The poem, To the Mercy Killers, by Dudley Randall is by far a poem which tackles the subject of euthanasia right up to its target: the “Killers”. The “Killers” are unfairly portrayed in a negative light, evoking pity for the terminally ill. For most, it is the cause of so much division in terms of beliefs evolving into a never ending moral dilemma, being the natural victims of the absolute conditioning of society. Euthanasia or mercy killing is a confusing subject that tackles the moral, legal, medical and ethical issues. It’s so confusing that even the Randall is somewhat baffled too, about which side to take, although the last line settles everything with: “Do not put my life. Let me still glow” (14), when there is nothing bright about the idea of being robbed off, of the life as a human.
Life in its simplest sense is a characteristic that distinguishes the animate and self-sustaining creations of the universe from the inanimate ones. Death, once human emotion and sentiment is removed from the idea, is only the ceasing of such characteristics. Life in a human is clearly far more complex compared to the other existing forms on this planet. The ability to think, along with the possession of higher conscious and greater awareness of its surroundings, makes a human somewhat special in certain aspects. The life of a human is differentiated by its intelligence and the experiences that are stimulating. Pain, an experience felt by a human and restricted to the living world, is an indicator of damage and in many cases the very cause for death. Most living organisms are blessed with the ability to detect pain and use it involuntarily to avoid its own destruction or death. For a human, pain could be emotional, psychological or physica...
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.... And mercy killing is just one form of ending it, regardless of religion, beliefs and law.
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“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”.
vital functions: the end of life. When people are faced with the reality of their ultimate demise, they
On United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, It is suggested that “As Catholic leaders and moral teachers, we believe that life is the most basic gift of a loving God- a gift over which we have stewardship but not absolute dominion.” They also suggest that the God will always offer them with bearable experience and an end shows distrust and disrespect to the God. All these opinions points out the disagreement of Catholics in euthanasia. It is a fact that in some parts of the world the religion plays a big part in the society. Therefore allowing euthanasia is obviously a measure to destruct religious beliefs so that we should ban it for the religious side. Yet there is a significant and growing percentage of non-Christians and liberal Christians in North America who do not accept these arguments, the number of opponents compared to that of people holding the previous point is still
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Mercy killing is the act of taking someone’s life painlessly. Victims of mercy killing “include persons who are in a vegetative state or those who suffer from an incurable and painful disease or condition.” People argue and refute mercy killing whether it is acceptable or not. It is neither acceptable nor wrong, arguably it is required to be a necessity when dealing with cases when there are no other options than surviving in the world in misery. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s character, Lennie, mentally ill, has committed a treacherous act of murder by mere accident because he was panicked. He is mercy killed by his close friend and sort of master, George, so that he will no longer be in misery and suffering. Mercy killing is a
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