• Non – voluntary euthanasia – where a person is unable to give their consent for example if they are severely brain damaged, and another person makes the decision on their behalf. • Involuntary Euthanasia – where a person is killed against their wishes. Many religions do not agree with euthanasia. Some religions regard it as a type of murder. • The official Roman Catholic Church is against euthanasia and says it is a crime.
These essay will outline some other reasons why is this issue important in our society. We all know that human life has an intrinsic value. Most of the traditions believe that man is created in God’s own image and therefore human life has an instructive dignity and is inviolable. Also, Christians believe that God is the one who gave us life and the only one who can take it away, but in a non- religious point of view this principle would be based on the dignity and sacredness of human life, independent from God’s existence. Euthanasia affects patients who are suffering from serious diseases like cancer or a person in coma.
Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal? Dion O. Hales SOC120 Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility Prof. Theodore Framan June 22, 2012 Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal? While killing yourself is harder than having someone do it for you is that killing yourself requires firmer resolve, Should euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide be legal? Because a patient's last will and last testament should be honored, a competent patient's request to terminate life-sustaining treatment, and it is our moral right to prevent a person from suffering if they suffer from a disease we cannot cure. First, Should euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide be legal?
The Dangers of Assisted Suicide “Advocates of physician assisted suicide try to convey the impression that in terminally ill patients the wish to die is totally different from suicidal intent in those without terminal illness” (Herbert and Klerman 118.) Physician assisted suicide is when a physician assists their patient in dying upon their request. In some states there are laws giving limitations to who can request such a “procedure,“ but these laws are not enough to prevent the dangers of assisted suicide. Assisted suicide should be illegal in all fifty states because it is immoral, dangerous to society, and can lead to the deaths of millions of depressed people. “Critics of physician assisted suicide believe that doctors like Jack Kevorkian are doing nothing less than playing God“ (Gay 47.)
The importance religion gives to death therefore creates a strong reaction to euthanasia. The Christian religion strongly believes life is given by God, and should be taken by God in well time. People should not interfere with the natural process of death. Similarly, Muslims are against euthanasia. Considering the belief that all human life is sacred as it is given by Allah, Allah chooses how long each person will live and humans should not interfere.
Should a person assist in the killing of another person? Some Doctors may feel that by helping their patients commit suicide it is putting their pain and suffering to an end. There is a huge difference between mercy killing and assisted suicide. Mercy killing is when a person who is sick does not say he or she wants to die and/or given a large dose of painkilling drugs. Assisted suicide is helping a person kill him or herself.
Voluntary Active Euthanasia is a type of euthanasia when the physician administers the medication that will end the person’s life. Physician Assisted Suicide or PAS is a type of euthanasia when the physician will provide the means to end the person’s life but the patient actually administers the medication themselves to end their life (Alters, S., 2005, p. 14-15). PAS is the method of euthanasia that was used by Dr. Jack Kevorkian and his suicide machine. RIGHT TO DIE 3 Dr. Jack Kevorkian once said in an interview, “My specialty is death.” (Physician-Assisted Suicide, 2006, p. 832). It is estimated that Dr. Kevorkian assisted in 130 deaths with his suicide
In contrast, involuntary euthanasia refers to ending one’s life that openly expresses their wish to die and requests other individuals to end their lives. [2] Euthanasia is currently illegal in many countries, including Canada. It has been recently legalized in some cities such as Oregon, Washington, Montana, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Euthanasia should remain illegal because it takes away hope from the patients to get through their diseases, it creates conflicts between religious groups and it could be used for ulterior motives. If euthanasia becomes legal, it would be a treatment option for the terminally sick ones.
Ewart was an American who had gotten a disease that causes his organs to shrink for a long time. He chose to die by euthanasia, to end his pain of his own accord finally. He said that Motoneuron disease made him tired and he had no will to live. If he was in so much pain by the disease, he would still want to live, but there were too much pain. From Steven Ertelt’s article, we knew that Ewart said, if he chose to live, he would suffer illness, but it did not mean he could cure the disease and have a new life (2008).
Religious people do many things to help the victims of war, but also have reasons for doing so. Christians may help victims of war because it states that they should help victims of war, good or bad in their religious book the bible. "Do for others what you want them to do for you" (Matthew 7:12). This quote tells us Christians may want to help war victims because on another day they might need someone else's help. Another way of interpreting the quote is that whoever the person is they deserved to be helped, as the religious person could be in the same position.