English II H 9 December 2012 Justifiable Non-voluntary Euthanasia in Of Mice and Men Death is inevitable, but suffering is not. This springs the debate of euthanasia, specifically non-voluntary euthanasia. Euthanasia is defined as the killing of someone as a form of mercy. According to the BBC Ethics Guide, non-voluntary euthanasia is when the victim is unable to make their desires known (Source A). Some people believe this is murder while others believe it is justifiable under certain circumstances.
From the con side of the topic Physicians legally and morally should not assist in suicide of terminally ill patients. This simple fact could boil down to the simple fact that suicide is suicide and it is morally wrong. A lot of countries around the world feel as though this is not moral and this why it is illegal in a vast majority of countries around the world. You could argue that this goes against a doctor’s job. The medical person who is administering the drug is not doing their job as a doctor, which is to help people not kill
A doctor does not have the right to do this because he or she is not God and should not ‘play God’. This is why euthanasia is opposed. Followers of Natural Law would argue that euthanasia, with regards to the quality of life, might end a person’s suffering which was causing them to have poor quality life, but it does not consider that a person could have gotten better if they were not euthanized and their quality of life could have improved. This is why a follower would object to euthanasia. The case study of Dr Nigel Cox can be used.
Assess this argument: ‘Killing is wrong if and only if it deprives a person of a valuable future life; some terminally ill people do not have a valuable future life; so it is not wrong to kill them’. Voluntary euthanasia is the ending of human life and intentionally relieving pain that a patient is suffering due to a terminal illness such as cancer. By definition, diseases such as cancer, cannot be cured or sufficiently treated and are expected to result in the death of the patient within the near future. As they no longer see the remaining months left of their life valuable, ending their life now seems a rational request. Killing is a form of active euthanasia whereby a person is deliberately causing death of a patient.
Those against it, believe life is given by God, and he decides when to end it. All Christian Variants are opposed to Euthanasia, as they believe the direct and voluntary killing of human life is wrong. They believe Euthanasia violates the fact that humans are created in Gods image (imagio dei) and only God is able to end someones life. No Christian has the right to terminate life, "for everything there is a reason....a time to be born, and a time to die"(Ecclesiastes
The American Medical Association has generally argued against physician assisted suicide on the grounds that it undermines the integrity of the profession (Braddock & Tonelli 1998). Although patients can commit suicide without the aid of their physician it is still against the law and it can affect family members after they are gone. Opinions differ on the ethical consequences of trying to make physician assisted suicide the responsibility of doctors, but prior consideration of such ethically relevant consequences the question arises of whether the provision assisted suicide can logically be part of the doctor’s role (Fiona Randall & Robin Downie 2010). At the same time the state needs to monitor physician to see that they do not break the law and take it into their hands to participate in physician assisted suicide. A physician job description is to aim at the provision of treatments with health benefits in the patient’s best interest, and to avoid adverse outcomes (Fiona Randall & Robin Downie 2010).
Robert Jones Dr. Wilson Maina Ethics in Contemporary Society 19 February 2013 In a sense, everyone has different perspectives on the euthanasia topic. “Euthanasia is killing someone for the sake of mercy to relieve great suffering.” (148). The question looms, to what extent is killing someone for the relief of great suffering extend to? Whether society is ever going to pick a side or agree both ways has to unrealistic. The discussion if this topic is ethical or unethical is debated upon.
LifeNews.com. If you were terminally ill, suffering, and watching your family suffer, would you want your final breath to be sooner rather than later? Many terminally ill patients do, and will take matters into their own hands. When this happens, society calls is suicide. However, if a doctor or another individual assists in the suicide, it is then considered murder.
Euthanasia is a choice of death for a human being for his or her alleged benefit. The five types of euthanasia are voluntary, non-voluntary, involuntary, active and passive. Voluntary euthanasia is when the person asks to be killed. Non-voluntary is when the person does not give any consent to be killed, but is killed anyway. If a person makes a wish to the contrary to be killed, this is involuntary
“Physician Assisted Suicide" SOC120 Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility Shannon Sellers October 21, 2013 Should a person be allowed to ask for physician assistance to terminate their own life? This question strikes a moral debate that does not have a clear answer. Autonomy gives individuals the right to make medical decisions relating to their course of care. If a person determines they do not want life sustaining measures taken physicians are required to respect this even knowing it may result in death. When it comes to the decision to end one’s life due to a terminal illness with unmanageable pain a physician is not allowed to assist one in dying.