Decriminalizing Euthanasia

1752 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Contemporary debate over euthanasia

In society today humans condone several things such as war and self-defence. Despite the acceptance of both acts euthanasia is still both illegal and prohibited in Canada today. Euthanasia is the intentional murder of individuals who are suffering from an illness, and often euthanasia is a personal choice chosen by the one who is ill (Medina, 13). Firstly, euthanasia is an act committed out of love and compassion. Secondly, euthanasia is typically a personal choice that should not be denied. Lastly, doctor assisted euthanasia is not vulgar, but honourable and appropriate. Euthanasia allows individuals to end their lives in a dignified manner.

Decriminalizing euthanasia is not only a matter of life or death, but also one of cruelty or compassion. One would have to be heartless to prefer their loved one remain in a painful state, whether it be emotional, physical or both. There have been several instances where people have been put in circumstances where they refused to see their loved ones suffer. Canada’s most famous trial involving euthanasia took place in 1993, when Canadian Robert Latimer chose to end the life of his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy. Tracy had severe cerebral palsy and was recently suffering from a hip injury at the time her father chose to free her from her suffering. To do so, Robert had left Tracy in the family truck, which was running in the garage of their family home, where she suffocated from carbon monoxide (Smith, 185). Robert was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to the maximum Canadian sentence for life in prison. Robert eventually appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada who retried his sentence and lessened it to two years less one day (Downie, 41). As a loving father, Robert chose to kill...

... middle of paper ...

...thanasia is a noble way for one’s life to be ended. Euthanasia is an act committed out of mercy, allowing individuals to die in a respectful manner and saving their family, as well as granting people their wish to die. It allows for the terminally ill to be freed from their suffering and saving their loved ones from the grief that would follow if they had to see their family member living in pain. Euthanasia is also an act that is approved by many doctors in society today. It is unfathomable why euthanasia is forbidden in Canada, yet things such as war and abortion, both unjustifiable killings are allowed. In the criminal justice system pleas of self-defence and infanticide leave murders with meager sentences, whilst those who rescue someone from a painful journey receive harsher ones. Euthanasia is a simple and effective way for one to end their life’s journey.

Show More
Related

  • The Moral Permissibility of Legalizing Active Euthanasia

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    killing and letting die. Some argue that letting die, which is the action considered to take

    Read More

  • Legalization of Active Voluntary Euthanasia for the Terminally Ill

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    Euthanasia has been a long debated subject consisting of many opinions and believes. For this paper I will be providing my rationale on why I am for legalization of active voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill clients in Canada. Active voluntary euthanasia should be legalized because it respects the individual’s choice, it allows individuals to flourish in their passing, and reduces the individual from further suffering. These are all important components of bioethics, and are all good reasons why euthanasia is not a negative thing. Active voluntary euthanasia is “the active killing of a dying person” requested by the client themselves (Collier & Haliburton, 2011, p. 226). In the paper I will also be discussing about virtue ethics, the principle of autonomy, and care ethics.

    Read More

  • Essay On Euthanasia In Canada

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Longman dictionary euthanasia means “the deliberate killing of a person who is very ill ‘(terminal illness)’ and going to die, in order to stop them suffering.” There are two different types of euthanasia; active and passive. Euthanasia is legalized in some parts of the world like Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Oregon, Montana and Washington. Euthanasia should not be legalized in Canada because it is not lawful, ethical, and violates Canada’s respect for every religion.

    Read More

  • Euthanasia: Should Be Illegal in All 50 States

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today, there is a large debate over the situation and consequences of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of ending a human’s life by lethal injection or the stoppage of medication, or medical treatment. It has been denied by most of today’s population and is illegal in the fifty states of the United States. Usually, those who undergo this treatment have a disease or an “unbearable” pain somewhere in the body or the mind. Since there are ways, other than ending life, to stop pain caused by illness or depression, euthanasia is immoral, a disgrace to humanity, according to the Hippocratic Oath, and should be illegal throughout the United States.

    Read More

  • Legalizing Physician Assisted Suicide

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    In current society, legalizing physician assisted suicide is a prevalent argument. In 1997, the Supreme Court recognized no federal constitutional right to physician assisted suicide (Harned 1) , which defines suicide as one receiving help from a physician by means of a lethal dosage (Pearson 1), leaving it up to state legislatures to legalize such practice if desired. Only Oregon and Washington have since legalized physician assisted suicide. People seeking assisted suicide often experience slanted judgments and are generally not mentally healthy. Legalization of this practice would enable people to fall victim to coercion by friends and family to commit suicide. Also, asking for death is unfair to a doctor’s personal dogma. Some argue that society should honor the freedom of one’s choice to take his own life with the assistance of a physician; however, given the reasoning provided, it is in society’s best interest that physician assisted suicide remain illegal. Physician assisted suicide should not be legalized because suicidal people experience distorted judgments resulting in not being mentally equipped to make such a decision, people who feel they are a burden to their family may choose death as a result, and physicians should not have to go against their personal doctrines and promises.

    Read More

  • Banning the Death Penalty

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Any last words?” is the sentence that is given to the people who are about to be put to death.

    Read More

  • Euthanasia: A Way to End the Agony

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a suffering person, ill and in excruciating pain, would you like to continue enduring the pain in your life in extreme agony? Or would you rather rest and bring your life to a painless close? Every country is the home to sick people. Some live every day in excruciating pain, while others can’t do anything without assistance. For many, living in pain and not being able to do anything on their own is no way of living; and want to die to rest and put an end in their suffering. In many countries, this method is called Euthanasia, but is often referred to as assisted suicide. Unbelievably, in many countries around the world including Canada, euthanasia is illegal. Human euthanasia shouldn’t be illegal in Canada and should depend solely on the individual not the government of Canada. Two reasons why euthanasia should be legal in Canada are: Many people believe that ill people, debilitated for life and in torturous pain basically live no life and suffer every hour, day, minute and second they live. The second reason is that the law in Canada considers euthanasia to be manslaughter as seen in the following quote, “One might expect euthanasia to be prosecuted as first-degree murder, because there is intent to cause death, which is the definition of murder, and the act is most often planned and deliberate, which is the definition of first-degree murder.” Euthanasia is simply a way to end a person’s agony, but should only be done if the individual specifically asks for it to be done.

    Read More

  • Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Physician-assisted suicide should be a legal option, if requested, for terminally ill patients. For decades the question has been asked and a clear answer has yet to surface. It was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. Can someone's life be put into an answer? Shouldn't someone's decision in life be just that; their decision? When someone has suffered from a car accident, or battled long enough from cancer, shouldn't the option be available? Assisted suicide shouldn't be seen as cheating death, but as a way to pay homage to the life once lived. As far as including the mentally challenged in this equation, I am against it. The mentally challenged, although less likely to grasp information, still has the physical awareness to grow. It can be subdued with medicine and psychotherapy. From personal experience I am a witness of being around mentally challenged adults who love life regardless of their conditions. Most don't have the ability to express a request such as life or death. Living life is a daily task just like it is for healthy citizens. Most if not all mentally challenged people aren't in any pain throughout their entire life. For this they shouldn't be targeted for assisted suicide. Death is an occurrence in life, whether it's unexpected or expected, it can't be cheated nor can it be avoided. The terminally ill should have the option to end their suffering with dignity.

    Read More

  • Bonnie Steinbock The Morality Of Euthanasia

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Euthanasia Should Be Legal

    2051 Words  | 5 Pages

    Euthanasia has been an ongoing debate for many years. Everyone has an opinion on why euthanasia should or should not be allowed but, it is as simple as having the choice to die with dignity. If a patient wishes to end his or her life before a disease takes away their quality of life, then the patient should have the option of euthanasia. Although, American society considers euthanasia to be morally wrong euthanasia should be considered respecting a loved one’s wishes. To understand euthanasia, it is important to know the rights humans have at the end of life, that there are acts of passive euthanasia already in practice, and the beneficial aspects.

    Read More

  • Euthanasia; A Divided World

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thus, despite the arguments against euthanasia, patients’ lives should not be deprived of well-being, comfort or dignity. “In the last stage of life, every person is entitled to a high standard of care and a stable environment in which his or her privacy is respected” (Policy Options, 2013). A lot of the time, patients with terminal illnesses are thought of as ‘better off dead’ or ‘not the person they used to be’. This is all the more the reason why euthanasia should be legalized in Canada. The government should relax current laws and allow doctors to participate in assisted suicide if need be and are willing. If people suffering with terminal illnesses want to die peacefully and not endure painful procedures or live off machines whilst also helping society out money wise, the option should be available.

    Read More

  • Argument in Favor of Euthanasia

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    Euthanasia is one of the most recent and controversial debates today (Brogden, 2001). As per the Canadian Medical Association, euthanasia refers to the process of purposely and intentionally performing an act that is overtly anticipated to end the person’s life (CMA, 1998)

    Read More

  • A Defense of Euthanasia

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Legalizing Euthanasia

    2049 Words  | 5 Pages

    Yip,J. (2009). Euthanasia : An Overview. Canadian Point of View: Euthanasia, 1. Retrieved from Canadian Points of View Reference Centre database.

    Read More

  • Legalize Euthanasia

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Euthanasia is very controversial topic in the world today. Euthanasia, by definition, is the act of killing someone painlessly ,especially someone suffering from an incurable illness. Many people find euthanasia morally wrong, but others find people have control over thier own bodies and have a right to die. A solution to this problem is to have the patient consent to euthansia and have legal documentation of the consent.

    Read More

More about Decriminalizing Euthanasia

Open Document