Physician-Assisted Suicide, or Euthanasia, is a serious issue, and it affects people throughout all walks of life. From teenagers with angst, to older adults feeling hopeless in their life, to the elderly suffering from terminal illnesses, suicide pervades throughout their thought processes as an alternative to their emotionally and physically pervasive situations. Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, has a history dating back to the seventeenth century. Only recently has it become as controversial an issue as it has. Why is euthanasia such a touchy, beat around the bush kind of term? Like abortion, euthanasia’s arguments center on right vs. wrong in the social spectrum. In “Euthanasia Reconsidered — The Choice of Death as an Aspect of the Right of Privacy,” Richard Delgado states that the similarities between euthanasia and abortion “extend beyond constitutional doctrine to the social ramifications of present mercy-killing law. Like the prohibition of abortion, current law barring euthanasia subordinates tangible social needs to… moral convictions” (479). Issues such as the rising rate of population, pollution and poverty are all related to euthanasia as an acceptable legislation. Shouldn’t these larger world issues be more alarming than the loss of a life? Arthur Imhof, a leading German representative of historical demography, argues that, “Along with the increase of our earthly life expectancy there has been a totally different, countervailing development… because of the loss of faith in the Beyond [our lives have] become infinitely shorter” (Spiro et al. 115). From the religious side of the argument, he says that the doubling of our earthly years means little in comparison to the loss of faith in an eternity. Our g... ... middle of paper ... ...31.2 (1994): 119-23. Google Scholar. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Sclar, David. “U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Gonzales v. Oregon Upholds the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 34.3 (2006): 639-43.Google Scholar. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Shakespeare, William, Burton Raffel, and Harold Bloom.Hamlet. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. WorldCat. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Spiro, Howard M., Mary G. McCrea. Curnen, and Lee Palmer. Wandel. Facing Death: Where Culture, Religion, and Medicine Meet. New Haven: Yale UP, 1996. Print. Wilson, Keith G., John F. Scott, Ian D. Graham, Jean F. Kozak, Susan Chater, Raymond A. Viola, Barbara J. De Faye, Lynda A. Weaver, and Dorothyann Curran. “Attitudes of Terminally Ill Patients toward Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide.” Archives of Internal Medicine 160.16 (2000): 2454-460. Google Scholar. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
The word Euthanasia comes from the Greek and means “good death” (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) and in the range of this paper, it is called physician assisted suicide or “active” euthanasia. The definition of “active” euthanasia is ending one’s life yourself or with the aid of a doctor. It can be done in various different ways; however, the most common form is with a combination of drugs, usually given by a physician. ( http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) The reason Physician Assisted Suicide (or PAS) is an important issue in this country and around the world is that there are many people out there suffering from debilitating, incurable and intensely painful diseases that would like to end their lives with dignity and without suffering.
In researching this and many other conspiracy theories, one can see many uses of sensationalism, mainly by the media. This media- the news (local and national), magazines, tabloids, television shows, movies, and so on- has a huge e...
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print 539-663
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare). Simon & Schuster; New Folger Edition, 2003.
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.
Shakespeare, William, Marilyn Eisenstat, and Ken Roy. Hamlet. 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. Print.
In the end of the novel, Great Expectations, Pip redefines himself as a dependable honorable character. For example, when Pip is hovering over Provis' deathbed he says, "Dear Magwitch, I must tell you, now at last, You had a child once whom you loved and lost, she lived and found powerful friends.
Shakespeare, William. The Three-Text Hamlet. Eds. Paul Bertram and Bernice Kliman. New York: AMS Press, 1991.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
My claim: I argue in favor of the right to die. If someone is suffering from a terminal illness that is: 1) causing them great pain – the pain they are suffering outweighs their will to live (clarification below) 2) wants to commit suicide, and is of sound mind such that their wanting is reasonable. In this context, “sound mind” means the ability to logically reason and not act on impulses or emotions. 3) the pain cannot be reduced to the level where they no longer want to commit suicide, then they should have the right to commit suicide. It should not be considered wrong for someone to give that person the tools needed to commit suicide.
As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, Medical practioners should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death” (Lee). “Arguments for and against assisted suicide (sometimes called the “right to die” debate) are complicated by the fact that they come from very many different points of view: medical issues, ethical issues, legal issues, religious issues, and social issues all play a part in shaping people’s opinions on the subject” (Lee). Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is considered murder, it goes against physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, violates the Controlled
Since the beginning of settled civilizations, people have had more mutual sharings than ever before. By the same token, there have been some conspiracy theories that are usually against the culturally accepted beliefs of religions, science and society. A conspiracy theory can be described so differently. However, as in his text, Marshall Brain explicates, a conspiracy is generally defined as a theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act (Brain). Especially, after the new media has become quite popular, more and more conspiracies are theorized every single day, which aim to catch society’s attention via such media tools as the internet, journals and newspapers. Thus, people who theorize those conspiracies tend to use such objects as spiritual and mysterious ones in order to interest people. To illustrate, many examples can be given. For instance, many people have claimed that they were abducted by aliens, although they could show no evidences. Here, a citation from Blackmore could facilitate to understand the circumstance better. She states that people occasionally claim that they have been abducted from public places by aliens, in this case that may provide them with witnesses and affirmations but no evidence could be shown so far (Blackmore). As it is well known, only a small number of people believe such alien abductions, however, rating of this kind of news is quite high on media, because humankind has been wondering if there are extraterrestrial creatures out of the earth. Another example can be conspiracy theories which are about the origins of religions such as the rejection of Jesus Christ. There are some people who pay attention to...
In the third stage Pip tries to repair all his relationships with people he mistreated and loved. Pip finds Herbert a good job even if it means Pip using some of his own money. Pip also tries to help Magwitch escape. Although Magwitch does not escape, Pip makes Magwitch happy before he dies telling him that he has a daughter and that he is in love with her.
Urofsky, Melvin I. Lethal Judgments: Assisted Suicide and American Law. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000. Print.
When Pip was a child, he was a contented young boy. He wanted to grow