Alternative Arguments Against Euthanasia

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Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering. It has become a very heated topic with many people having different views on it. Many people argue that a person should have control of their life and be able to decide how and when they die. Other people believe that euthanasia should not be legalized and there are many reasons to support that. Three of the types of arguments against euthanasia I am going to talk about are the slippery slope argument, the medical ethics argument, and the alternative argument. The alternative argument deals with the fact that there are advances in palliative care and mental health treatment. The real alternative to euthanasia and assisted suicide is to provide long, competent care for they dying or disabled person. The relatively healthy individual who supports the legalizing of euthanasia, the reason is fear that they themselves might want it sometime in the future if they get cancer or other debilitating disease. They may fear of becoming a burden to their family. They may fear of surviving but without really living. They may have a fear of severe and uncontrolled pain. According to Life.org opponents of euthanasia believe that the develop of modern methods of palliative care makes the legalization of euthanasia unnecessary. Those experienced in hospice care say that the greatest fear of the …show more content…

The medical ethics argument states that legalizing euthanasia would violate one of the most important medical ethics, which, in the words of the international code of medical ethics is, “A physician shall always bear in mind the obligation to respect human life.” Asking doctors to abandon their obligation to preserve human life could damage the doctor- patient relationship. Death caused by euthanasia on a regular basis could become a routine task for doctors, leading to a lack of compassion when dealing with elderly, disabled, or terminally ill

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