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Essay of assisted suicide in canada
Medical benefits of euthanasia
Moral and legal concerns about assisted suicide
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One benefit from voluntary euthanasia is the prevention of gory and horrific deaths. In the article, “Assisted dying: more than 300 terminally ill people a year committing suicide,” published by The Telegraph by author John Bingham, Bingham explains that “More than 300 terminally ill people in England a year could be taking their own lives because there is no possibility of assisted suicide.” The terminally ill seem to opt out and commit suicide whenever they want to die, because there is no euthanasia in their country, or region. In fact, citizens of one country are also willing to travel to another country, wherever euthanasia is allowed, to commit assisted suicide. Bingham explains, “Around 25 Britons a year also die at the Dignitas assisted …show more content…
According to a Statistics Brain study, Euthanasia Statistics, on average, “55 percent of terminally ill patients die in pain,” this would lead one to believe that if a nation were to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, less of these terminally ill patients will die painful deaths. Thus, the legalization of voluntary euthanasia can be beneficial and great around the world. In addition, in the book, “Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research.,” by the Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care, and Education, the institute quotes an individual with chronic pain who states, “Appointment after appointment, test after test, and of course, nothing to really confirm [the diagnosis]. . . . Having pain that I did not understand, as a physical therapist, fearing some dreadful disease was hard enough. . . . So, in addition to pain, I had anxiety and depression.” The authors are showcasing, first hand, a patient who faces agonizing chronic pain--someone who could possibly benefit from assisted suicide or euthanasia. Not only to patients feel physically painful, but they feel emotional and mental pain. An individual’s pain can vary, so for euthanasia to be legalized everywhere in the world, it should be voluntary euthanasia …show more content…
An individual may ask questions along the lines of it is estimated that we spend approximately 20-30% of insurance money to the terminally ill. According to the online article, “The Cost of Keeping The Terminally Ill Alive,” by physician Richard Meyer, “Last year, Medicare paid 55 billion dollars just for doctor and hospital bills during the last two months of patient’s lives.” This means that more of our money is, almost in a sense, wasted on a patient in their last two months of life, instead of going into something more significant such as infrastructure, education, and food which would be more of a long term thing as all of those ideas can be implemented and last for years and years--more than just two months. In addition, Meyer strengthens his argument by explaining that “most of the bills are paid for by the federal government with few or no questions asked.... Modern medicine has become so good at keeping the terminally ill alive by treating the complications of underlying disease that the inevitable process of dying has become much harder and is often prolonged unnecessarily.” What physician Meyer is trying to explain is that, just because doctors and hospitals have the technology to keep individuals alive for a prolonged period of time, and because the federal government has the money needed to pay for the doctors, to build these hospitals, and to
When we hear the phrase voluntary euthanasia people generally think of one of two things: the active termination of life at the patient's or the Nazi extermination program of murder. Many people have beliefs about whether euthanasia is right or wrong, often without being able to define it clearly. Some people take an extreme view, while many fall somewhere between the two camps. The derivation means gentle and easy death coming from the Greek words, eu - thanatos. Euthanasia was formerly called "mercy killing," euthanasia means intentionally making someone die, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. Put bluntly, euthanasia means killing in the name of compassion.
One position within the debate for physician assisted suicide is that it should not be legalized. Many defenders cite the issue of pain for this stance. They believe that the amount of suffering that a terminally ill patient is going through is deluding their minds. They also linked this distress towards clinical depression, the root that they say are causing them to want to ...
The right to assisted suicide is a significant topic that concerns people all over the United States. The debates go back and forth about whether a dying patient has the right to die with the assistance of a physician. Some are against it because of religious and moral reasons. Others are for it because of their compassion and respect for the dying. Physicians are also divided on the issue. They differ where they place the line that separates relief from dying--and killing. For many the main concern with assisted suicide lies with the competence of the terminally ill. Many terminally ill patients who are in the final stages of their lives have requested doctors to aid them in exercising active euthanasia. It is sad to realize that these people are in great agony and that to them the only hope of bringing that agony to a halt is through assisted suicide.When people see the word euthanasia, they see the meaning of the word in two different lights. Euthanasia for some carries a negative connotation; it is the same as murder. For others, however, euthanasia is the act of putting someone to death painlessly, or allowing a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or condition to die by withholding extreme medical measures. But after studying both sides of the issue, a compassionate individual must conclude that competent terminal patients should be given the right to assisted suicide in order to end their suffering, reduce the damaging financial effects of hospital care on their families, and preserve the individual right of people to determine their own fate.
There are places where patients receive Euthanasia, and although the people in the vegetative state cannot see, the peace is something that you don’t need to see to feel it. Also, Euthanasia will save money to the family, as reported by The New York State Department of Health, “Under any new system of health care delivery, as at present, it will be far less costly to give a lethal injection than to care for a patient throughout the dying process." Besides, there is no reason to keep a person alive if there is not a possibility of recover it would only affect the economy. As stated by the Medical Billing Advocates of America, “as many people have seen, the final cost associated with life support can be an enormous burden once that loved one has passed away.” Contrasting the cost of Euthanasia with the cost of keeping someone alive, the results show a considerable difference of spend that if possible should be avoided. Nevertheless, there are cases where it is worthy to spend all this money, for example, if there is hope of a recovery, the family will never consider any amount of money too much for a second chance in their relative
The term Euthanasia is derived from Greek, meaning good death. Taken in its common usage however, euthanasia refers to the termination of a person’s life, to end their suffering, usually from an incurable or terminal condition. It is for this reason that euthanasia was also coined the name “mercy killing”. Another type of euthanasia is Active Euthanasia refers to the deliberate act, usually through the intentional administration of lethal drugs, to end an incurably or terminally ill patient’s life. ("The Ethics of Euthanasia.") The earliest recorded date of euthanasia is dated back to 5th century B.C.-1st Century B.C. In ancient Greece and Rome, before the coming of Christianity, attitudes towards active euthanasia and suicide tended to be
Euthanasia is one of the most complicated issues in the medical field due to the debate of whether or not it is morally right. Today, the lives of many patients can be saved with the latest discoveries in medicine and technology. But we are still unable to find cures to all illnesses, and patients have to go through extremely painful treatments only to live a little bit longer. These patients struggle with physical and psychological pain. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the topic of just and unjust laws in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” which brings into question whether it is just to kill a patient who is suffering or unjust to take that person’s life even if that person is suffering. In my opinion people should have the right, with certain restrictions, to end their lives in the way they see fit if they are suffering from endless pain.
Our modern world is full of diseases that are often incurable, making people’s life a living torment, stealing the sense of living and encouraging a person to give up on everything. Even though the medical advances that are offered today are being developed to save a patient’s life or relieve their pain they fail to do so. There is a controversy between two groups those who believe euthanasia should be allowed and those who strongly believe it should be prohibited. Those against euthanasia see a doctor who performs it as a murderer, their believe’s foundation is that there is nobody else other than god who should end a life. ““eu” means good and “thanathous” means death” (Boudreau, et al. 2) Physicians should be allowed by law to prescribe
Anti-euthanasia advocates claim that assisted suicide is unneeded, meaning a person seeking euthanasia “should be forced to live regardless of the quality of life,” according to Dr. Philip Nitschke. He writes in “Euthanasia: Hope you never need it, but be glad the option is there” that a person should be able to choose he or she’s own outcome “to ensure dignity and choice.” Being able to choose our path in life is something that is granted to people in first world countries, such as the United States. Removing the right to choose if a person wants to die is not only wrong, but allows unnecessary suffering to continue. Dr. Nitschke believes that ultimately, “Unless modern medicine has a cure for Alzheimer’s [or] any number of the terminal illnesses that confront [us] will keep suffering.” Death is something that will happen to everyone, but suffering is not. While people with terminal illness do not choose to have the disease, they should be able to choose if they wish to elongate the
Legalization of Assisted suicide and Euthanasia would free those diagnosed fatally ill from an agonizing death. Some would argue that pain is manageable with strong narcotics, yet “Only 40-60% of pain … gets relieved …. about ⅓ of patients have pain that is intolerable, not controlled when it could be” (Wolfe n. pag.). And when pain is managed and, “the ravages of… diseases often cause incontinence, severe weight loss, dementia, nausea and other symptoms that...
Any discussion that pertains to the topic of euthanasia must first include a clear definition of the key terms and issues. With this in mind, it should be noted that euthanasia includes both what has been called physician-assisted "suicide" and voluntary active euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide involves providing lethal medication(s) available to the patient to be used at a time of the patient’s own choosing (Boudreau, p.2, 2014). Indifferently, voluntary active euthanasia involves the physician taking an active role in carrying out the patient’s request, and usually involves intravenous delivery of a lethal substance. Physician-assisted suicide is felt to be easier psychologically for the physician and patient than euthanasia because
The debate on whether voluntary euthanasia should be legalized has been a controversial topic. Euthanasia is defined as ‘a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering’ [1]. Voluntary euthanasia refers to the patients who understand the terms in the consent and sign up under consciousness, while involuntary euthanasia is performed against patient's wishes and some people may regard it as a murder [1].
Thesis Statement: Physician assisted suicide or euthanasia may offer an accelerated and pain relieved alternative to end someone’s suffering, therefore people should not be denied the right to die especially when faced with terminal illnesses.
Throughout the course of history, death and suffering have been a prominent topic of discussion among people everywhere. Scientists are constantly looking for ways to alleviate and/or cure the pain that comes with the process of dying. Treatments typically focus on pain management and quality of life, and include medication and various types of therapy. When traditional treatments are not able to eliminate pain and suffering or the promise of healing, patients will often consider euthanasia or assisted suicide. Assisted suicide occurs when a person is terminally ill and believes that their life is not worth living anymore. As a result of these thoughts and feelings, a physician or other person is enlisted to “assist” the patient in committing suicide. Typically this is done by administering a lethal overdose of a narcotic, antidepressant or sedative, or by combining drugs to create an adverse reaction and hasten the death of the sick patient. Though many people believe that assisted suicide is a quick and honorable way to end the sufferings of a person with a severe illness, it is, in fact, morally wrong. Assisted suicide is unethical because it takes away the value of a human life, it is murder, and it opens the door for coercion of the elderly and terminally ill to seek an untimely and premature death. Despite the common people’s beliefs, assisted suicide is wrong and shouldn’t be legalized.
First of all, euthanasia saves money and resources. The amount of money for health care in each country, and the number of beds and doctors in each hospital are limited. It is a huge waste if we use those money and resources to lengthen the lives of those who have an incurable disease and want to die themselves rather than saving the lives of the ones with a curable ailment. When we put those patients who ask for euthanasia to death, then the waiting list for each hospital will shorten. Then, the health care money of each country, the hospital beds, and the energy of the doctors can be used on the ones who can be cured, and can get back to normal and able to continue contributing to the society. Isn’t this a better way of using money and resources rather than unnaturally extend those incurable people’s lives?
Should a patient have the right to ask for a physician’s help to end his or her life? This question has raised great controversy for many years. The legalization of physician assisted suicide or active euthanasia is a complex issue and both sides have strong arguments. Supporters of active euthanasia often argue that active euthanasia is a good death, painless, quick, and ultimately is the patient’s choice. While it is understandable, though heart-rending, why a patient that is in severe pain and suffering that is incurable would choose euthanasia, it still does not outweigh the potential negative effects that the legalization of euthanasia may have. Active euthanasia should not be legalized because