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moral implications of euthanasia
autonomy in patient's rights
moral implications of euthanasia
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Once people decide to end their lives they give up. They give up on fighting for themselves and others that love them. At times they may not even be in the right state of mind when they make these decisions. When people know that they have a terminal illness they tend to go through depression. They think that they have nothing else to live for, but it is just a stage that they are going through. There are certain factors that are dangerous and lead people to end their lives. There are people that want euthanasia to be legalized but they do not understand the consequences that come with that legalization. Once euthanasia is legalized vulnerable patients could be talked into suicide and doctors could take that decision for them. Euthanasia should not be an easy way out to get rid of a patient’s pain. One of the main reasons people want to legalize euthanasia is to free the patient from pain. They want the patient to have a dignified death and choose how they want their life to end. A person could go into a vegetative state where they cannot think for themselves or live the life they used to live. They are now trapped in a body without being able to do anything. Being in a …show more content…
“The doctor’s duty is to kill the pain, not the patient” (“Top 6 Reasons Physician-Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legal”). The health department is seeking an easy way out instead of finding ways to cure the patient. A patient should be given help. That is the reason they go to a doctor, to get help. They do not go to a doctor’s office expecting to be killed. They go expecting help for a chance of survival. People fought for euthanasia to be legalized and used as a last resort and they are getting the opposite. It is cheaper for patient to undergo assisted suicide than for a treatment. A treatment that could take a long time or a short period of time. People should not be killed because it is an easier way out. It is inhumane to do that, everyone’s lives
Another reason a patient may opt to euthanasia is to die with dignity. The patient, fully aware of the state he or she is in, should be able choose to die in all their senses as opposed to through natural course. A patient with an enlarged brain tumor can choose to die respectively, instead of attempting a risky surgery that could leave the patient in a worse condition then before the operation, possibly brain-dead. Or a patient with early signs of Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease may wish to be granted euthanization before their disease progresses and causes detrimental loss of sentimental memories. Ultimately it should be the patient’s choice to undergo a risky surgery or bite the bullet, and laws prohibiting euthanasia should not limit the patient’s options.
Euthanasia is the fact of ending somebody’s life when assisting him to die peacefully without pain. In most cases, it is a process that leads to end the suffering of human beings due to disease or illness. A person other than the patient is responsible for the act of euthanasia; for example a medical provider who gives the patient the shot that must kill him. When people sign a consent form to have euthanasia, it is considered voluntary, involuntary euthanasia is when they refuse. When people are not alert and oriented they are not allowed to sign any consent including the consent to euthanasia. When euthanasia is practiced in such situation, it is a non-voluntary euthanasia. In sum, people who practice voluntary euthanasia in honoring other
Because only the individual or their families can decide what that particular persons quality is they should have the right to choose if euthanasia is an option. For those who suffer from terminal illnesses, euthanasia would be a way to escape from intolerable pain that cannot be alleviated by pain relieving drugs (Minois, 131).
Having the title of a physician holds a great deal of weight, and many obligations. One of doctor 's most important duties is to accommodate his or her patients to the fullest making him or her as comfortable as possible while trying to alleviate all pain in a timely fashion. In certain situations(mostly in the elderly and terminally ill) a doctor is not able to eliminate all pain forcing the patient to live out the last moments of his or her life in agony and misery. Unfortunately, from time to time an individual’s last option should he or she wish to die peacefully would be death. Although assisted suicide seems like a situation where far more problems are created rather than solutions(which is why many encourage assisted suicide to remain
...de provides a quick and painless death, in contrast to the expected months of suffering a terminally ill patient must endure under normal circumstances.” The reason euthanasia proponents want to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is not to provide a new way for people to kill themselves or to allow doctors to kill their patients, but rather offer people who are in extreme pain and suffering a way to die with dignity on their own terms. In no way is it intended to be heinous or egregious. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are not meant to be forced or coerced in any manner on to a person, but to be options and only options for those that, after being informed of all other possible procedures and ways to live, see no further cause in continuing the fight for survival and would like to end their lives without any further suffering and pain.
Pamela Bone, an American author, once said, “I'm not afraid of being dead. I'm just afraid of what you might have to go through to get there.” For terminally ill patients, euthanasia may be a choice for some. Being euthanized would end any suffering a loved one is forced to face while on their deathbed. It gives the patient the option to no longer prolong his or her last breath in agony, but rather under their own wish. It would be selfish to hold onto the relative only because the family does not want them to pass away, especially when the patient wanted to.
Furthermore, people feel that legalizing doctor-assisted suicide will open the floodgates and lead to a slippery slope that will ultimately devalue the worth of human life and lead to doctors pressuring the terminally ill to request assisted suicide. The evidence tells a different story however. One Dutch research article found that those most often requesting suicide were terminal cancer patients (15%) and those who had a terminally progressive neurological disorder (8%) (Onwuteaka-Philipsen et al., 2010). The same article showed that of all the patients these doctors saw, only 7% asked for doctor assisted suicide/euthanasia and around only 2.4% of the patients actually received euthanasia/doctor assisted suicide (Onwuteaka-Philipsen et al., 2010). To be clear, active euthanasia is when a doctor actively does something that will end a patient’s life, like injecting the patient with a lethal dose of poison and passive euthanasia is when the doctor withholds treatment that could potentially save a patient, such as in the case of a do not resuscitate order. Physicians, the study showed are generally very conservative in allowing PAS, as two thirds of those who requested euthanasia/PAS did not receive
This pain then makes their physical appearance change, and sometimes unrecognizable. Euthanasia should be legalized; it is very hard on the body to go through this slow and painful journey that leads to death. According to Listverse, “Death is usually slow, painful, and undignified. By refusing people the “right” to end their own lives, we’re increasing that pain and indignity to a horrifying extent.” This quote shows how much pain and distress the patient is feeling, making it hard for them to live an enjoyable and fulfilled life. The legalization of euthanasia would prevent this, making a more humane death for the
Doctors prefer to never have to euthanize a patient. It is a contradiction of everything they have been taught for a doctor to euthanize someone, because a doctor’s job is to do everything in their power to keep the patient alive, not assist them in suicide. The majority of doctors who specialize in palliative care, a field focused on quality of life for patients with severe and terminal illnesses, think legalizing assisted suicide is very unnecessary. This is due to the fact that if patients do not kill themselves, they will end up dying on a ventilator in the hospital under the best possible care available, with people around them trying to keep them as comfortable as possible. Legalized euthanasia everywhere has been compared to going down a slippery slope. Officials believe that it could be done over excessively and the fear of assisted suicide numbers rising greatly is a great fear. This is why euthanasia is such a controversial subject worldwide. But, even though it is a very controversial subject, euthanasia is humane. Every doctor also has a say in whether or not they choose to euthanize a patient or not, leaving only the doctors who are willing to do this type of practice, for euthanizing patients. Medicine and drugs prescribed by a doctor for pain or suffering can not always help a person to the extent they desire, even with the help of doctors
Suffering is a big deciding factor for people when it comes to euthanasia and when deciding if they should accept its many options. If someone is suffering from a sickness or illness and has been for a long period of time, they should have the choice of euthanasia. In the book Of Mice and Men Curly said, “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts.” (Steinbeck 96) Curly was going to make Lennie suffer and George, knowing that, euthanized Lennie so he wouldn’t have to suffer from what Curly was going to do to him. George wanted the best for Lennie. People have a hard time accepting euthanasia and the many different way euthanasia can be used. Euthanasia can be used in many
Euthanasia is given to nearly-dead patients for the purpose of alleviating suffering. Many doctors however, do not want to violate their Hippocratic Oath as well as encroach on their religious beliefs. Often these patients accept euthanasia due to a lack of judgment coming from the pain of the illness and the physiological effects of the medication. Doctors are hesitant towards administrating it due to the combination of religious beliefs and ethical and legal baggage that euthanasia brings along. Hopefully more people will begin to see why euthanasia is not justifiable.
Imagine seeing a loved one living day-to-day suffering and trying to relieve them of any pain possible but failing miserably. What if the only answer was euthanasia? Euthanasia is a way for the patient to end their suffering and it’s the most humane way to do it. More physicians should assist in suicide.
The right to life has been a subject of controversy for decades. We can mention it when we talk about abortion, the death penalty, and simply by a natural process we allow such as the simple act of natural birth of a baby. Whether a life is worth living? and whether to assist the act to end a life? Has been one of the most controversial subjects among the religious communities and the society. According to the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies reported on its website in the document "Physician-Assisted Suicide Survey," (accessed on Oct. 27, 2006), "Religious identity correlates with attitudes toward the ethical status of assisting in suicide. Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Jews believe in the majority that it
One may wonder why in the end to choose euthanasia as a means to deliberately end their life. Some individuals live in excessive chronic pain, some due to poverty or lack of health-care coverage and cannot afford pain-killing medication. Others are denied adequate painkillers because of their physician's lack of knowledge and or inadequate training. They have a terminal illness where disease has adversely affected their quality of life to the point where they no longer wish to continue living. Some have lost their independence and must be cared for continually or simply they realize that they will be dying in the near future and simply want to have total control over the process. But whatever the case may be, the people who decide to commit suicide are unable to accomplish the act alone. They need assistance from their physician to assist the suicide and help them die under conditions in which they wish.
First of all, euthanasia saves money and resources. The amount of money for health care in each country, and the number of beds and doctors in each hospital are limited. It is a huge waste if we use those money and resources to lengthen the lives of those who have an incurable disease and want to die themselves rather than saving the lives of the ones with a curable ailment. When we put those patients who ask for euthanasia to death, then the waiting list for each hospital will shorten. Then, the health care money of each country, the hospital beds, and the energy of the doctors can be used on the ones who can be cured, and can get back to normal and able to continue contributing to the society. Isn’t this a better way of using money and resources rather than unnaturally extend those incurable people’s lives?