Euthanasia

Euthanasia

The famous Dr. Kevorkian, assisted suicide, and mercy killing are terms one may be familiar with, but what is the truth behind euthanasia? Euthanasia is putting someone to death who has an incurable disease and not letting them die naturally. Euthanasia can no longer be thought of as a solution. With advancements in pain medication, there is no need for mercy killing. In the light of euthanasia, doctors hold too much power because of the influence of their position. Euthanasia must be repudiated as a solution to any kind of illness because premature death never solves anything, and doctors must not hold the final decision.

Euthanasia must not be considered a viable treatment for the terminally ill. What does terminally ill mean, and who decides whether an ill patient is terminal or not? Doctors diagnose a patient to be terminally ill when the disease will ultimately kill them. Doctors are incapable of predicting the future, therefore, they can be unaware of a treatment that will soon be available. “But medicine has changed since the 1960’s, and many of the old definitions must be discarded. Sophisticated equipment and new techniques now permit HCP’s to resuscitate and save the lives of patients who would have no chance of survival only a few years ago” (Weiss 79). Doctors who advise euthanasia as a solution may be acting prematurely. A patient may be assisted in his suicide and the next day a cure may be found for his disease. Some ...