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ethical dilemma about euthanasia
ethical dilemma about euthanasia
ethical dilemma about euthanasia
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Should humans be able to have so much power that they can act as ‘God’? This question is often brought up with the concept of euthanasia. In 1990, a retired pathologist named Jack Kevorkian sparked a revolution in ethical thinking when he helped Oregonian woman Janet Adkins to die. Adkins was fifty-four years old when she was diagnosed with an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease, the fourth-largest killer of Americans. She tried experimental drugs to deal with the progressive memory loss symptoms, but they were not successful. On June 4, 1990, Adkins met Kevorkian in Michigan, where assisted suicide and euthanasia were not illegal at the time, in order to perform the suicide procedure. The two were denied the use of clinics, churches, and funeral homes when they explained the intentions of the procedure. Instead, they performed it in a van. The case received more publicity than expected and Kevorkian was prosecuted for murder (Pence 53-54). Euthanasia by definition is “deliberate killing committed under the impulse of compassion in order to relieve the physical pains of a person suffering from an incurable disease and whose death is, therefore, inevitable” (Diaconescu). It is very similar to physician-assisted suicide, but there is one key difference. During the process of physician-assisted suicide, the physician only prescribes a lethal dose of medication to the patient where as in euthanasia the physician not only prescribes the medication, but also administers it (Lowry 107). Euthanasia can be broken down into three forms: voluntary euthanasia, involuntary euthanasia, and non-voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia occurs when suffering individuals request to die on their own, while involuntary euthanasia occurs when eut... ... middle of paper ... ...4.2 (2012): 474+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. Lee, M.Stingl, Alexander. "Assisted Suicide: An Overview." Points Of View: Assisted Suicide (2013): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 15 Mar. 2014 Loewy, Erich H., and Roberta Springer Loewy. The Ethics Of Terminal Care : Orchestrating The End Of Life. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Marker, Rita L., and Kathi Hamlon. "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legal." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Frequently Asked Questions." Patients Rights Council, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Pence, Gregory E.. Medical ethics: accounts of ground-breaking cases. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Bernards, Neal, Ed. (1989). Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints Series, Series Eds. David L. Bender and Bruno Leone. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Velasquez, Manuel, Andre, Claire “Assisted Suicide A Right or Wrong.” Santa Clara university n.d. web 24 March 2012
Callahan, Daniel. "Physician -assisted Suicide Should Not be Legal." Suicide: Opposing Viewpoints. Biskup, Michael. ed. San Diego. Greenhaven Press, Inc.1992.
M., Lee and Alexander Stingl. “Assisted Suicide: An Overview.” Points of View: Assisted Suicide. Great Neck Publishing, 1 Jan. 2013. 1. Alabama Virtual Library. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 20 March 2014.
“Suicide, Euthanasia, and Physician-Assisted Suicide.” Death and Dying: End-of-Life Controversies. Sandra M. Alters. 2008 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Information Plus Reference Series. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.
In the United States, euthanasia should be legalized. In the year of 1992, Chris Docker wrote about an elderly woman going through the last painful stages of her life. Docker shared that “Mrs. Boyes' was so ill that she "screamed like a dog" if anyone touched her… when she repeatedly requested to die, Dr. Cox finally gave her an injection of potassium chloride, bestowing on her the boon of a peaceful death so many of us feel we are entitled to” (Docker). This unfortunate situation is presented to many doctors across the US. With euthanasia currently being illegal, they cannot provide proper care for their patients. Euthanasia can spare many people of their undesirable agony they face close to their passing. Too many people are suffering from a terminal illness and wanting to be put out of their misery; therefore, euthanasia should be made legal and enforced nationwide.
Smith, Wesley J. "Assisted Suicide Will Not Remain Restricted to the Terminally Ill." Assisted Suicide. Ed. Sylvia Engdahl. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Death on Demand: The Assisted-Suicide Movement Sheds Its Fig Leaf." Weekly Standard (5 July 2007). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia is a controversial issue all over the world, and it leads to debate as to whether or not an individual should be allowed to decide the moment and form of one’s death, along with the
"Assisted Suicide: Finding Common Ground." Lois Snyder, JD; and Authur L. Caplan, PhD. Annals of Internal Medicine. March 21, 2000. v.132, n.6
Manu, Constantin D. "Assisted Suicide." Journal of Medicine and Life, vol. 3, no. 1, 2010., pp. 52-9.NC Live. http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 755214846? accountid=13939. Accessed 24 Sept. 2016.
Focus on the Family Issue Analysts. “Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide.” Focus on the Family. 2008. Focus on the Family. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
... Association. 1998. “Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.” Canadian Medical Association Board of Directors. Retrieved from http://www.cma.ca/index.php/ci_id/3214/la_id/1.htm on October 16th, 2010.
The person may ask for help with dying, start refusing medical treatment, and they may start refusing to eat. Non-voluntary euthanasia is when a person is unable to make a decision and another person has to make the decision on their behalf. This may occur because the person is in a coma, too young, or senile. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when a person does not want to die but is killed anyways. This form of euthanasia is not acceptable, and it is typically associated with murder, depending on the situation.
Before defining and discussing the three major categories of euthanasia, it is important to understand the meaning of their subtypes known as active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is performing a direct action to take someone’s life, such as administering a lethal drug to a patient. Passive euthanasia is allowing someone to die by not performing some life-sustaining action or ending life-sustaining treatment (Pojman). Examples of passive euthanasia would be removing a patient’s respirator or withholding nutrients and fluids. Active euthanasia is easily the more controversial of the two.
...Prevention. "Physician-Assisted Suicide Should Not Be Legalized." Opposing Viewpoints: Problems of Death. Ed. James D. Torr and Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Harford Technical High School - MD. 15 Mar. 2010 .