Mercy Killing

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Mercy Killing

There is an immense debate about whether terminally ill people should be able to control their own death. Most people probably wish for an eternal painless life unfortunately that is not the case. Lives seem to end just about every day around the world. Some are accidents, some are suicides, and others are murders. In just about all states in the United States of America, euthanasia is illegal, and it is considered a criminal act. Many believe that because patients are suffering too much as it is with their illness that they should be able to control their life. One of the major supporters of euthanasia is Dr. Jack Kevorkian who eventually went to jail for assisting his “clients” into committing suicide. Legalizing euthanasia shouldn’t be legalized because more people would consider it just because it’s out there. Just as there are many supporters, there are also many people who oppose the idea. Many believe that doctors should not assist patients when committing suicide because of their oath to help patients heal from illness.

Hippocrates, a Greek physician wrote an oath that most physician still take to this day when graduating from medical school. “This oath, traditionally considered the cornerstone of medical ethics, the doctor promises, ‘I will [not] give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to that effect’” (Yount 97). Physicians have gone to school for many years to study the human body and hope to find a cure for illness instead of finding ways to cause death. Every day people that feel sick go to the doctor’s office and wait hours for a ten minute visit. They are willing to wait that long because they expect doctors to find a cure to their sickness so they can live a bett...

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“Mercy Killing.” Personal Survey. 23 and 24 March 2010

Wennberg, Robert N. Terminall Choices. South Carolina: Eermans, 2000

Werth, JL. "Using the youk-kevorkian case to teach about euthanasia and other end-of-life issues." Death Studies 25.2 (2001): 151-177. CINAHL with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.

Yount, Lisa. Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. New York: Facts on File, 2000.

Condon, Esther H. "Commentary on the Terri Schiavo case." Virginia Nurses Today 13.2 (2005): 3. CINAHL with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 1 Apr. 2010.

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