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The ethical implications of euthanasia
The ethical implications of euthanasia
Euthanasia research paper the life
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Euthanasia: The Strange Case of Dr. Kevorkian
Physicians face an ethical dilemma when confronting their patients who are suffering. Many have to choose between abiding by the law or ignoring the law and acting on their own beliefs by assisting in a patient’s suicide. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is certainly one doctor who has taken the illegal route in assisting in many of his patients suicides. In “Killer Doc,” William F. Buckley provides a brief overview of the case and informs his audience of the shocking incidents of Kevorkian’s performed euthanasia on Thomas Youk. In “Offering a Helping Hand to those Who Long to Die,” Mark Nichols compares the famous euthanasia doctors, Dr. Kevorkian and Austrailia’s Dr. Philip Nitschke.
Dr. Kevorkian was an avid supporter of euthanasia. He believed people shouldn’t have to suffer if they chose not to. As a result, the unlawful physician would rig machinery so that the patient had the opportunity to kill him/herself. Buckley introduced the case of Thomas Youk in which his death was taped on a home video. The documentary was later shown ...
There are many convincing and compelling arguments for and against Physician Assisted Suicide. There are numerous different aspects of this issue, including religious, legal and ethical issues. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will examine the ethical concerns of both sides. There are strong pro and con arguments regarding this, and I will make a case for both. It is definitely an issue that has been debated for years and will continue to be debated in years to come.
There are many legal and ethical issues when discussing the topic of physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The legal issues are those regarding numerous court cases over the past few decades, the debate over how the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution comes into play, and the legalization vs. illegalization of this practice. The 14th Amendment states, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, §1). PAS in the past has been upheld as illegal due to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment of the constitution, but in recent years this same 14th amendment is also part of the reasoning for legalizing PAS, “nor shall any State deprive any person of…liberty” (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, §1). The ethical issues surrounding this topic include a patient’s autonomy and dignity and if PAS should be legalized everywhere. This paper is an analysis of the PAS debate and explores these different issues using a specific case that went to the supreme courts called Washington et al. v. Glucksberg et al.
...distractions. Taking time to observe and analyze the silence can bring something to the surface that could never be confronted in any other way. We need to embrace silence presented throughout life, for we will come out with more definitive, powerful voices.
Dr. Kevorkian was seen differently by many people. Some people thought that he was a good person while other people saw him as a criminal for helping people end their life. Due to his actions many laws have been created against assisted suicide. Even though he was charged with murders and for breaking the law he still kept on helping people. This showed that he cared a lot about his patients. The Kevorkian that started as a quiet religious child grew up to be a highly debatable person.
Seidman, Steven. Beyond the Closet: The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print
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.
Rotting vegetation and erupting volcanoes release some chemicals that can cause acid rain, but most acid rain falls because of human activities. When humans burn fossil fuels, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are released into the atmosphere. If large amounts of NO2 and SO2 are present in the atmosphere than the pH of rainwater will be significantly lowered. Nitric acid (HN03) can be linked to around 1/4 of the acid rain in the environment. Large amounts of NO gas is produced by high-temperature air combustion that takes place in car engines and power plants....
Leman, Dr. Kevin. The firstborn advantage: making your birth order work for you. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2008. Print.
Alfred Alder was one of the first theorist to suggest that birth order influences personality. He argued that birth order can often leave a lasting impression on a child. Alder analyzed other birth order factors such as the spacing in years between siblings, the total number of children, and the changing
According to West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, between 1990 and 1999, a well-known advocate for physician assisted suicide, Jack Kevorkian helped 130 patients end their lives. He began the debate on assisted suicide by assisting a man with committing suicide on national television. According to Dr. Kevorkian, “The voluntary self-elimination of individual and mortally diseased or crippled lives taken collectively can only enhance the preservation of public health and welfare” (Kevorkian). In other words, Kevor...
When a motor vehicle runs, it produces nitrogen oxide which then mixes with the sulfur dioxide from power plants and other places. Together the two gasses then interact with molecules in the atmosphere. This interaction makes the molecules acidic and from there either falls as a form of wet deposition or dry deposition. Every day when people get into their form of motorized transportation they all contribute to the creation of acid deposition. In another article written by the EPA they tell of the causes of acid rain. Before humans started pumping these gasses into the air the environment could handle the naturally acidic precipitation, but now the precipitation has become too acidic for nature to be able to counteract the acidity: “ Over time, these neutralizing materials can be washed away by acid rain. Damage to crops, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals can result.”(What Causes Acid Rain? 1) Acid rain can cause damage to many different objects, living, or nonliving acid rain can still
“In 1999, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a Michigan physician known for openly advertising that he would perform assisted suicide despite the fact that it was illegal, was convicted of second-degree murder” (Lee). The fact of the matter is human being...
	Janet Adkins led a very productive life up to and even after she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer¹s, but she couldn¹t handle losing control of her brain (Filene 188). She was 54 years old and lived in a wealthy Oregon suburb with her stock broker husband, Ron. She was also the mother of three sons, taught English and piano, went hang gliding, trekked in Nepal, climbed Mount Hood, and generally behaved with a lot of energy (Gutmann 20). She and her husband were longtime Hemlock society members, which advocates Euthanasia in some cases (Betzold 22). ³Doctors at a Portland hospital told her that eventually she would be dependent on her husband for feeding and bathing² (Gutmann 21). She did not want to take her own life in case she messed it up, and her own doctors wouldn¹t help her (Hendin , ³Seduced by Death² 132). Though she was still able to carry on clear conversations and demolish her son at tennis; her husband explained that if she was going to go, she¹d probably want to go to soon rather than to late (Gutmann 21). After hearing about Kevorkian, Ron Adkins contacted him to employ his services (Wolfson 56). Her husband complained to Dr. Kevorkian that he had to remind her of the times of her tennis lessons, and that she kept leaving her purse in the house. After the brief conversation, Kevorkian agreed to meet with her (Gutmann 20). ³Dr. Kevorkian was a ret...
Acid rain has a harmful impact on the environment which is a serious environmental problem that affects large parts of the United States and Canada. Acid rain is particularly damaging to lakes, streams, forests and the plants and animals that live in these ecosystems. Acid rain is referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. They are oxidized in the air until they are converted to sulfuric and nitric acids. These acids are then captured by raindrops which fall to the earth as acid precipitation. This process is called deposition. We know this as acid rain, but we can have acidic snow or hail and even acidic dust particles falling from the sky. It can occur in natural resources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides resulting from fossil fuel combustion.
Acid rain is becoming an increasing dilemma due to pollution made from erupting volcanoes, rotting vegetation, and most importantly, the burning of fossil fuels. It has been linked to the corruption of lakes and streams, a decrease in fish and wildlife populations, and human health risks. Not only does it endanger aquatic fish and wildlife but acid rain is also known for the destruction of man-made structures. This phenomenon is becoming a growing concern as the consequences of human pollution are being observed through it. Although the results of acid rain cannot be negated, there are precautions that can be taken in order to prevent further destruction of the environment.