Persuasive Essay On Euthanasia

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Euthanasia: Should the right to die be granted? INTRODUCTION The term “euthanasia” is derived from a combination of two Greek words: “eu” which means happy or normal, and “thanatos” which means death. Its equivalent colloquialism is “mercy-killing.” Generally euthanasia involves the killing, by acts or omission, of a person suffering from a terminal illness or an injury (Thurman, 1976). Black’s law dictionary defines death as the extinction of life; the cessation of life; the departure of the soul from the body; defined by physicians as a total stoppage of the circulation of the blood, and a cessation of the animal and vital functions consequent thereon, such as respiration, pulsation, etcetera (Law Dictionary, 1968). Euthanasia comes in several different forms, each of which brings a different set of rights and wrongs. Thus, passive euthanasia is usually defined as withdrawing medical treatment with the deliberate intention of causing the patient’s death. For example, if a patient requires kidney dialysis to survive, and the doctors disconnect the dialysis machine, the patient will...

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