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Ethical and legal issues euthanasia
Ethical and legal issues euthanasia
Debate against euthanasia
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Euthanasia is a controversial issue in today's society. It is defined as the intentional ending of a life with the purpose of relieving pain or suffering. Many people believe that it is within a human's right to die a peaceful, dignified death with assistance. While others believe that euthanasia is an immoral act and that legalising the deliberate killing of humans will undermine the legal system in the UK. Currently in the UK, it is illegal for a doctor or another person to deliberately do something that causes the patient to die - e.g. an injection. This is known as active euthanasia, and the person could face murder or manslaughter charges. However, letting a patient die by switching off a life support machine does happen in hospitals in the UK. This is known as passive euthanasia and is not illegal. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society campaigns for the legalisation of euthanasia in the UK. The organisation campaigns to make it legal for a competent adult, who is suffering from a severe or terminal illness, to be allowed to request medical help to die at their own request. The organisation supports the 'right to choose', and believes that we as individuals should be able to decide when and how to die. It believes that euthanasia is humane as it prevents a dying person from losing their dignity through suffering and it can also be a relief to families who experience anguish and distress by watching their relative suffering. Many Christians believe that euthanasia is wrong, as life is a gift given by God and only he should take it. They believe that birth and death are controlled by God, and they should be respected. Death sho... ... middle of paper ... ...a dignified death. Also I disagree with the legal system when criminal charges are enforced upon a person who is assisting another person to die peacefully. I think that people's judgement of euthanasia is negative, as death is regarded as a bad thing. However voluntary euthanasia is positive as it gives the patient personal choice and may shorten the grief of the patient's loved ones if they know that the patient died a peaceful death. Although some people believe that euthanasia devalues life, I do not agree because I feel that it gives the patient an opportunity to end his or her life by celebrating their life in the company of loved ones. To conclude, I think that society's view on euthanasia needs to be more open, and hopefully people will realise that it is a positive thing, and not just a means of a quick death.
The National Association of Evangelicals believe that human beings are made in the image of God and are, therefore, of inestimable worth. God has given people the highest dignity of all creation. Such human dignity prohibits euthanasia, that is actively causing a person's death.
A recent poll founded by the Canadian Medical Association found that “only one in five doctors surveyed. . . said they would be willing to perform euthanasia if the practice were legalized. . . Twice as many – 42 percent – said they would refuse to do so” (Kirkey 1). Euthanasia is defined as giving a patient the right to die early with a physician’s assistance, and the legalization of this practice is being considered by lawmakers in many countries, including the United States. Accordingly, 42 percent of doctors in Canada are on the right side of this debate. Euthanasia should not be legalized because it violates society’s views that life is sacred, creates economic pressure for doctors, and for those countries that have legalized it, their laws are not specific enough to fully protect patients.
The Catholic view of euthanasia is that euthanasia is morally wrong. it has always been taught the importance of the commandment "you shall not kill". The church has said that "nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent person, whether a foetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease. disease, or a person who is dying. " The church says any law permitting euthanasia is unjust.
As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, Medical practioners should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death” (Lee). “Arguments for and against assisted suicide (sometimes called the “right to die” debate) are complicated by the fact that they come from very many different points of view: medical issues, ethical issues, legal issues, religious issues, and social issues all play a part in shaping people’s opinions on the subject” (Lee). Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is considered murder, it goes against physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, violates the Controlled
When we hear the phrase voluntary euthanasia people generally think of one of two things: the active termination of life at the patient's or the Nazi extermination program of murder. Many people have beliefs about whether euthanasia is right or wrong, often without being able to define it clearly. Some people take an extreme view, while many fall somewhere between the two camps. The derivation means gentle and easy death coming from the Greek words, eu - thanatos. Euthanasia was formerly called "mercy killing," euthanasia means intentionally making someone die, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. Put bluntly, euthanasia means killing in the name of compassion.
The debate on whether voluntary euthanasia should be legalized has been a controversial topic. Euthanasia is defined as ‘a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering’ [1]. Voluntary euthanasia refers to the patients who understand the terms in the consent and sign up under consciousness, while involuntary euthanasia is performed against patient's wishes and some people may regard it as a murder [1].
Our values, opinions and beliefs depend on what culture, religion and the society we come from. People who are against view euthanasia as murder and that we must respect the value of life. Those who are in favor of euthanasia believe that doing such act eliminates the patient’s pain and suffering. Also, the right to die allows the person to die with dignity. Euthanasia may involve taking a human’s life, but not all forms of killing are wrong nor consider as murder. It depends on the underlying reasons and intentions. If you value a person’s life and the cause of death is for the patient’s benefit and not one’s personal interest, then euthanasia is permissible.
Euthanasia has been an ongoing debate for many years. Everyone has an opinion on why euthanasia should or should not be allowed but, it is as simple as having the choice to die with dignity. If a patient wishes to end his or her life before a disease takes away their quality of life, then the patient should have the option of euthanasia. Although, American society considers euthanasia to be morally wrong euthanasia should be considered respecting a loved one’s wishes. To understand euthanasia, it is important to know the rights humans have at the end of life, that there are acts of passive euthanasia already in practice, and the beneficial aspects.
Life. Did you have the free will to decide when your life began? If man didn’t have the power to decide when life began, why does man want to exert the right to end it? Life is one of the most valuable things that humans possess. Humans are the most complex of all creatures. Plenty of time is spent debating over beginning and ending of life issues such as, euthanasia. Euthanasia is a defined as, a “gentle and easy death”, derived from the Greek language (Keown 10). A “gentle and easy death” indicates that death would not come naturally, but by treatment or medication. For death to come by treatment or medication was not God’s intention for the termination of human lives. To illustrate, the Bible says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The body is a temple and it is a gift from God. Human beings were bought with a price for a valuable purpose.
The different types of Euthanasia are active or passive euthanasia and voluntary or involuntary euthanasia. Passive Euthanasia generally refers to the ending of a persons life by removing the person from a life-sustaining machine, such as a respirator. This form of euthanasia is endorsed by the American Medical Association and is less controversial than active euthanasia. Active euthanasia refers to ending a persons life by a competent medical authority giving the person a lethal injection of a muscle relaxant or pain killer medication. The terms voluntary or involuntary refer to whether or not a patient requests euthanasia or whether the patient is not able to make such a request and euthanasia is carried out by a competent medical authority at the request of another family member, or by a competent medical authority’s decision. Involuntary euthanasia usually occurs when a patient is comatose.
In the end Euthanasia is not something that should be frowned upon or looked at as a crime. Instead, it should be looked upon as a final act of respect for the human being who lived his life well and now knows that it is time to set his life to an end.
Euthanasia is described by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘The bringing about of a gentle and easy death, especially in the case of incurable and painful diseases’ .
Should euthanasia be legal? Should we consider it mercy or murder? Every day many people are diagnosed with terminal illnesses and some have to suffer a long agony before dying. Euthanasia basically means ending someone's life to stop the person's suffering. Euthanasia can be classified into passive and active. Passive euthanasia is to stop medical treatment with the intention to accelerate the death of a terminally ill patient, while active euthanasia is taking a specific measure, usually a lethal dose of medication, that causes a patient’s death. For many years euthanasia or assisted suicide has been one of the most controversial and emotive topic in our society. There are many people against euthanasia and who think it is inhuman. In addition, in most countries euthanasia is not legal, and a doctor or a nurse could lose their job and even they could face a sentence in prison by this practice. However, it is legal in some countries such as Belgium, The Netherlands or Australia and steps are being taken to legalize euthanasia in some other countries. Patients should be able to control how they live, and more importantly how they die. In some cases, the patient doesn’t wish to spend their last days in a hospital bed. Euthanasia can helps the patient in many positive ways.Therefore, euthanasia or assisted suicide should be legal all over the world.
Euthanasia, according to the dictionary, means the killing of a person who is suffering from an incurable disease. Lately, it had been a huge debate over whether euthanasia should be legalized or not. Personally, I believe that euthanasia should be legalized if it is voluntary. I have three reasons for my argument.
Euthanasia is a medical procedure which speeds up the process of dying for people with incurable, painful, or distressing diseases. The patient’s doctor can stop treatment and instead let them die from their illness. It come from the Greek words for 'good' and 'death', and is also called mercy killing. Euthanasia is illegal in most countries including the UK . If you suffer from an incurable disease, you cannot legally terminate your life. However, in a number of European countries it is possible to go to a clinic which will assist you to die gracefully under some very strict circumstances.