Claude Noel Yamgueu Prof. Landrus EN102 09/16/2013 Euthanasia Exploratory According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, euthanasia is the act or practice of intentionally ending the life of someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering. The 20th century was a time that saw the development of the modern hospital system, a development that contributed in the emergence of the euthanasia debate. Regardless of whether or not a person is in favor of euthanasia, many people do want a dignified death for themselves and their loved ones. However, the debate encompasses many interesting sides about whether or not humans have the right to die. The three main views of this issue include the pro-euthanasia, the con-euthanasia
Montana Supreme Court legalized PAS in a decision handed down on 2009-DEC-31. (“Euthanasia & Physician Assisted Suicide. (PAS) All side to the issue”.) "Those who oppose any measures permitting assisted suicide argue that we have a duty to protect and to preserve all life. To allow people to assist others in destroying their lives violates a duty we have to respect human life”.
Alex Schadenberg is the executive director of the EPCC. He does not look upon PAS as being about the alleviation of suffering of terminally ill persons. Rather he views it as about whether physicians should be able to decide, perhaps without considering the wishes of the persons involved, whether to terminate the lives of any of their patients who is suffering. He said: "Canadians should understand how wide this case is that’s being heard. The Carter case wants to define it as all people who are suffering and they are trying to grant doctors the right to cause their death.
Perspectives on Physician-Assisted Suicides Brendolynn Champlaie PHI103 Informal Logic John Moore September 22, 2010 Thesis Assisted suicide should be legal it will allow terminally ill patients the freedom of choosing how they should end their life when they can no longer endure the pain and suffering. People have the freedom to do almost anything that they choose to do except for how they die. Some patients would like to die with dignity since is a personal choice and this is something their doctor should understand. The method that they might want to choose is euthanasia which is also known as assisted suicide, physician-assisted suicide (dying), doctor-assisted dying (suicide), and more loosely termed mercy (Christian Nordquist
Physician Assisted Suicide Why is it only ethical to die “naturally”, after a long illness filled with highly “un-natural” life extending medical procedures? Over the last twenty years, physician assisted suicides have become a sensitive issue in governmental offices as whether to legalize such an option. Even though many religions prohibit suicide and the intentional killing of others, and some believe it violates a portion of a doctors’ Hippocratic Oath, Physician Assisted Suicide should be a legal option for those with terminal diseases or conditions because reasonable laws can be constructed which prevent abuse and still protect the value of human life. Physician assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration
Disable patients who are labeled as having a low quality of life are permitted to make the decision to participate in PAD, even though their IQ is at or below the mentally handicapped level. Choosing the involvement in PAD while in a psychotic state of mind resulting from psychological disorders is acceptable, yet the state of mind is considered mentally unstable. Danny Scoccia writes, “Disability rights advocates condemn certain actual and contemplated “life or death” practices in our society on the grounds that they wrongly discriminate against disabled people. Among these are the selective abortions of fetuses that will develop conditions like Down Syndrome, and genetic counseling intended to discourage couples at high risk of producing disabled offspring from reproducing” (Scoccia, 2010). A terminally ill or severely disabled patient has the right to a living will which insures the choice of whether or not to resuscitate is upheld.
We all have an idea that the act was an unlawful one, to handle another human beings life as something we can take control over whenever we see fit. From an ethical standpoint, I can understand how the doctors did what was done, but moral they had no right to make a unanimous decision to end lives. The laws may vary from state to state the U.S. Supreme Court has walked into this arena, but the end effect has been to let the state decide what to do. “The Hippocratic Oath, traditionally taken by doctors, states: “To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug, or give advice which may cause his death” Hippocrates (c. 460 BCÐ380
Even though it is already legal, at first when it became legal it spread around quickly. The fear was that doctors would be basically killing patients who maybe have psychological problems and have nothing to do with being physically ill. There was a statement made where it said: “Dutch doctors have gone from killing the severely ill, to the disabled and even the depressed who aren’t physically sick.” In addition too, this case about assisted suicide is iffy because under age patients like 18 year old may ask for it if they do have a problem and are in contact with a physician. The problem with that is maybe they aren’t sure of what they want and are taking the toll on their lives. The way of looking at this is giving medical care and love and compassion to these people.
On the other hand opponents of assisted suicide do not believe this is the only way to secure a good health alternative. Opponents believe that it is important to make a patient feel comfortable and help them improve their quality of life not end life just because it is an option or that they may feel they are a burden to loved ones. Assisted suicide can be performed by a physician or a person who is willing to help a patient end their life. This paper will focus on physician assisted suicide (PAS), this has been a controversial issue in many countries and have many different opinions on the ethics behind assisted suicide. To further examine the data the utilitarian ethics approach will be used.
The dose of medication given to the patient must be lethal enough so that he/she does not wake up to the nightmare of realizing that they did not die. Also, more research has to be done of terminal illness. This must be done to avoid giving people a false prognosis. If both these things are done, this country could be one step closer to the legalization of doctor assisted death. In America, land of the free, doctor assisted death should be made legal so that the terminally ill can choose when and how they die.