Is Mercy Killing Really Merciful?

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Is Mercy Killing Really Merciful? The definition of the term “mercy” is giving compassion or forgiveness to someone that doesn’t deserve it. Has anyone ever thought of suicide as a compassionate act? Euthanasia comes from the greek word eu meaning good and thanatos meaning death. Has anyone ever thought of suicide being good? Andrew Coyne says, “A society that believes in nothing can offer no argument even against death. A culture that has lost its faith in life cannot comprehend why it should be endured.” We take life for granted and forget that it is a gift and not something we should just be able to end when it is most convenient for us. While it can be perceived as a way to take away pain and suffering from the ill, euthanasia doesn’t solve the real problem for people and should stay illegal. The definition of euthanasia is having the means to take a deliberate action, with the expressed intention of ending a life, to relive intractable suffering. It can also be called physician assisted suicide, doctor assisted suicide, or mercy killing. A patient is usually given a lethal amount of drugs. There are two main types and two procedural types of euthanasia that help to understand euthanasia more clearly. Voluntary Euthanasia is when the patient gives consent to the action of killing. The other option is Involuntary Euthanasia which is when the killing is done without patient consent. The decision has to be made by another person because the patient is incapable of doing so oneself. The first procedural type is Active Euthanasia. Active is when lethal substances are used to take a patient 's life. The second type is controversial whether it is considered euthanasia. This procedure is called Passive Euthanasia, which is withholdin... ... middle of paper ... ...plan” (ProQuest). Doctors surely go against those words when doing that act of giving or prescribing a person with lethal drugs. How do doctors have the ability to determine the quality of someone else’s life? Does a doctor really know for sure that the person could not get well again (Nordqvist)? According to the National Health System, “it is illegal to kill someone regardless of circumstances” (Nordqvist 1). And now we want to give people the chance to kill themselves when they feel they are ready? Suicide was determined a criminal act from the 1300’s, including assisting others in ending their own life. Why should it be okay now? Why should people have the “choice” now? Does a person in great pain with an incurable disease really have the moral right to end his or her own life? Neither euthanasia nor assisted suicide should become legalized in the United States.

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