The Constant Debate of Euthanesia in Our Society

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Recommended: Legal and ethical issues surrounding euthanasia

There comes a time in life when someone dies in the family, whether it be a parent or a close relative. I got the chance to experience the hardship when I was 9 years old, when my mother died of cancer. It was a very slow, but not painful death. Back then, I did not even know the meaning or that there was such a thing as Euthanasia.

Euthanasia is a constant debate between our society and is causing problems for the public and health care providers since it is a matter about life and death. Euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy” (Merriam-Webster). It is considered painless killing of a person who has a painful incurable disease or incapacitating disorder. Is it really painless killing when it is the doctors or health care professionals that have to euthanize the patient something that goes against what they were taught. Euthanasia can also be carried out by administering a lethal injection or by failing to keep the feeding tube or breathing tube going. Would it really be painless if someone stopped feeding or helping someone breathe?

Terri Schiavo, a woman with brain damage died on March 31, 2003 after her feeding tube was disconnected. She had been living with brain damage after she collapsed due to medical malpractice against one of her doctors. Her case touched many and had them wondering if it was okay to “to withdraw life support from patients unable to express their own wishes” (Kenneth Jost). Her tube was contemplated on being removed two times before it was finally removed after the third time. Three times she underwent the process of getting food cut off from her. ...

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Jost, Kenneth. "Right to Die." CQ Researcher 13 May 2005: 421-44. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.

Karaim, Reed. "Assisted Suicide." CQ Researcher 17 May 2013: 449-72. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.

Pereira, J. "Legalizing Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide: The Illusion of Safeguards and Controls." Current Oncology 18.2 (2011): 38-45. CQResearcher. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

"Life's Dominion: An Argument About Abortion, Euthanasia, and Individual Freedom (Google EBook)." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

Yang, Grace, M, Gail Ewing, and Sara Booth. "What Is The Role Of Specialist Palliative Care In An Acute Hospital Setting? A Qualitative Study Exploring Views Of Patients And Carers." Palliative Medicine 26.8 (2012): 1011-1017. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.

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