Free Essays brought to you by 123HelpMe.com



Euthanasia Mercy Killing

 

     Sue Rodriguez has reminded us all of our own mortality and our need to

think carefully about the kind of society we want to live and to die in.

Sue Rodriguez was known through the media, and her well spoken and eloquent

speeches.  People painfully in support of what she believed in, watched as

her strength was sapped by the devastating disease (amyotrophic lateral

sclerosis), and we were moved by her clear thought and her bravery as a

person facing death.  Here was a woman who acted on her beliefs with

courage and tenacity and whose grace has enriched us all.

 

     It is no defense to point to the fact that a person has requested to

be killed:  "No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted upon

him, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibilities of any

person by whom death may be inflicted upon the person by whom consent is

given," which seems to mean that no one has a right to consent to have

death inflicted on him or her.  In addition, if a person causes the death

of another, the consent of the deceased does not provide the person who

caused the death a defense to criminal responsibility.  Is there a

difference, do you think, between a person who, at a dying person's request,

prepares a poison and leaves it on the bedside for that person to take, and

a person who helps the patient to drink it or who administers it directly

at the request of a dying person who is unable to take it personally?  Is

there, in short, a real distinction between killing and letting die?  Well,

this is the difference between passive and active euthanasia, and if you

believe in euthanasia, you must decide which one is correct or even accept

both to be correct depending upon the situation.

 

     We must carefully think through a number of conceptual issues. What is

a person?  What is death?  How does the difference between active and

passive function in arguments for and against euthanasia?  Is there any

difference between killing and letting die?  Suppose the doctor agrees to

withhold treatment... The justification for his doing so is that the

patient is in terrible agony, and since he is going to die anyway, it would

be wrong to prolong his suffering needlessly. But now notice this.  If one

simply withholds treatment, it may take the patient longer to die, and so

he may suffer more than he would if more direct action were taken and a

lethal injection given.  This fact provides strong reason for thinking that,

once the initial decision not to prolong his agony has been made, active

euthanasia is actually preferable to passive euthanasia, rather than the

reverse.  Individuals have the right to decide about their own lives and

deaths.  Denying terminally ill patients the right to die with dignity is

unfair and cruel.  The golden rule requires that we allow active euthanasia

for terminally ill patients who request it in certain situations. People

have the right to die with dignity and lucidity.

 

     Gayle Stelter (Vancouver Sun) writes, "For almost seven years I have

been living with cancer, mostly joyously and gratefully, but gradually

seeing the disease encroaching relentlessly on my once healthy body.

Throughout these years, I have thought long and hard about death and I've

discovered that it's not the prospect of death itself that is so

frightening, but the process of dying.  So to give myself courage, I have

held an option in reserve.  When I can see no quality ahead, when I am

capable of bidding my loved ones a coherent farewell, when I am still in

control of my resources, I will enlist someone's help to speed me on my

journey... For those of us who may choose to leave while there is still an

element of control, of coherence, may we be fortunate to have a friend, a

loved one, a health professional who will use their gifts in order that we

may be excused. To deny such expert guidance in this last rite would be

both heartless and inhuman." Another person I had read about states:  "I

have multiple myeloma...a rare bone marrow cancer...[that] destroys the

blood, bones, immune system, kidneys and sometimes liver and spleen. The

worst of it is the disintegration of the skeleton...Unless one is lucky

enough to die of sepsis first, the death is long and agonizing.  The act of

sitting up can fracture the vertebrae and lifting the dinner tray can

fracture both forearms. Who deserves that? For what principle?"

 

     I believe that there are some circumstances when euthanasia is the

morally correct action.  I also understand that there are real concerns

about legalizing euthanasia because of fear of misuse and/or overuse and

the fear of the slippery slope leading to a loss of respect for the value

of life.  We do need to proceed with caution.  Euthanasia is homicide.

Some homicides are justified.  Life at some point can become so unpleasant

and so hopeless that virtually no one would wish to continue it, and the

opponent of euthanasia must face up to this fact honestly. Suffering can

take many forms, physical, mental and emotional. Not all of these are

relevant to euthanasia - I have not heard anyone suggest, for example,

mercy killing for the clinically depressed - but many are, in particular

physical agony and the emotional despair of extreme disability.  People

have always killed themselves, for reasons that seemed good to them, and it

has long been recognized that laws against suicide serve little or no

purpose.

 

     This issue remains a live one with respect to euthanasia because it is

plausibly pointed out that, if you have a legal right to commit suicide,

and you are physically unable to do so unaided, it seems unfair to

prosecute someone who helps you. Suffering and suicides are perennial

factors, but today's conditions have added a host of other complications.

In particular, we have medical techniques that can preserve life far beyond

what would have been possible in the past.  All this is cause for gratitude.

 One consequence of this sort of medical development is that it is now

possible.

 

Partner sites: Baby Names and Their Meanings, and Free Essays and Term Papers