equally as dangerous, that death is a sort of tragedy. To protect the sanctity of life in a person whose quality of life is limited, they should be allowed to request to hasten their own death. Physician-assisted suicide does not denigrate life, it enhances…
- 840 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Today there are millions of people who are living with a terminal illness. Many of these people are basically waiting to die. Modern medicine can either do nothing more to help them or they have enacted their right to refuse treatments. Whichever the case may be the question arises: should we have the right to choose to die? This paper will be examining euthanasia and assisted suicide. It will begin by first defining what euthanasia; it will also be looking into the different types of euthanasia; there is passive and active. Next I will share my own personal feeling on the issue of euthanasia. I do believe in certain circumstances that euthanasia should be allowed; after all the law does support a human beings right to determine what will be done their own body. Each person is going to have their own view of the issue; my opinion on it is not going to be the same as someone else’s. Then this paper will define and describe the special populations that are presented on the Pro/Con website as well as how this population might be adversely affected by euthanasia. I will discuss my own beliefs regarding euthanasia and these special populations. And finally this paper will look at the laws concerning physician assisted suicide in Texas. It will compare and contrast theses laws against Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.…
- 2527 Words
- 11 Pages
Better Essays -
Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, physician-assisted suicide or doctor-assisted suicide, or simply known as mercy killing is the action of deliberately ending the life of a hopelessly sick and injured individual (such as an animal or human being) to relieve pain and suffering. Euthanasia is a very controversial topic with many views related to religion, moral, ethical and compassionate arguments surrounding the issue (MedicalNewsToday, 2017; nhs.uk, 2017; Merriam-webster.com, 2017).…
- 468 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Euthanasia is derived from the Greek word euthanos, which means good death (Dychtwal, 1989). Once it was converted into English, the word translated out to mean a…
- 3356 Words
- 14 Pages
Better Essays