Around the world, Euthanasia has become a controversial topic for many reasons. Many people debate over whether or not it should be legalized in the United States and so far only four states have legalized it so far; Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. The Netherlands is another country that has already legalized euthanasia and many more should. Vegetative and terminally ill people should have the right to die by lethal injection, whether it be kids or elderly, but many people are confused about what it is and that causes issues. One of the many reasons euthanasia is frowned upon is the fact that many people don’t know what euthanasia is. Most people believe that euthanasia is the “right to be allowed to die by refusing treatment,”(Somerville) but it is not this. Euthanasia is when someone is put to death through lethal injection, not the refusement of medical attention and treatment. The failure to recognize this leads to the misinterpretation and unjust bias towards euthanasia and its victims:
Proeuthanasia advocates use recognition of this right to refuse treatment even when it results in death to argue that, likewise, patients should be allowed to exercise their right to autonomy and selfdetermination to choose death through lethal injection (Somerville).
In 1997, Oregon became the first US state to legalize euthanasia. Many people believed that the legalization of this practice would greatly influence the amount of death occurrences throughout time, but approximately only 0.15% (292 people) of Oregon deaths were due to assisted suicide in the nine years it has been in place (Smith). Many people also feared the rise in the deaths of those in vulnerablegroups because they have a reputation of giving in easier under special circumstances. Evidence shows that
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the elderly, women, people with low educational status, the poor, the physically disabled or chronically ill, minors, those with psychiatric illnesses including depression, or racial or ethnic minorities did not have elevated rates of doctor assisted dying (Smith).
In order for euthanasia to be a successful practice people need to understand what it is and how it can be beneficial to those in need of it.
Kids who are terminally ill or in excruciating conditions should have the option to die by euthanasia to stop the suffering. The problem of euthanasia for babies began to rise when the Groningen Protocol was introduced in 2005 in the Netherlands.
Its development was triggered by the case of a baby girl with excruciatingly painful and progressive skin disease whose parents asked doctors to end her suffering. The request was refused on the grounds that the doctors concerned could be prosecuted for her murder. The young patient died three months later (Carlowe).
Babies and other infants should have the right to die by euthanasia if they are in unending pain and have only a short time left to live. The practice is only practiced "with the explicit intention of hastening death” (Carlowe) and has to follow a series of regulations in order for it to be considered as an option. For all ages, there is a fivecriteria protocol that must be fulfilled: diagnosis and prognosis beyond doubt; presence of hopeless and unbearable suffering; a second independent medical opinion to confirm the first; the consent of both parents; and compliance with strict medical standards (Carlowe).
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If individuals allow the practice of euthanasia among children who are in excruciating pain and have a terminable illness they will not be doing an injustice, but helping those in need of it with
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Research Paper on Euthanasia Paper Presented to Professor TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………..1 Eight Arguments to Consider…………………………………………2 The Right to Die………………………………………………………2 Patient Suffering……………………………………………………....3 Slippery Slope to Legalized Murder…………………………………..4 Hippocratic Oath and Prohibition of Killing………………………….5 Government Involvement……………………………………………..5 Palliative Care…………………………………………………………
Voluntary/Assisted Euthanasia Grand Canyon University Ethical Decision Making in Health Care Voluntary/Assisted Euthanasia (Thesis, Description of the topic and related ethical implications, Obligations to your profession and work as a nurse) Debra Burden The purpose of this paper is to define the issue and legalities of assisted death and the key ethical arguments, including the social values and norms, encompassing this topic. Also included in this paper on voluntary/assisted suicide…
1st draft: Synthesis paper (Voluntary euthanasia) Voluntary euthanasia has been a very polemic topic whether people agree or disagree with such action. According to Begley’s article killing is necessarily vicious in all circumstances; however, he defends the voluntary active euthanasia. In his text, he explains the case of Dr. Cox who gave his patient, that was terminate ill, conventional drugs to end his life. In this case the patient’s death was consensual because she was in pain. Mrs. Boyes…
Euthanasia or Murder? Euthanasia is a complicated issue and not easy to debate about, so going through euthanasia pros and cons is necessary. I try to think about both points of view and try to be as objective as possible. It is very difficult to understand the killing of someone who is unable to tell you their wishes. For that reason I will be arguing that euthanasia in my opinion is wrong. Euthanasia is defined as the Act or method of causing death painlessly so as to end suffering. In better…
Euthanasia is the killing of a patient by a doctor. It is most commonly done by something called a lethal injection. It was originally made in a positive way to end pain and suffering. As of 2002 euthanasia became legal in the Netherlands, it was regularly performed there before problems ever happened before that. Supporters of euthanasia would say “ that we should be able to choose when we die, and that life is no longer worth living for anymore. Let me ask you a simple question “what…
die naturally .. despite his state, if he is responsive to pain there is hope and chance that a recovery is possible. each time one takes the easy way out of a situation the social value of life is decreased a significant amount. The use of euthanasia is only becoming more common in those countries that allow the use of it, and this will only lead to a point in time where human life holds no value. There are times when patients that were diagnosed to never recover come out of comas to continue…
After analysing the moral issue of whether or not we should legalise euthanasia I have personally decided that it should be legalised. As much as we love the idea of being immortal, it is inevitable that we will all eventually die. It is just a matter of when, where and how. This might sound harsh but the unfortunate fact remains that immortality does not exist. I believe that if we are to die, that we should be allowed to die with dignity. If someone was to be diagnosed with a terminal illness…
Euthanasia Sarah Quinn is 45-year-old woman whose mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease at 46, and Sarah has been told in advance that she will most likely inherit the disease. Thus, making her forget any recently learned knowledge. Sarah is stuck in an infinite loop that will ruin her career and her life. One day she notices she has asked her husband the same thing three times. As Sarah’s husband pointed out to her, she has forgotten where she stuck her keys. She checked the…
I am for euthanasia, not only for animals, but for people too, when the end is near and to prolong life is to prolong suffering. Let met tell you a story, which illustrates why I feel this way. My father-in-law was what some people would call a war hero, and others would call a baby-killer. He was career military (Army), and he and my mother-in-law raised seven good, healthy kids on a drill sergeant's salary. Who knows how many of his trainees didn't die in Vietnam because of what he taught them…
Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia : Ethical and Legal Conflict within the United Kingdom It was April 15th in 1989, when Anthony Bland was on his way to watch the FA Cup semi-final at one of England's most famous football clubs in Hillsborough. What Bland, and other football fans throughout England thought would be a memorable football game, between some of England's most acclaimed teams, turned out to be a monumental disaster. The focus of this sporting event was not on the playing field, but instead…