“Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering” (Euthanasia, 2013). Every year, hundreds of people are injured greatly both physical and psychological. Some of these are so heavily hurt that they feel they have nothing left to live for. Their lives are ruined and all they can do is sit, eat and sleep. In some cases it is discussed if euthanasia could be an option. However, it has always been a question how bad an injury is before one can perform euthanasia. Is the value of life bigger than the pain of a victim? In this term paper I will therefore, through facts, researches and personal beliefs, try to answer the question: Who and/or what determines which lives are worthy or not?
Firstly, to show how widespread euthanasia is, we can look at the legality. The law is a very restricted law and it is only legalised in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. However, passive suicide is a passed law (an even more restricted variation of euthanasia) in Switzerland and four US states: Washington, Oregon, Montana and Vermont. This fact does on the other hand not certify that only people from these states are helped to die. In Switzerland the organisation Dignitas reports to have helped 164 British residents (as euthanasia is completely illegal in the UK) over the last 13 years, and that the numbers are increasing each year. (Ertelt, 2012) Nevertheless some people are not completely happy with the situation. They wish for an easier way to get help and want the government to pass the law in their country/state.
Furthermore we can look at what worthy really refers to. It can refer to the concrete value of a human life measured in dollars or pounds or it can vary depending on family and s...
... middle of paper ...
...ternational.net/page/USA
Ertelt, S. (2012). “Switzerland – assisted suicide deaths up 700% in 11 years”. Localised 11. 11. 2013 on the Internet: http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/29/switzerland-assisted-suicide-deaths-up-700-in-11-years/
Euthanasia (2013). Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia. Localised 11.11.2013 on the Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia
Facts and Statistics on Euthanasia (2013). Religion facts. Localised 28.11.2013 on the Internet: http://www.religionfacts.com/euthanasia/stats.htm#6
Henig, R. M. (2013). “A life or death situation”. Localised 11.11.2013 on the Internet: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/magazine/a-life-or-death-situation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=euthanasia
Kip Viscusi, W. (2005). The value of life [pdf]. Localised 11.11.2013 on the Internet: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/olin_center/papers/pdf/Viscusi_517.pdf
Manu, Constantin D. "Assisted Suicide." Journal of Medicine and Life, vol. 3, no. 1, 2010., pp. 52-9.NC Live. http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 755214846? accountid=13939. Accessed 24 Sept. 2016.
Beauchamp, T. 1999, ‘The Beginning and End of Life’ in Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, eds Walters, L. & Beauchamp, T., Wadsworth, Belmont CA, pp. 94-98.
Velasquez, Manuel, Andre, Claire “Assisted Suicide A Right or Wrong.” Santa Clara university n.d. web 24 March 2012
Sloan, I. The Right to Die: Legal and Ethical Problems. London: Oceana Publications, Inc. 1988.
Harned, Mary. “The Dangers of Assisted Suicide.” Defending Life. Americans United for Life, 3 April 2012. Web. 20 March 2014.
Physician-Assisted Suicide, or Euthanasia, is a serious issue, and it affects people throughout all walks of life. From teenagers with angst, to older adults feeling hopeless in their life, to the elderly suffering from terminal illnesses, suicide pervades throughout their thought processes as an alternative to their emotionally and physically pervasive situations. Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, has a history dating back to the seventeenth century. Only recently has it become as controversial an issue as it has.
“Michael Manning, MD, in his 1998 book Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: Killing or Caring?, traced the history of the word euthanasia: ‘The term euthanasia.originally meant only 'good death,'but in modern society it has come to mean a death free of any anxiety and pain, often brought about through the use of medication.” It seems there has always been some confusion and questions from our society about the legal and moral questions regarding the new science of euthanasia. “Most recently, it has come to mean'mercy killing' — deliberately putting an end to someone’s life in order to spare the individual’s suffering.’” I would like to emphasize the words “to spare the individual’s suffering”.
Horkan, Thomas. "Legislation That Complicates Dying." Eds. Gary McCuen and Therese Boucher. Hudson: Gary McCuen Publications, 1985. 69-72.
My claim: I argue in favor of the right to die. If someone is suffering from a terminal illness that is: 1) causing them great pain – the pain they are suffering outweighs their will to live (clarification below) 2) wants to commit suicide, and is of sound mind such that their wanting is reasonable. In this context, “sound mind” means the ability to logically reason and not act on impulses or emotions. 3) the pain cannot be reduced to the level where they no longer want to commit suicide, then they should have the right to commit suicide. It should not be considered wrong for someone to give that person the tools needed to commit suicide.
... value ordering. Goldman says life does not hold value in itself; instead most individuals derive the meaning of life from their accomplishments and happiness to the point where individuals may even risk their health and lives to attain those. As established before about paternalism in a medical contest, it is only the patient’s true values that can be primary determinants of their futures.
In this essay, I will discuss whether euthanasia is morally permissible or not. Euthanasia is the intention of ending life due to inevitable pain and suffering. The word euthanasia comes from the Greek words “eu,” which means good, and “thanatosis, which means death. There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive. Active euthanasia is when medical professionals deliberately do something that causes the patient to die, such as giving lethal injections. Passive euthanasia is when a patient dies because the medical professionals do not do anything to keep them alive or they stop doing something that was keeping them alive. Some pros of euthanasia is the freedom to decide your destiny, ending the pain, and to die with dignity. Some cons
sanctity of life or whether one life is more valuable than another, it gives us something to
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide . (2012, 01 08). Retrieved from NHS Choices. Your Health, Your Choices: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/euthanasiaandassistedsuicide/Pages/Introduction.aspx
More than likely, a good majority of people have heard about euthanasia at least once in their lifetime. For those out there who have been living under a rock their entire lives, euthanasia “is generally understood to mean the bringing about of a good death – ‘mercy killing’, where one person, ‘A’, ends the life of another person, ‘B’, for the sake of ‘B’.” (Kuhse 294). There are people who believe this is a completely logical scenario that should be allowed, and there are others that oppose this view. For the purpose of this essay, I will be defending those who are suffering from euthanasia.
Larson, Edward J. & Co. “Legalizing Euthanasia Would Encourage Suicide” Euthanasia- Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Carol Wesseker.