The word euthanasia originated from the Greek language as explained in Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: Introduction (Robinson). It means the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies. This means that the person who dies must ask someone else to help them kill themselves. However, euthanasia can include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life. Sometimes people end up being victims of euthanasia without giving consent because their doctors feel that there is little hope of them, passing it off as an act of mercy to mollify themselves. Euthanasia shouldn’t be considered suicide; it should be considered murder because a person committing suicide doesn’t need any help doing it whereas a person who uses euthanasia as a means of death needs the help of a physician or another trained person.
As informed in an article by B. A. Robinson, contrary to some misplaced beliefs, there are many types of euthanasia (Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide). These include: passive euthanasia, active euthanasia, physician assisted suicide, and involuntary euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is the hastening of the death of a person by altering some form of support and letting nature take its course. Overdose of morphine is the most common form of passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia involves causing the death of a person through a direct action, in response to a request from that person. Physician assisted suicide occurs when a physician supplies information and/or the means of committing suicide to a person, so that they can easily terminate their own life. Involuntary euthanasia describes the killing of a person who hasn’t explicitly requested aid in dying.
Many peop...
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...her life should have the full weight of the justice system brought down on them. It’s a doctor’s job to help, not kill. Euthanasia just isn’t right. It isn’t fair to the families of the patients and it’s not fair to the patient, either
Works Cited
Burke, J. Balch and Randall K. O’Bannon. “Why We Shouldn’t Legalize Assisting Suicide: Part III: What About the Terminally Ill?” http://www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/asisuid3.html.
Finsterbusch, Kurt. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Social Issues. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Dubuque, Iowa. 2006: 256-267.
“In a Nutshell.” http://www.balancedpolitics.org/assisted_suicide.htm.
Robinson, B. A. “Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: Introduction.” 1997 – 2002. http://www.religioustolerance.org/euth1.htm.
Yount, Lisa. Euthanasia. Lucent Books, Inc. San Diego, California. 2001: 11-12.
Any discussion that pertains to the topic of euthanasia must first include a clear definition of the key terms and issues. With this in mind, it should be noted that euthanasia includes both what has been called physician-assisted "suicide" and voluntary active euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide involves providing lethal medication(s) available to the patient to be used at a time of the patient’s own choosing (Boudreau, p.2, 2014). Indifferently, voluntary active euthanasia involves the physician taking an active role in carrying out the patient’s request, and usually involves intravenous delivery of a lethal substance. Physician-assisted suicide is felt to be easier psychologically for the physician and patient than euthanasia because
Sloss, David. "The Right to Choose How to Die: A Constitutional Analysis of State Laws Prohibiting Physician-Assisted Suicide." Stanford Law Review. 48.4 (1996): 937-973. Web. 2 March 2015.
The word Euthanasia comes from the Greek and means “good death” (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) and in the range of this paper, it is called physician assisted suicide or “active” euthanasia. The definition of “active” euthanasia is ending one’s life yourself or with the aid of a doctor. It can be done in various different ways; however, the most common form is with a combination of drugs, usually given by a physician. ( http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) The reason Physician Assisted Suicide (or PAS) is an important issue in this country and around the world is that there are many people out there suffering from debilitating, incurable and intensely painful diseases that would like to end their lives with dignity and without suffering.
Dworkin, Gerald. " The Nature of Medicine." Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: For and Against. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998.
There are two types of euthanasia: passive and active. Passive or voluntary euthanasia refers to withholding life saving treatments or medical technology to prolong life. For example, a patient has the right to refuse medical treatment. They also have the right to refuse resuscitation if they are in need to be placed on life support. Active or involuntary euthanasia refers to providing the means for someone to take their life or assisting with taking their life (“Euthanasia” Discovering).
Euthanasia is defined as the act of killing someone who is terminally ill or those who are seriously injured in a reasonably painless way for reasons of compassion (Diaconescu). There are two types of administering euthanasia, which are Active and Passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is when the medical professionals or another person intentionally does something that causes the patient to die. An example of active euthanasia is killing a patient using lethal injection. Passive euthanasia is when the patient dies because the medical professionals don't do or stops doing something to extend the patient’s life or when they stop doing something that is keeping the patient alive. An example of passive euthanasia are turning off life support machines, disconnecting fe...
"Assisted Suicide: Finding Common Ground." Lois Snyder, JD; and Authur L. Caplan, PhD. Annals of Internal Medicine. March 21, 2000. v.132, n.6
The word “euthanasia” comes from the Ancient Greek “eu” - good and “thanatos” - death. Plato argued that suicide was against the will of the gods, and was therefore wrong. He does say that patients that are unable to live normally should be denied treatment. Aristotle believed that suicide is wrong because the law forbids it. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was against active euthanasia. In his famous “Hippocratic oath”, a line forbids giving a “deadly drug” [9][11].
Euthanasia, as defined by the Encarta Encyclopedia, is the “practice of mercifully ending a person’s life in order to release the person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death” (Encarta, 2004). Euthanasia is a Greek word, which means “good death.” As humans, we understand death is something we cannot avoid but having some control over death is empowering and reassuring to us. If someone is suffering from a terminal illness, intolerable pain, or in a long-term coma, euthanasia is an acceptable option for someone to end his or her life. With the consent of their doctor(s) these people should be able to have the law on their side supporting their decisions.
There are a couple different ways a person can go about killing themselves. Some can be done legally and others illegally. Those ways are euthanasia which have different forms and physician assisted suicide. Euthanasia consists of passive and active euthanasia and involuntary, voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia. Most times they can be combined to form types such as voluntary passive euthanasia. Forms of Euthanasia defines these different types of euthanasia as follow. Active euthanasia is described as another person causing the death of a patient. An example of this would be giving a patient enough painkillers to overdose and kill themselves. Passive euthanasia is another type which is legal but has drawn a lot of controversy. It can be defined as withholding and withdrawing from treatments. Involuntary euthanasia is the killing of a patient whose wishes are to stay alive. An ...
Smith, Cheryl. "Should Active Euthanasia Be Legalized: Yes." American Bar Association Journal April 1993. Rpt. in CQ Researcher 5.1 (1995): 409.
“Euthanasia is defined as a deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending life of another person to relieve that person's suffering and where the act is the cause of death.”(Gupta, Bhatnagar and Mishra) Some define it as mercy killing. Euthanasia may be voluntary, non voluntary and involuntary. When terminally ill patient consented to end his or her life, it is called voluntary euthanasia. Non voluntary euthanasia occurs when the suffering person never consented nor requested to end a life. These patients are incompetent to decide because they are either minor, in a comatose stage or have mental conditions. Involuntary euthanasia is conducted when it is against the will of the patient (Gupta, Bhatnagar, Mishra). Euthanasia can be either passive or active. Passive euthanasia means life-sustaining treatments are withheld and nothing is done to keep the patient alive. Active euthanasia occurs when a physician do something by giving drugs or substances that ends a patient’s life. (Medical News Today)
Kuhse, Helga. “Euthanasia.” A Companion to Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 1991. 294-302. Print.
Larson, Edward J. & Co. “Legalizing Euthanasia Would Encourage Suicide” Euthanasia- Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Carol Wesseker.
Euthanasia is a medical procedure which speeds up the process of dying for people with incurable, painful, or distressing diseases. The patient’s doctor can stop treatment and instead let them die from their illness. It come from the Greek words for 'good' and 'death', and is also called mercy killing. Euthanasia is illegal in most countries including the UK . If you suffer from an incurable disease, you cannot legally terminate your life. However, in a number of European countries it is possible to go to a clinic which will assist you to die gracefully under some very strict circumstances.