Imagine a person goes to the doctor and finds out that he or she has inoperable or advanced stage cancer, AIDS or some debilitating disease like Lou Gehrig’s or Multiple Sclerosis. Death is an inescapable fact of life, but in scenarios with cancer, AIDS and other fatal diseases, it is closer and might be more painful than one hopes. Recent developments in Belgium pertaining to the legalization of euthanasia in terminally ill children , as well as the coverage of the case of French citizen Chantal Sebire, who was s suffering from esthesioneuroblastoma( a rare, incurable cancer of the nasal cavity which would progressively damage her brain and eventually kill her) remind us of the topic of euthanasia . Due to her condition Chantal Sebire lost her ability to see, her sense of taste and smell were significantly impacted. After her plea to allow euthanasia was denied by French government, she was found dead two days later. Autopsy revealed “fast acting barbiturates in Sevier’s system three times the lethal dosage” (Townsend 7). Cases such as of Chantal Sebire, when people resolve to take their life using the means available, make religious, legal and medical community deliberate on the problem of euthanasia and reminds the state of the urgency of statutory regulation of euthanasia. Their primary dispute around euthanasia is about the value of human life. While medical science advances allow maintaining biological functions and postponing death by working in a regime of a controlled process of dying by taking the choice of time and manner of death out of ill patient’s hands (Yount 11). However, availability of euthanasia gives the control to the dying person. In order to fully understand the topic of ... ... middle of paper ... ...al Service) 34.1 (1999): 25-41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Townsend, Liz. "French Woman Denied Euthanasia Found Dead." National Right To Life News 35.4 (2008): 7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. McCormick, Andrew J. "Self-Determination, The Right To Die, And Culture: A Literature Review." Social Work 56.2 (2011): 119-128. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. McKhann, Charles F. A Time To Die : The Place For Physician Assistance. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Quill, Timothy E. "Physicians Should 'Assist In Suicide' When It Is Appropriate." Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics 40.1 (2012): 57-65. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Yount, Lisa. Right To Die And Euthanasia. New York NY: Facts on File, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
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Conclusion In recent years euthanasia has become a very contentious topic. The Greek means easy death, yet the controversy surrounding it is just the opposite. Whether the issue is refusing to prolong life mechanically, assisting suicide or active euthanasia, we eventually have to confront societies’ fears towards death itself. Above all culture cultivates fear against ageing, death, and dying, and it is not easy for people to except that it is an inevitable part of life. However, the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death and dying but are also about rights, liberty, privacy and control over one’s body. So the question remains: who has the right?
"Physician-Assisted Suicide Shows No Mercy." American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 501-504. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Cotton, Paul. "Medicine's Position Is Both Pivotal And Precarious In Assisted Suicide Debate." The Journal of the American Association 1 Feb. 1995: 363-64.
Docker, Chris. "Euthanasia, Right to Die: Cases." Euthanasia, Right to Die: Cases. N.p., 2000. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Horkan, Thomas. "Legislation That Complicates Dying." Eds. Gary McCuen and Therese Boucher. Hudson: Gary McCuen Publications, 1985. 69-72.
The right of someone to take their own life has been a topic of debate since the time of Romans. In this paper euthanasia will be discussed including the history, current legislation, reasons for, reasons against, and the authors opinion on the topic. With an aging population, increasing lifespan, and an increasing rate of cancers euthanasia will become a larger topic of discussion in the years to come.
Every day, millions of people are being diagnose with terminal illnesses or being seriously injured in accidents. Sometimes, those illnesses and accidents become long and agonizingly painful deaths. Although medication could briefly ease the pain, the long-term agony that the patient has to deal with is ceaseless. Undoubtedly, the human life has an enormous value and is for that reason that it should be preserved in all the possible ways. Nevertheless, when the terminal illness comes to its last stage, or the damage caused for an accident is too much to handle and the only option left is death, shouldn’t it be the patient’s decision to end its suffering and pain in a dignified way? Or in cases where the patient has an impediment to decide, shouldn’t the family have the option to give their loved one an end to its suffer? As part of a free society, euthanasia should be considered as a legal and humane option for patients suffering from terminal diseases and victims of accidents, mainly because is every human right to die in a decent way.
Yount, Lisa. Right to Die and Euthanasia. Revised. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2007. Print.
Cavan, S. . Euthanasia: The debate over the right to die. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., print.
[2] R. M. Walker, "Physician- assisted suicide: the legal slippery slope," Cancer Control : Journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center, vol. 8, pp. 25, 2001.
Euthanasia has been an ongoing debate for many years. Everyone has an opinion on why euthanasia should or should not be allowed but, it is as simple as having the choice to die with dignity. If a patient wishes to end his or her life before a disease takes away their quality of life, then the patient should have the option of euthanasia. Although, American society considers euthanasia to be morally wrong euthanasia should be considered respecting a loved one’s wishes. To understand euthanasia, it is important to know the rights humans have at the end of life, that there are acts of passive euthanasia already in practice, and the beneficial aspects.
"Individuals Do Not Have a Right to Die." Opposing Viewpoints Digests: Euthanasia. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Harford Technical High School - MD. 15 Mar. 2010 .