The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

1752 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethical dilemma with euthanasia

Euthanasia is growing towards legal acceptance in the United States where four states have already passed legalization laws in an attempt to relieve the pain of suffering patients. Even if euthanasia becomes a legal practice in the United States, lingering moral issues will continue to cause more lawsuits in the future. It is morally right for patients suffering from persistent, severe pain to choose euthanasia as a medical treatment option. In the following pages, I will, first, explain what euthanasia refers to and some details about what it entails. Second, I will describe all the necessary features about what it means to be suffering from constant and severe pain. Next, I will explore the philosophical attitudes toward the euthanasia of Dax Cowart and Jack Kevorkian who have strong philosophical attitudes toward euthanasia. Finally, I will tie all these points together to prove why euthanasia is a morally acceptable choice for a patient suffering from constant, severe pain. Euthanasia, according to Munson , refers to the act of ending life in order to relieve pain and suffering for the patient by means of lethal injections. Euthanasia gives terminally ill patients the opportunity to end their suffering and pain when the illness is incurable. There are also different types of euthanasia called involuntary, voluntary, and non-voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is the focus in this analysis, meaning that all patients involved are found to be completely competent and able to make a decision to end their life. There are two ways to distinguish euthanasia, according to Munson. In some cases, it includes a lethal injection, which is an act of killing someone and this is referred to as “active euthanasia,” which is an act of... ... middle of paper ... ...ncurable diseases or accidents like Dax Cowart where the person’s life after would never be the same or could never be what the individual imagined their life to be, patients should have the option to die a painless way. . The United States of America is becoming more accepting of this alternative to painful treatments that patients in this state would receive. With the removal of “The Appropriate Ends” area from the Hippocratic oath, it is clear that the U.S. is making a big push toward legalizing euthanasia. Legalizing euthanasia will open another opportunity for suffering patients, because regardless of whether or not euthanasia is an option, suicidal patients will find a way to die and many times this is more brutal and painful than euthanasia. With the hoippocratic oath taking a more modern view on healthcare, euthanasia is becoming a morally right thing to do.

Show More
Related

  • Bonnie Steinbock The Morality Of Euthanasia

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this essay, I will discuss whether euthanasia is morally permissible or not. Euthanasia is the intention of ending life due to inevitable pain and suffering. The word euthanasia comes from the Greek words “eu,” which means good, and “thanatosis, which means death. There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive. Active euthanasia is when medical professionals deliberately do something that causes the patient to die, such as giving lethal injections. Passive euthanasia is when a patient dies because the medical professionals do not do anything to keep them alive or they stop doing something that was keeping them alive. Some pros of euthanasia is the freedom to decide your destiny, ending the pain, and to die with dignity. Some cons

    Read More

  • Euthanasia and Frankenstein

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Euthanasia comes from the Greek word that means “good death” (“Euthanasia” literally). In general, euthanasia refers to causing the death of someone to end their pain and suffering, oftentimes in cases of terminal illness. Some people call these “mercy killings”. There are two types of euthanasia: passive and active. Passive or voluntary euthanasia refers to withholding life-saving treatments or medical technology to prolong life.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Should euthanasia be allowed or not? It has become a very controversial issue nowadays. Velleman and Hooker have different perspectives on euthanasia, and whether there should be laws permitting voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia. Although there are well-reasoned arguments on both sides, I would strongly agree with Hooker's argument that there should be a law permitting voluntary euthanasia when it is for the wellbeing of the person and that each individual should be able to make their own decision.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    Euthanasia is an assisted death to those with incurable diseases who wish to die peacefully instead of going through pain and suffering; on the other hand, euthanasia can be seen as legalized murder and used for the selfishness of family members. Since euthanasia has been legalized in the United States, debate has developed from the different views whether it is deliberate killing or an end to unbearable suffering. Also, there are two different kinds of euthanasia; passive euthanasia, which would be pulling the plug on life support as opposed to active euthanasia, which is an actual poisoning shot.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    Starvation, suffocation with a plastic bag, carbon monoxide and lethal doses of drugs are some way to die practiced by euthanasia. In definition, euthanasia is the option that some people choose to end his/her life when living becomes too unbearable for them. Tough Euthanasia is mostly asked by the person who wants to die; there are some cases where the person does not is even conscious of his/her death, such cases are typically seen with persons in the vegetative state. Some people do not agree with the practice of involuntary Euthanasia; they argue against this process labeling it as a crime. While opponents may think this is an action against the law because it takes away the life of someone without his/her consent, other people opt to consider

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    When it comes to the topic of euthanasia the four ethical goals of health care providers are in direct conflict with one another. An argument can be made that both permitting and preventing euthanasia violates one of those four principles which are as follows: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. Perhaps the biggest conflict is between the principles of autonomy and non-maleficence. When it comes to PAS we cannot allow our patients to act autonomously while at the same time making sure to do no harm. In addition the Hippocratic Oath serves as a large roadblock on the way to legalizing PAS. The Hippocratic Oath is an oath taken by healthcare providers at the beginning of practice outlining obligations and proper conduct of providers. The Hippocratic Oath is based on the maxim “do no harm” and more specifically it states “neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course”. American medicine traditionally succumbs to this oath and has therefore made PAS illegal. It is important to note, however, that this Oath was written thousands of years ago and it may need to be revised in the face of both e...

    Read More

  • Understanding Euthanasia: Mercy Killing Explained

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    Euthanasia is a painless peaceful death. Euthanasia is defined as the deliberate putting to death of a person suffering from a painful, incurable disease(New Standard Encyclopedia Dictionary). People use other terms to describe euthanasia: mercy killing, assisted suicide, and physician assisted suicide. Euthanasia can be unresponsive, (inactive) or active. Unresponsive euthanasia occurs when an incurably ill person refuses life sustaining medical support. Active euthanasia happens when another person deliberately causes the death of a terminally ill person, such as when someone gives a terminally ill person a lethal injection. Euthanasia can also be voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia occurs with the consent of the dying person, while involuntary euthanasia happens when the dying person doesn’t give their consent.

    Read More

  • Euthanasia Persuasive Essay

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although euthanasia requests have begun to stabilize throughout the years while palliative care has improved, euthanasia will never completely disappear. This topic depends on the type of person someone is and what thethat person is enduring. Many people fear the process of dying and the dying itself. Even though there are treatments to relieve some pain throughin the process, a patient still knows death will eventually come. Some might believe it is better to end it now rather than prolonging it. Improving palliative care will not get rid of euthanasia requests, but instead, prolong the requests. A person’s suffering can only be temporarily managed. Even if a patient is on a pain relieving treatment, there might be other side effects that cause the patient to suffer, such as nausea and vomiting. Some may like the idea of temporarily removing the suffering, but others may not because of the realization of needing a treatment to temporarily make himself feel better. These treatments can be very costly and, over time, can add up to a great amount of money that a patient and his family does not have. Also, those who are on palliative care may decide later on that the wait or the side effects are not worth it anymore and eventually request euthanasia. The improvements of palliative care will only prolong the requests of

    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

  • The Right to Commit Suicide

    1995 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people wonder if we as citizens have the right to die. There are some legal and illegal ways to go about doing so. Euthanasia is by law illegal in the United States. However, there are some states that have legalized physician assisted suicide. As we wait for more states to follow the steps of the other states, we wonder why they have not done so already. There have been many famous cases that occurred over the past couple decades that given states reason to legalize physician assisted suicide. Nonetheless, there are still the pros and cons to why physician assisted suicide should be legal or illegal. It is safe to say that the establishment of living wills, the patient bill of rights and natural death laws have allowed the U.S. to come a long way since 1906.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Euthanasia

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Euthanasia is defined as a deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending life of another person to relieve that person's suffering and where the act is the cause of death.”(Gupta, Bhatnagar and Mishra) Some define it as mercy killing. Euthanasia may be voluntary, non voluntary and involuntary. When terminally ill patient consented to end his or her life, it is called voluntary euthanasia. Non voluntary euthanasia occurs when the suffering person never consented nor requested to end a life. These patients are incompetent to decide because they are either minor, in a comatose stage or have mental conditions. Involuntary euthanasia is conducted when it is against the will of the patient (Gupta, Bhatnagar, Mishra). Euthanasia can be either passive or active. Passive euthanasia means life-sustaining treatments are withheld and nothing is done to keep the patient alive. Active euthanasia occurs when a physician do something by giving drugs or substances that ends a patient’s life. (Medical News Today)

    Read More

  • Purpose of a Living Will and the Morality of Euthanasia

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are two main categories of euthanasia, voluntary (conducted with consent) and involuntary (conducted without consent). Also, we come upon two practical classifications of euthanasia: active (injecting lethal substance or forces used to end patient’s life) and passive (withholding of life-sustaining treatments) (Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, 2012). Therefore, I see four types of euthanasia: active voluntary euthanasia, where a patient makes a conscious decision to die; active involuntary euthanasia is when a lethal injection brings a patient to death without his or her consent; in passive voluntary euthanasia, the patient request the discontinuation of life-support measures; passive involuntary euthanasia encourages one person, such as family member, guardian, or a doctor, to take the decision on behalf of a terminal-ill patient who is unable to give their consent to suspend medical treatment that is necessary to maintain life (like turning off a life-support machine).

    Read More

  • Legalizing Active Euthanasia

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Euthanasia is the act of killing a patient who is undergoing a very serious painful disease that can’t be cured. The killing process involved does not involve any pain. There are different classification of euthanasia; involuntary and voluntary, non-voluntary, passive and active euthanasia. Active euthanasia refers to the painless killing of a patient using poison. It is done by administering any poisonous injection to the hopeless patient (Wennberg 175).

    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

  • Is Euthanasia Justified?

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world is full of people, some of which are suffering every day from pain. Even with the advancements that have been made with medicine, it’s not enough to cure many diseases or to heal a person’s pain. Euthanasia is commonly referred to as a “mercy killing”. It is the intentional act of putting a person to death quietly and painlessly who has an incurable or painful disease, it is intended to be an act of mercy. According to (ANA, 2013), Euthanasia is the act of putting to death someone suffering from a painful and prolonged illness or injury.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

Open Document