To the Mercy Killers, by Dudley Randall

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Recommended: Ethical issues of euthanasia

Mortality is an ever-fleeting moment in time, yet some believe the spirit and soul is eternal. The desperation of perishing flesh painted in detail Dudley Randall’s poem “To The Mercy Killers.” The focused principally on the allying functions of a mortal body during a state of no recovery. Randall presents to an audience a plea for mercy, and for the continuous gift of life. Randall’s poem strikes as a sore spot within humanity, euthanasia. The choice to exercise a person’s right to euthanasia due to a medical condition or a personal choice seems to strike a sensitive spot within most human beings. The notion of playing GOD in a sense seems ridiculous to some yet others may view euthanasia as a personal right. Who is to say which personal view is correct? The purpose of this essay is to broaden and present alternative views in which euthanasia maybe appropriate.
When I think of euthanasia, my mind tends to drift towards stories played out in the media and with various acquaintances’ throughout the years. One case that comes to mind is that of Terri Schiavo. The highly publicized and prolonged series of legal challenges presented in the case of Terri Schiavo was a legal and government conflict with the core issue being prolonged life - which persisted from 1990 to 2005. The heart of the matter was whether to carry out the decision of the husband of Teresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo to terminate life support and allowing her life to end. Doctors medically diagnosed her as being in a persistent vegetative state without any chance of any hope of recovery. Ultimately, after years of drifting in and out of the United States court system, along with government intervention Terri ultimately was removed from life-support and expir...

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...ble conclusion and consensus on this issue; negative because of the complexity which has allowed the controversy to play out endlessly and the positive aspect of this argument is how this topic has put the spotlight on the issue of mercy killings enriching the public discourse thus energizing and engaging our society to think beyond within the box.

Works Cited

The Mercy Killers- Dudley Randall
J Fla Med Assoc. 1990 Sep;77(9):821-8.
Withdrawal and withholding of life-supporting food and fluids. One state's struggle-Caralis PV. Source: Department of Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/212189 LIFE AND DEATH TUG OF WAR THE WHOLE TERRI SCHIAVO STORY 15-year saga of brain-injured woman no clear-cut, right-to-die case- DIANA LYNNE Published: 03/24/2005
Source: http://www.wnd.com/2005/03/29516/#Wu79LyiU4MTEAERy.99

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