Gay-Williams Arguments Against Euthanasia

392 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Moral issues around euthanasia

Gay-Williams does not believe that euthanasia can ever be in a patient’s self-interests. In some of his augments such as a misdiagnosis or in experimental procedure he believes there is always the chance of recovers at any point. He points out that death is final and there is no way to come back. He also points out in the argument of taking our life at any time that this just provides an easy way out and that recovery is certainly possible with feeling down or depressed. I do agree with his position with this topic. I do think often times people will look for the easy way out, and do not consider the consequences of their actions they choose to make. Euthanasia is both hard on the patient themselves, but one also has to think about their

Show More
Related

  • Euthanasia: The James Rachel and Sullivan´s Arguments

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Sullivan versus Rachel’s on euthanasia I will show that James Rachel’s argument is logically stronger than Sullivan’s argument. I will present examples given by both authors regarding their arguments and also on their conclusions about it. I will explain both of the author’s logical strengths and weaknesses in their arguments. I will give the examples given by both authors on how they prove their arguments to be true and later I will decide whose argument is stronger based on their strengths and weaknesses. I will give one of Rachel’s main strong arguments and one of Sullivan’s very weak arguments. I will also show if both of the author’s premises follow from the conclusion. And at the end I will give my opinion on my personal reasons on whose I think makes more sense in presenting their arguments.

    Read More

  • Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study Essay

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    The issues in the euthanasia debate usually revolve around patients who are terminally ill and/or suffering intractable pain. The patient must fully think about every aspect of what euthanasia would involve. I think that once a patient is seeking to end his or her life due to illness; they must have a will in place and also note the reason why they want to end their life. Euthanasia does raises lots of worrying ethical dilemmas like in what condition euthanasia can be justify, is there any ethical difference among killing someone and letting them die, is there any right to end the life of an individual who is suffering from serious

    Read More

  • Euthanasia: An Ethical Dilemma

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    The ethical debate regarding euthanasia dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. It was the Hippocratic School (c. 400B.C.) that eliminated the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide from medical practice. Euthanasia in itself raises many ethical dilemmas – such as, is it ethical for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient in ending his life? Under what circumstances, if any, is euthanasia considered ethically appropriate for a doctor? More so, euthanasia raises the argument of the different ideas that people have about the value of the human experience.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

    1907 Words  | 4 Pages

    Another reason a patient may opt to euthanasia is to die with dignity. The patient, fully aware of the state he or she is in, should be able choose to die in all their senses as opposed to through natural course. A patient with an enlarged brain tumor can choose to die respectively, instead of attempting a risky surgery that could leave the patient in a worse condition then before the operation, possibly brain-dead. Or a patient with early signs of Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease may wish to be granted euthanization before their disease progresses and causes detrimental loss of sentimental memories. Ultimately it should be the patient’s choice to undergo a risky surgery or bite the bullet, and laws prohibiting euthanasia should not limit the patient’s options.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    I am writing to you today with both the interests of the public, and my own interests, on the topic of Euthanasia becoming legalized in British Columbia. In a 2013 poll conducted by Life Canada the findings were that in British Columbia 63% of Canadians believed that Assisted Suicide be brought into place, and 55% believed that Euthanasia should take action, although some hesitated because of the numbers of non-consensual Euthanasia deaths in Belgium. Having Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide legalized would not only be able to help the terminally ill and physically disabled decide how they wish for their life to end, but the legalization would also save a lot of time, money, and resources in hospitals and palliative care facilities. Although some laws such as section 241 of the Criminal Code would need to be reviewed, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide could potentially end some people’s suffering, and save money and resources for the province.

    Read More

  • Exploring Euthanasia: A Good Death Debate

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Euthanasia, derived from the Greeks words eu and thanatos, literally means a good death (Holt, 2008, pp. 257). The intention of euthanasia is to provide terminally ill patients with the option of dying a dignified death; this is not a curtsey provided by many terminal illnesses, which are often accompanied by debilitating pain which often leave patients unable to care for themselves or participate in their own lives. “Respecting a patient’s autonomy is an important concept in the euthanasia debate.” (Holt, 2008, pp.268) there are two types of euthanasia: passive and active. Passive euthanasia is defined as withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment (Collier & Haliburton, 2015, pp.320) and is currently legal in Canada. Active euthanasia entails a deliberate action to end the life of the patient, and can be voluntary, none voluntary, or involuntary. Currently in Canada all forms of voluntary active euthanasia are

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of 'The Morality Of Euthanasia'

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay “The Morality of Euthanasia”, James Rachels uses what he calls the argument from mercy. Rachels states, “If one could end the suffering of another being—the kind from which we ourselves would recoil, about which we would refuse to read or imagine—wouldn’t one?” He cites a Stewart Alsop’s story in which he shares a room with a terminally ill cancer patient who he named Jack. At the end of the recounting, Alsop basically asks, “were this another animal, would not we see to it that it doesn’t suffer more than it should?” Which opens up the question of, “Why do humans receive special treatment when we too are animals?” We would not let animals suffer when there is a low chance of survival, so why is it different for us humans?

    Read More

  • Ethics of Euthanasia

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life.” (medterms.com) Surveys have shown physician-assisted suicide to be gaining more and more support amongst doctors and “up to half of adults believe it should be legal in cases of terminal illnesses.” (Vaugn, Page 597) In a 2000 large survey, Oncologists revealed 22.5% supported the use of physician-assisted suicide for a terminally ill patient with unremitting pain, 6.6% favored active euthanasia in these circumstances, 56.2% had received requests from patients for physician assisted suicide, 38.2% for active euthanasia, 10.8% had performed physician-assisted suicide and 3.7% active euthanasia. (Vaughn, Page 598) Not only have physician-assisted suicide begun gaining more support amongst physicians but also in the public. In a 2007 survey conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs, results have shown that 48% of the public believe it should be legal or doctors to help terminally ill patients end their own life by giving them a prescription of fatal drugs while 44% believe it should be illegal. (Vaughn, Page 603) In the 2007 Gallup Poll, results show 56% of the public believes when a person has a disease that cannot be cured and is living in severe pain, doctors should be allowed to assist the patient to commit suicide if the patients requests it and 38% believe it should not be allowed and 49% of the public believes that physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable while 44% beli...

    Read More

  • The Case for Euthanasia

    2340 Words  | 5 Pages

    ... greater pain and anguish for longer periods of time than my father did, I believe euthanasia is the only compassionate form of relief we can provide. I believe it is morally important to allow an individual to die with respect for his or her dignity, while respecting his or her autonomy. Because of these reasons, euthanasia is morally justified when administered under strict controls.

    Read More

  • The Euthanasia Debate

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although there are different forms, the practice of euthanasia is the process of ending an individual’s life. The different forms of euthanasia are Active and Passive euthanasia. There are also different ways that a physician may perform this type of procedure. This course of action may be taken in situations for speeding up the death, typically for medical patients who are severely ill. Some people, depending on their personal views may define it as putting someone out of their misery, where others would refer to euthanasia as being an assisted suicide. All forms of euthanasia are continuously spawning a wide variety of deviating ethical affairs. Issues pertaining to euthanasia include the legitimacy debate of assisted suicide, especially in the state of California.

    Read More

  • Argument in Favor of Euthanasia

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today, medical interventions have made it possible to save or prolong lives, but should the process of dying be left to nature? (Brogden, 2001). Phrases such as, “killing is always considered murder,” and “while life is present, so is hope” are not enough to contract with the present medical knowledge in the Canadian health care system, which is proficient of giving injured patients a chance to live, which in the past would not have been possible (Brogden, 2001). According to Brogden, a number of economic and ethical questions arise concerning the increasing elderly population. This is the reason why the Canadian society ought to endeavor to come to a decision on what is right and ethical when it comes to facing death. Uhlmann (1998) mentions that individuals’ attitudes towards euthanasia differ. From a utilitarianism point of view – holding that an action is judged as good or bad in relation to the consequence, outcome, or end result that is derived from it, and people choosing actions that will, in a given circumstance, increase the overall good (Lum, 2010) - euthanasia could become a means of health care cost containment, and also, with specific safeguards and in certain circumstances the taking of a human life is merciful and that all of us are entitled to end our lives when we see fit.

    Read More

  • A Defense of Euthanasia

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    More than likely, a good majority of people have heard about euthanasia at least once in their existence. For those out there who have been living under a rock their entire lives, euthanasia “is generally understood to mean the bringing about of a good death – ‘mercy killing’, where one person, ‘A’, ends the life of another person, ‘B’, for the sake of ‘B’.” (Kuhse 294). There are people who believe this is a completely logical scenario that should be allowed, and there are others that oppose this view. For the purpose of this essay, I will be defending those who are for euthanasia. My thesis, just by looking at this issue from a logical standpoint, is that if someone is suffering, I believe they should be allowed the right to end their lives, either by their own consent or by someone with the proper authority to make the decision. No living being should leave this world in suffering. To go about obtaining my thesis, I will first present my opponents view on the issue. I will then provide a Utilitarian argument for euthanasia, and a Kantian argument for euthanasia. Both arguments will have an objection from my opponent, which will be followed by a counter-objection from my standpoint.

    Read More

  • Three Reasons Why Euthanasia Should Be Legalized

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    Secondly, to numerous people, quality of life is more important than the length of the life. The patients who request euthanasia are going through unbearable pain that others who had never gone through it won’t understand. The bystanders think it is better to live, but the patients themselves see death as a way to end their intolerable pain and to give them peace. I believe that it is just a matter of time before those patients die of sickness, and it is pointless to force those patients to live longer. I think it is best to end the lives of those in pain, rather than trying to make their lives full of suffering and torture longer.

    Read More

  • Argument Against Euthanasia

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    Euthanasia is a medical procedure which speeds up the process of dying for people with incurable, painful, or distressing diseases.  The patient’s doctor can stop treatment and instead let them die from their illness.  It come from the Greek words for 'good' and 'death', and is also called mercy killing.  Euthanasia is illegal in most countries including the UK .  If you suffer from an incurable disease, you cannot legally terminate your life.  However, in a number of European countries it is possible to go to a clinic which will assist you to die gracefully under some very strict circumstances.

    Read More

More about Gay-Williams Arguments Against Euthanasia

Open Document