Euthanasia should not be legalized in the US

On average, 151, 600 people die per day (Ross). Countless people live in fear of death, due to the massive uncertainties. They fear the pain and suffering that often precedes death, so they do everything they can to stay alive, even if it means staying connected to life support for months, completely immobile and unresponsive. Because medical technology has advanced substantially in recent years, scientists have created ways to achieve an easy and simple death, now known as euthanasia. In Greek, euthanasia translates to “easy or painless death” (Barnard). However, in modern times the question of legalizing euthanasia has become majorly controversial. Legalizing euthanasia for terminally ill patients is necessary because it will allow patients to die with dignity, it will prevent patients from having to live a low quality life full of suffering, and it will allow patients to have a choice of life or death rather than be required to by the government.

Euthanasia, is a difficult complex issue in society today. It has been heavily criticized since it was proposed to be legalized in the early 20th century, when it became a choice for terminally ill patients. Patients would flood doctors doors for this treatment to end suffering. This names the question, why is euthanasia illegal? Why should the government have the right to control one 's life in a way to suffer longer than one has too. Or as Thomas Craft says “How can it be lawful to allow a patient die slowly, though painlessly, over a period of weeks from lack of food, but unlawful to produce his immediate death a lethal injection, thereby saving his family yet by another ordeal to add to the tragedy that has already struck them?”(Craft

Throughout the course of history, advances in medical technology have prolonged the length of life and delayed death; however, terminal illnesses still exist and modern medicine is often unable to prevent death. Many people turn to a procedure known as Physician-Assisted suicide, a process by which a doctor aids in ending a terminally ill patient’s life. This procedure is painless and effective, allowing patients to control their death and alleviate unnecessary suffering. In spite of these benefits, Physician-Assisted suicide is illegal in many places both nationally and internationally. Despite the fact that Physician-Assisted suicide is opposed by many Americans and much of the world on ethical and moral grounds such as those based on religion and the morality of taking another life, it should still be legalized because it alleviates suffering of patients, allows patients to choose a dignified death, and allows patients to control their own fate instead of their disease controlling them.

Throughout life, people experience the pain of losing loved ones, the helplessness of sickness, and pain that seems unbearable, but when it becomes unending, they may wish for someone else to end it for them. Euthanasia is a viable choice to many people who see no end to the terminal illness or pain they experience, and for others euthanasia is a horrible idea of wasting a valuable life when a person takes their own life or by others even if consented. Doctors Boudreau and Somerville define euthanasia using the quote from the 1995 Canadian Senate report, “The deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending the life of another person in order to relieve that person’s suffering” (qtd in Boudreau and Somerville 2). The issue of whether or not to legalize euthanasia is a big conflict between those who will die with or without it and those who think taking a life no matter the circumstances is wrong, including the doctor’s that

Life is held dear by many and cherished by most. Many take life for granted and do not think about how they might feel if their life was about to demise. Death should not be wished or chosen upon anyone unless it is desired by the individual for specific reasoning. According to Voluntary Euthanasia, “it is certainly true that a request to die may not reflect an ending desire to die”, but to permit themselves to by accompanied by the creator and out of any pain. (Young). Euthanasia is defined as bringing death to another person because they believe that they would be better off dead to benefit themselves. Americans should consider the acts of euthanasia upon another existence because individuals have the right to choose their end of life decision,

Euthanasia is derived from a Greek word Euthanotos, which literally means good death. It refers to a practice of intentional ending of a life to relieve the pain and suffering of a person. Voluntary Euthanasia is often the most focused topic for pro-Euthanasia arguers, so I’m going to focus a little more on that. For Euthanasia or assisted suicide to occur, there must be an intention to kill. Support for euthanasia is motivated by compassion, but it is clear that any conceivable good that could come from legalising euthanasia would be far outweighed by its harmful consequences. Those who promote euthanasia or called mercy killing will be biding their time, waiting for the “right” time to bring the issue to the front of people’s minds. The present law does not distinguish between Euthanasia and other forms of murder. The key consideration of Euthanasia is the intention to cause death. Euthanasia is murder. Consent or motive even of compassion, does not change the reality of killing a human being and it should be permanently banned from the Malaysia. Therefore, I totally agreed that voluntary euthanasia should not be legalized or implemented due to some particular reasonable reasons.

The matter of euthanasia continues to be a contentious issue within today’s society. Over the past years, there have been a slew of debates that have tried to justify the practice of assisted suicide, otherwise known as euthanasia. Gallup’s survey in 2007 served to illustrate this fact by showing that over 75 percent of Americans believe that euthanasia should be permitted. However, what Americans have failed to discern is that legalizing any form of euthanasia goes against the sanctity of life and will result in no limitations to the justifications of why it is being performed. It seems as if society has become so debauched that the American people honestly feel that they can condone ending the life of a precious individual.

In America , life is highly valued and praised. In America, health is one of the most important fields, new medicine and treatments are constantly being invented. However; when talking about life and how important it is, we must not forget about the different components to a complete life. Life consists of physical, physiological and spiritual wellness. Keeping someone alive against their own will is like denying them the right to peace and forcing them to suffer a long period of unnecessary misery. One issue faced when deciding whether euthanasia should be legalized or not is the quality of palliative care and the patient end of life suffering. Another issue is the validity of the Hippocratic Oath; can a doctor be trusted anymore? Is the Hippocratic Oath really there to provide patients with the best care they can get from their physicians? Lastly is the right to die, the debate on whether a patient has the right to decide to death. So, should someone who has been condemned to death have to continue to live and suffer until the end of their days arrives? The fact that euthanasia is illegal and kept illegal supports that idea. Euthanasia should be legalized; it would eliminate the pain and suffering of many people who suffer from terminal diseases.

One of the utmost debated concerns in the United States is physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Several people consider it exceedingly unethical and unfair for patients to ask and/or plead for their health care provider to end their life; whereas others feel it is their right and within their power to be able to choose how and when they die. The supporters of physician-assisted suicide believe it should be legalized because the thought of living dependently on someone else and becoming a burden is dreadful. They also feel it is inhumane to force someone to go through the suffering and/or excruciating pain caused by terminal illness. Supporters believe that everyone has the right to a dignified death on their own terms. Those

Presently, many cases of euthanasia had occurred around the world. Many a time we will stop and ask whether the person has anymore hope to live as a normal person. At the end it is left to the court to decide whether the people live or die. But why does the patient or the guardian choose euthanasia when they can live a longer time with their loved ones. Some might ask whether it is worth to see your loved ones suffering, wouldn’t it be better to end the suffering? To answer this question we must know what euthanasia means. According to Fergusson(1992) euthanasia which comes from the Greek word ‘eu-thanatos’ which means “well death” or “good death”(Fergusson, A. 1992). Besides that according to the oxford dictionary sixth edition (1986) the definition of euthanasia is to” bring about gentle death especially in the case of incurable and painful disease”. According to the Journal of the Americans Medical Association (as cited in BBC,n.d) there are more than one way of defining good death(BBC,n.d). This means that good death is define according to one personal view of euthanasia or when he is in a situation that is critical to his health. Some people want to die a death that involves less pain. According to BBC(n.d) voluntary euthanasia happens when voluntary death is define as the request for mercy killing is done (BBC,n.d). According to BBC(n.d) non-voluntary euthanasia happens when the patient is unconscious(BBC,n.d).