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The importance of morticians
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The Profit in Death We all know that living is an expensive experience. You’re required to pay taxes, pay for food, and pay for shelter. The counterpart of living, however, can also be quite expensive. In fact, Death is one of the most profitable events in life generating about 15 billion dollars a year (Qtd. In Crawford). With profit, however, comes greed and the Mortuary business has it’s fair share of corruption. Although a profit is necessary to maintain a business the extent to which some morticians go to maximize their profits is disgusting. While laws that Morticians must follow exist, their lack of enforcement renders them useless. That being said, these issues need to be addressed and solved. The business of death overall has its …show more content…
Can I do this?” Aside from the broad question of death’s profitability being ethical there is the question of are the practices within the business ethical and up to standard? The business of disposing of the deceased hasn’t always been an established one. Multiple times throughout history, people have taken advantage of people’s grief when a loved one has died and this was done in many ways. Some people would simply claim they buried their loved ones when in reality they dumped their bodies off elsewhere. Others would claim that they are caring for their loved ones dead body in a funeral home when in reality they are neglecting the body and taking your money. Luckily, in modern times we don’t typically have these issues well not as much as we use to anyway. Now, instead, we have different problems, the main one being that Morticians will typically offer the premium options available for their services before any other ones. This often used tactic is in clear violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s rule which states that funeral homes must show a price listing of caskets and other services (small business). These Morticians see that this person is in significant grief over the death of their loved one and will take advantage …show more content…
In the past four decades the cost of a funeral service has risen 1,328% (Boring) and that’s not just because Morticians wanted to out of pure greed. One must take into account that modern mortuaries are much more of a business than before. Prior to 1970, the majority of funeral homes were were independent, family run. Today about 14% of funeral homes are run by a publicly traded corporation (Boring) meaning there’s a plethora of capital involved in these businesses now. The homes are built better and by professionals rather than by individuals with some tools, the home’s are extremely more sanitary since there’s more than likely no one living in these funeral homes unlike before, and the quality of the products these services are providing is greater than before. That being said, the industrialization of the Mortuary business is only responsible for a tiny fraction of the inflated costs of funeral services. According to Perianne Boring of Forbes the reason for why the funerals, specifically caskets are so inflated in price is ‘Funeral service providers can set their own price for caskets, but their prices must remain consistent from person to person, even if that casket is 200% more expensive than the funeral home down the street”. As stated by Boring, Morticians can charge whatever they want for caskets so long as they are consistent from customer to customer which is fair, however, still unethical given
The Death with Dignity Act was passed in Oregon in 1994, and it is another option for dying with those who have terminal diseases. These people that want to die with dignity have to be seen by at least two doctors and have six or less months to live. While making the decision to use this act, the patient must be in a safe mental state to be making this decision. Currently, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and soon to be California are the only states to carry the Death with Dignity Act. (Death)
... pricing organs like vultures, holding a great deal of disrespect to both the deceased as well as their families. In addition, the author fails to remain neutral when discussing the issue, and exaggerates in blaming the government, solely and entirely.
Hingston since a recession in America, people in the nation searched for cheaper alternates even it went against their beliefs. Traditional funeral cost $8,300 versus $1,400(not including urn and service). She acknowledges that not only does this help people and their choices with their body, but it causes a loss in jobs. Funeral directors dropped nineteen percent from 2001 to 2011. This is major problem for which the funeral business can’t really compete against a rising change in beliefs and economic status. Anthropologist Janet Monge notes “That no ones going to take care of cemeteries” (composition reader Pg.43). She acclaimed this because of the decline in the funeral business and the lack of competition against other people ideas and methods.
The society in Lois Lowry’s book The Giver is like a freshly printed newspaper every page is crisp and clean, but when a page is crumpled or stained the only solution is to remove it. Problems in the town are created and solved by the same cause, euthanasia. Euthanasia, in the book, is used on multiple types of people; the young who would create problems for the society; the old; and anyone who threatens the order and structure of the place. The leaders euthanize people to protect their community. Usually in situations where many suffer and only one or few benefit, it is whoever is in charge that gets blamed, but since the rulers of the society are just as unaware as the people, it is the creators of the society that are at fault.
1) “Death with Dignity” is a famous slogan repeated constantly in the euthanasia debate and in this film. Try your best to be charitable: what do you think is meant by this? What does it imply about “life with dignity”? Do you think “total dependency comes at the expense of intimacy”?
Americans at the end of their lives no longer have this sense of continuity and stability. Rituals today are as likely to include tubes and noisy machines, artificial ventilators and unpleasant drug regimens bringing as many unpleasant side effects as health benefits. Many times the dying languishes in a hospital bed, surrounded not by the comforts of home and family but rather by sterility and bright lights, strangers and hushed voices. Death is no longer a mysterious part of a cherished tradition but a terrifying ordeal to be postponed as long as possible, an enemy that must be fought off at all costs.
An important factor in debates over health care and treatment strategies is the issue of cost. It is tremendously expensive to provide the state-of-the-art care that the modern hospital offers. Concerns about where the money will come from to care for elderly citizens appear to be making the case for "mercy killing" even more compelling. Under financial pressure, hospitals are exercising their right to deny such expensive healthcare to the aged or seriously ill.
Watt, Bob. “TO EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON AND A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER THE HEAVEN – A TIME TO BE BORN AND A TIME TO DIE.1 NATURAL LAW, EMOTION AND THE RIGHT TO DIE.” Denning Law Journal 1.24 (2012): 89-115. University of Buckingham
Minsker, N., & Ziaja, A. (2008). ACLU of Northern California's Report "The Hidden Death Tax". Retrieved from http://http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=42
These are just a few of the wide variety of funeral and death rites from around the world.
The protection of life has been a foundation for many laws and social mores and legalizing euthanasia cheapens that protection. A recent challenge to this idea came in a London lawsuit when two severely disabled men claimed their protected human rights were violated because they could not choose how and when to die. The British Court ruled that while the current laws did not support the rights the men claimed, “the ban on euthanasia is justified” (Cheng 1). In this lawsuit, the right to live won above the so-called right to die because a law that was enacted by the people of Britain was protected. Had the case won, the laws that British voters approved to protect life, would have been cast away. Similarly in the United States, many bills to promote euthanasia have died once voters were informed of the debate. Initiative 119, which would have legalized euthanasia in Washington in 1991, at first show...
Horkan, Thomas. "Legislation That Complicates Dying." Eds. Gary McCuen and Therese Boucher. Hudson: Gary McCuen Publications, 1985. 69-72.
Thomas Nagel’s discussion about death is very intriguing and contemplative. In trying to prod for answers, Nagel began his essay, by writing about common views of death held by different people. His main purpose of writing this paper is to incisively and contemplatively discuss if death is a bad or evil thing. Nagel discusses the some people’s thought about death being evil. They say this because it denies us of living “more life”. He noted that most people are of the view that life is good, despite the fact that some life experiences are unpleasant and tragic. He then adds that when these unpleasant experiences of life are set aside, life is positive, and not just simply "neutral" (10).
According to the textbook, memorial services are becoming increasingly popular in many Protestant churches. This coincides with my family’s faith; we belong to a local Presbyterian church. The memorial will take place at The West Metro Chapel, part of the cremation package through Newcomer Funeral Homes and Crematory. This will reduce the costs significantly, consolidating the facility rental fee to only $675. Considering their will be no open casket or closed casket display the cremation will take place shortly after death, making the date of the service more flexible ensuring everyone who wants to attend the service can make it. Cremating the body will also be universally ideal for any condition the body is in from the cause of
Locke, Mandy. “Study: End Death Cases, Save Money.” The News and Observer (2009). ProQuest. Web. 22 February 2010.