Euthanasia

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Euthanasia

Euthanasia in today's society has run rampant, but whose choice is it really to

end one's life in the case of excessive suffering? Euthanasia has become one of the

most controversial issues in the medical field. There are many questions that must

be considered when euthanasia is involved. For example: Whose right is it anyway?

Do physicians have the right to perform assisted suicide? Is it morally right? When

is "competent" not competent enough?

Euthanasia is preceded the decision that a terminally ill patient's life will come

to an end before natural death. Euthanasia can also be defined as any killing

carried out by medical means or by medical personnel; whether intended for the

termination of suffering or indignity of a life not worth living. A standard definition

of euthanasia is the intentional putting to death of a person with an incurable or

painful disease. No matter how the term is defined, it is intentional suicide and it is

wrong (Keown75).

When terminally ill patients are considering euthanasia, common questions

arise such as: Whose right is it anyway? What do those rights entail? There are

four basic rights that must be considered when euthanasia is involved. These rights

include the right to reject or terminate unwanted medical procedure, the right to

commit suicide or the right to "rational" suicide, the right to assisted suicide, and

the right to active voluntary euthanasia. These rights, however, are not protected

by law. In fact, assisted suicide is illegal in most states. For instance, the Jack

Kevorkian case, a Michigan physician who believed in aiding patients in suicide.

The patients of Dr. Kevorkian requested death because of their incurable suffering.

Did they not have the right to choose life or death? Well, Dr. Kevorkian felt that

they had the right to choose, and he aided them with their choice. After ending the

suffering of many terminally ill patients, Dr. Kevorkian was tried and indicted by

the US District Court for violating laws banning physician-assisted suicide and was

later tried for murder (Burnell 87). Was Dr. Kevorkian just showing compassion

for his dying suffering clients, or did he have an ulterior motive? Dr. Kevorkian

claims compassion, yet others question his moral. The more trying issue here is

whose life is it? Do we not have the right to choose whe...

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...hanasia has been referred to as

being ethical because it helps people die in a painless and dignified way. Many

experts in medical ethics consider it a moral act when the doctor has known the

patient for a long time and the patient faces a prolonged painful death (Mall 35).

On the other hand, euthanasia is not ethical or morally correct. People who

oppose the right-to-die concept believe in the "sanctity of life". They argue that all

human beings no matter what their quality of life, have intristic worth and dignity.

Therefore, euthanasia is immoral and wrong in principle. In the religious view,

upholding the biblical commandment "thou shalt not kill" is vital to human

survival. Life is for the creator, not the people to take. Doctors who perform

euthanasia are "playing God", and are also deemed unethical (Mall 89).

Euthanasia is an emotional, trying issue facing Americans today. Euthanasia

is a morally pertinent question that is affecting today's society. There are so many

choices and rights involved in the issue that it has become a legal nightmare.

Euthanasia has become a most controversial medical issue battled over every day.

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