Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient who is suffering from a painful and incurable disease. There are several types of euthanasia that a patient can go through. The first type is known as voluntary euthanasia. This is when the patient has fully agreed to giving up their life and is usually suffering from a disease that is inflicting unbearable pain upon them. The patient refuses to take their medication, they will not eat, or they request that their life support machines be shut down. The second type is in non-voluntary euthanasia. This is when the patient is suffering from an irreversible coma, they are too young to communicate, or they do not possess the mental capacity to make their own decisions. So the doctor or family decides to take the patient off their life support. The last type of euthanasia is involuntary euthanasia. This is when the victim wishes to live but doesn’t get their way. This is usually the case when the person is in a situation that they know they aren’t going to survive so they take the easy way out and commit suicide or have someone else do it for them. For example, if a soldier in war is bleeding out due to a lost limb and does not have the sufficient tools or medication to sustain his well-being, he might decide to commit suicide rather than suffer from the unbearable pain. (BBC)
Voluntary euthanasia falls into 2 categories once the patient has decided to choose suicide. Passive voluntary euthanasia is when the doctor continues life supporting procedures but prescribes his or her patient with a medicine that will become toxic when taken the prescribed amount of time. After several doses the patient will slowly and painlessly die. This, in most cases, is not even referred as euthanasia due ...
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...family. It would also help to get more patients in the hospital with diseases or injuries that have a chance of being cured rather than a patient with an irreversible coma take up space with no hope of coming out of their coma (The World Federation of Right to Die Societies).
Works Cited
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Life. Alternatives to Euthanasia. 2011. web. 17 Jan 2014.
Medical News Today. What is euthanasia (assisted Suicide)? 19 Mar 2010. web. 17 Jan 2014.
Newton, Heather. "Euthanasia: Overview." Points of View: Euthanasia (2013). web.
Oregon Health Authority. Oregon.gov. n.d. web. 17 Jan 2014.
The World Federation of Right to Die Societies. What is the Difference Between Assisted Dying and Euthanasia? n.d. web. 17 Jan 2014.
Wisconsin Right to Life. Where is it Legal in the U.S.? 2014. web. 17 Jan 2014.
Any discussion that pertains to the topic of euthanasia must first include a clear definition of the key terms and issues. With this in mind, it should be noted that euthanasia includes both what has been called physician-assisted "suicide" and voluntary active euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide involves providing lethal medication(s) available to the patient to be used at a time of the patient’s own choosing (Boudreau, p.2, 2014). Indifferently, voluntary active euthanasia involves the physician taking an active role in carrying out the patient’s request, and usually involves intravenous delivery of a lethal substance. Physician-assisted suicide is felt to be easier psychologically for the physician and patient than euthanasia because
According to Gamliel (2012), euthanasia refers to actions or omissions that result in the death of a person who is already gravely ill. Techniques of active euthanasia range fro...
The term Euthanasia is derived from the Greek roots, taking the words ‘eu’, meaning good or well, and ‘thanatos’, meaning death, to create the term “good death ”. (Definition of Euthanasia . 2011) The term ‘Euthanasia’ is not defined specifically within Australian Legislation, however the generalised definition states that Euthanasia is intentionally taking another person’s life by the means of a direct action or depriving a person of the medical care needed to preserve life. (Euthanasia: What Does It Really Mean? Date Unknown). Linda Jackson (2005) continues to add that Euthanasia can then be further separated into four specified categories: Passive voluntary euthanasia, active voluntary euthanasia, passive involuntary euthanasia and active involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary Euthanasia will be the specified area that will be focused on within this assignment.
Euthanasia comes from the Greek word that means “good death” (“Euthanasia” literally). In general, euthanasia refers to causing the death of someone to end their pain and suffering, oftentimes in cases of terminal illness. Some people call these “mercy killings”. There are two types of euthanasia: passive and active. Passive or voluntary euthanasia refers to withholding life-saving treatments or medical technology to prolong life.
Nordqvist, Christian. "What Is Euthanasia (assisted Suicide)? What Is The Definition Of Assisted Suicide Or Euthanasia?" Medical News Today. MediLexicon International Limited, 19 Mar. 2010. Web. 4 May 2014.
Euthanasia is the intentional causing or hastening of death in a person with a medical condition that is judged to be serious. The patient may either be (a) alert and (b) aware and (c) competent to make their own decisions and (d) able to communicate or the patient may have (a) decreased alertness (due to encephalopathy or coma), (b) diminished awareness (retardation, dementia, vegetative state) and (c) be incompetent to make their own decisions or (d) be unable to communicate due to aphasia, or inability to speak.
"Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Timeline." Leading Issues Timelines. 2013. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 March 2014.
perspective on euthanasia. Journal of Medical Ethics, 36(5), 306. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from Research Library.
“Euthanasia is defined as a deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending life of another person to relieve that person's suffering and where the act is the cause of death.”(Gupta, Bhatnagar and Mishra) Some define it as mercy killing. Euthanasia may be voluntary, non voluntary and involuntary. When terminally ill patient consented to end his or her life, it is called voluntary euthanasia. Non voluntary euthanasia occurs when the suffering person never consented nor requested to end a life. These patients are incompetent to decide because they are either minor, in a comatose stage or have mental conditions. Involuntary euthanasia is conducted when it is against the will of the patient (Gupta, Bhatnagar, Mishra). Euthanasia can be either passive or active. Passive euthanasia means life-sustaining treatments are withheld and nothing is done to keep the patient alive. Active euthanasia occurs when a physician do something by giving drugs or substances that ends a patient’s life. (Medical News Today)
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.
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.
Yip,J. (2009). Euthanasia : An Overview. Canadian Point of View: Euthanasia, 1. Retrieved from Canadian Points of View Reference Centre database.
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, 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.