Ending Human Life

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Ending Human Life

As we age and watch or loved one grow old we begin to witness and perhaps experience struggles with illnesses, lack of health and other serious physical and emotional battles. We are faced with the inevitable reality of death. In rare cases we are forced to make unpleasant decisions and we must ask ourselves is death better than meaningless suffering? Mercy killing is defined as taking direct action to terminate a patient’s life with or without his/her direct permission (184). Mercy killing is based on the assumption that death will benefit the victim by terminating his or her suffering. Mercy killing is a controversial topic among health professionals and society in general. Much of this debate exists due to the differences in moral and ethical views. After reviewing chapter 10 and other articles that discus mercy killing and mercy death my argument is for the acceptability of assisted suicide under certain circumstances such as when a patient is suffering an incurable disease or extreme painful. Many believe that mercy killing is immoral or unethical, howev...

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