Euthanasia: The Right to Die Envision being diagnosed with end stage cancer. You are only given a few months remaining to live. Your doctor informs you of all the frightening and painful experiences lying ahead of you. As your health beings to deteriorate, your family no longer recognizes the person that you once were. Would you choose the path to suffering tremendous amounts of pain, or would you want to die peacefully? Euthanasia is an assisted death option for those who are diagnosed with an incurable disease. It is the permissive right of voluntary suicide, to prevent those who are terminally ill from suffering in vain. Some terminally ill patients suffer a great deal of pain, and do not wish to prolong their suffering. Euthanasia ensures that a person with a degenerative disease can end their own life with the assistance of the medical community. …show more content…
Watching your immediate family suffer endlessly can undoubtedly cause irreversible damage. If a healthy person can choose to smoke cigarettes knowing that prolonged use can cause lung cancer, then a confined sick person should have the lawful right to choose assisted suicide. “For an issue as personal as one’s own life and death, the choice of how you might die is one of the most personal decisions an individual should make. To be denied the right to make this decision is blight on democracy.” (Swanton, “Appendix 1: The Right to die with dignity – euthanasia, A1.2 The rights of an individual.”) The cost of a planned death option would be much less expensive than relentless and pointless treatments for a disease that is incurable. Furthermore, most of the treatments for terminal illness can cause more negative symptoms for the already ill patient. Knowing that a loved one can choose a dignified way of death without reaching a vegetative state can subsequently cause less heartache for the chronic person’s family
Anyone can be diagnosed with a terminal illness. It doesn’t matter how healthy you are, who you are, or what you do. Some terminal illnesses you can prevent by avoiding unhealthy habits, eating healthily, exercising regularly and keeping up with vaccinations. However some terminally ill people cannot be helped, their diseases cannot be cured and the only thing possible to help them, besides providing pain relieving medication, is to make them as comfortable as possible while enduring their condition. Many times the pharmaceuticals do not provide the desired pain escape, and cause patients to seek immediate relief in methods such as euthanasia. Euthanasia is the practice of deliberately ending a life in order to alleviate pain and suffering, but is deemed controversial because many various religions believe that their creators are the only ones that should decide when their life’s journey should reach its end. Euthanasia is performed by medical doctors or physicians and is the administration of a fatal dose of a suitable drug to the patient on his or her express request. Although the majority of American states oppose euthanasia, the practice would result in more good as opposed to harm. The patient who is receiving the euthanizing medication would be able to proactively choose their pursuit of happiness, alleviate themselves from all of the built up pain and suffering, relieve the burden they may feel they are upon their family, and die with dignity, which is the most ethical option for vegetative state and terminally ill patients. Euthanasia should remain an alternative to living a slow and painful life for those who are terminally ill, in a vegetative state or would like to end their life with dignity. In addition, t...
There are several important ethical issues related to euthanasia. One is allowing people who are terminally ill and suffering the right to choose death. Should these people continue to suffer even though they really are ba...
Imagine yourself laying on your deathbed, hooked up to countless machines. The doctors are constantly coming to check you while you're trying to get what little sleep you can through the agonizing pain. Even more you're suffering from the side effects of countless drugs, constipation, delirium, you can barely breathe and you've lost all your appetite. There no chance of survival and death is imminent, it's just a matter of time when. You just lay there fighting for your last seconds. Now, if you had the chance to choose how your life ended, wouldn't you choose how and when it ends? Hence, doctor assisted suicide should be a legal option for terminally ill patients. This is a humane way for them to end their lives with dignity, without shame and suffering. We don't have the freedom of speech unless we have the freedom to refuse to speak. The same goes for our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we can't have complete freedom unless we have the freedom to deny these things. We can't claim full control over our life if we cannot choose when to end it. Thus, people should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their unnecessary suffering, to preserve the individual right of people to determine their own fate, and to reduce the burden on their families both, financially and emotionally.
...elief, people must act on Utilitarianism for killing not to be worse than letting die. Killing to save an ill patient from a painful death is not only permissible to the patient, but to those around them who are now free of worry, distress and financial issues from having to witness the suffering. Though when killing your co-driver or friend from being tortured or stuck in wreckage is permissible because you know you have prevented them from suffering and have given them a relatively speaking, painless and quick death. Even if the patient is suffering painfully and does not want to be euthanized, then that is a rational decision but it is not permissible to euthanize them because this outcome would not be Utilitarianistic knowing the patient had been killed of an un-wanted death and those around would feel a certain feeling of guilt for the remainder of their lives.
While one person lays with their wrists circumscribed to the worn leather of the gurney, another person holds two skin-piercing needles. The individual holding the needles is an inexperienced technician who obtains permission from the United States federal government to murder people. One needle is held as a precaution in case the pain is too visible to the viewers. Another dagger filled with a lethal dosage of chemicals is inserted into the vein that causes the person to stop breathing. When the cry of the heart rate monitor becomes monotone, the corrupt procedure is complete. Lying in the chair is a corpse when moments ago it was an individual who made one fatal mistake that will never get the chance to redeem (Ecenbarger). Although some people believe that the death
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
One in twenty-five or 4.1% of people sentenced to death are innocent(One in 25). A man named Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully sentenced to death. In Texas, during the year 2004 Cameron was accused of killing his three daughters in a fire. Cameron claimed that he was innocent from the very beginning, yet no one believed him. He was found guilty for the act of killing his three daughters in the fire. Later on after his execution, they found more information that helped them come to the conclusion that Cameron was indeed not guilty. As he said from the very beginning(Cameron Todd). This case is particularly weird because the court does not usually look back into a case after one is executed. Cameron is not the only one who was ever wrongfully executed. Cameron is one of many. “I’m actually really opposed to the death penalty”(Bill Paxton). Bill Paxton is one of many who agree that the death penalty is wrong. There are many reasons why one can oppose the death penalty, but the major reason one opposes the death penalty is because it puts the lives of innocent people at risk.
One of the most repetitive and controversial topics discussed in the criminal justice system, is the death penalty. Capital punishment has been a part of our nation’s history since the creation of our constitution. In fact, as of January 1st, 2016, 2,943 inmates were awaiting their fate on death row (Death Penalty Information Center). Throughout my life, I have always been a strong advocate for the death penalty. During the majority of my undergraduate degree, I was a fierce supporter of capital punishment when discussing the topic in classes. However, throughout many criminal justice courses, I found myself in the minority, regarding the abolishment of the death penalty. While debating this topic, I would always find myself sympathetic to the victims and their families, as one should be, wanting those who were responsible for heinous crimes to
Terminally ill patients no longer wish to have their lives artificially prolonged by expensive, painful, or debilitating treatments and would rather die quietly. The patients do not wish to prolong their life and they may not wish to commit suicide themselves or worse, are physically incapable of doing so. People have the right to their own destiny and living in the U.S we have acquired freedom. The patients Right to Self Determination Act gives the patient the power to decide how, when and why they choose to die. In "Editorial Exchange: Death with Dignity: Reopen Assisted-Suicide Debate." The Canadian Press Sep 27 2013 ProQuest. 7 June 2015” Doctor Donald Low and his terminally ill friends plea to physician assisted suicide in an online video. He states that it is their rights as cancer patients to make the decision to pass, but he is denied. Where is the equality? Patients who are on dialysis or hooked up to respirators have the choice to end their lives by ending treatment. However, patients who are not dependent on life support cannot choose when they can pass. Many patients feel that because of their illness that life is not worth living for and that life has already been taken from them due to lack of activities they can perform. Most of the terminally ill patients are bedridden with outrageous amounts of medication and they don’t want family members having to care for them
Death is final. Some die naturally in a peaceful manner while others suffer through tremendous pain in order to get there. Euthanasia is the only way for some people to leave all their pain behind. Euthanasia is the act of killing another person in a merciful way. Of course, euthanasia has many more meaning to it than that. A person that is suffering from a terminal illness decides that life is not worth living because there is too much pain involved and ends his own life, would that be wrong of him? That is the question that is at hand.
Suffering is not something that someone wants their loved ones to endure. Everyday there more and more people that are terminally ill and they are kept alive not because some of them choose to but because there is not a "right-to-die" statue where they live. Why continue to suffer when the person should have the right to end their pain and choose to not be a burden to their loved ones. I firmly believ when it comes to people that are in pain and suffer from a terminal illness that they be able to end the agonizing state that they are in. Each state should be allowed to have a statue in place for these people. "Since Hippocrates, doctors have taken their credo to be Do no harm. But what if a patient believes the treatment to keep them alive is more harmful than death?"(Sanburn, 2015) Now doctors are really lisyening to their patients and are now following through with some of the wishes that their patients are telling them. Doctors know that their is not a cure and they don't want to see them to continue to suffer on for agonizng days, months or even years.
Is it right? Is it wrong? Many opinions are out there in the world about the option to end your life earlier than the natural dying process. In my opinion, more states need to realize the pain and suffering a patient can go through with such debilitating disease and terminal illness. The most important view with the end life process is the patients view and their final wishes. This is an important topic, because there are terminally ill patients looking for an answer to end their pain and suffering. They are looking for options for the best quality of life knowing the end is nearly here. They are often fighting a losing battle. The impact this topic has made on me is to realize how broad the feelings are on assisted suicide. There are a lot people who believe in dying the natural and masking the pain and suffering with medication so they can have their loved one around for longer mentally competent or mentally incompetent. I believe this to be selfish on their part, and they often try to bury the patient’s true feelings when they around saying they don’t know what they are saying. The patient may try to communicate what they want to a doctor. It is the doctor’s duty to make the conclusion whether the patient has the decision-making capacity to make decisions. We all know family members can be selfish and overly bearing at times with their family members health care. That’s why I believe it to be very important the family steps out of the patient’s room and the doctor communicates to the patient on his or her requests and consents on their care. It is important to get the patient’s options presented to them and to grant their final
Euthanasia is ending the life of a person deliberately to relieve their pain. It usually happens when a person is terminally ill or is suffering from a lot of pain and there is no other option to relieve the pain.
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.
The death penalty, many may argue that it is right, while others argue that it is wrong. Should the death penalty be abolished? Some of the main issues that arise with the death penalty are that it’s cruel and unusual, expensive, and we’re punishing criminals for killing by killing. Although these are valid arguments, the death penalty shouldn’t be abolished because criminals deserve to be properly punished.