The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

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The use of euthanasia in the medical field has been a long debated topic and is still subject to controversy among today’s society. Gallup’s survey reveals that 68 percent of Americans hold that the practice of assisted suicide should be permissible by law. Because majority support does not necessarily express ideality, one must consider the effects of euthanasia in a holistic fashion to make viable conclusions. The use of euthanasia as a medical solution to undesired problems should not be legal in any form: The use of euthanasia diminishes the clear line between medical treatment and medical abuse, defiles the natural course of life and influences individuals to devalue life.
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“As one Ethicist states, there is a ‘crucial difference between taking a life intentionally and allowing a death naturally. The first is homicide, and the second is a natural death’ ” (Source F). The distinction between active and passive participation is crucial to the understanding of euthanasia. Euthanasia involves the active participation of a medical expert in a person’s death, bringing human life to a premature end. The fact that a lethal injection will kill both a healthy and a sick individual as opposed to the natural course of life express the distinctions between natural death and euthanasia. Since this form of treatment can cause fatal results for all people, is it right to classify Euthanasia as treatment? Furthermore, retreating to the use of euthanasia essentially contradicts what it means to be a doctor and practitioner of medicine. In the process of euthanasia rather than the physician administering pain relief and healing, he becomes an agent of death. Prominent Greek physician Hippocrates spoke against the idea of euthanasia in his Hippocratic Oath as he vowed to “give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest in council,” (Source H). This oath, which is still taken and held in reverence today, expresses the basis of medical practice, to improve the lives of others and to cause no harm to those subject to treatment. Doctors and other medical professionals should strive for better quality medicine and more extensive treatment that will increase survival rate of fatal diseases and reduce the pain caused by the diseases rather than settling for assisted

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1590 Words | 4 Pages
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1874 Words | 4 Pages
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1271 Words | 3 Pages
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The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

Active Euthanasia: Physician Assisted Suicide is Wrong