euthanasia: The argument comes down to whether a patient has the legalright to ask their doctor to help them die when the end of life is near and thesuffering is severe. I believe that if a person is terminally ill, and is inimmense amounts of pain, that it is their legal right, to end their lifeprematurely, with their doctors assistance.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Category: social issuesPaper Title: euthanasiaText: OutlineThe argument comes down to whether a patient has the legal right to ask theirdoctor to help them die when the end of life is near and the suffering issevere. I believe that if a person is terminally ill, and is in immense amountsof pain, that it is their legal right, to end their life prematurely, with theirdoctors assistance.
I. The different types of euthanasiaA. Passive euthanasia: acceleration of death by the removal of life supportB. Active euthanasia: a doctor directly assists in the death of a personC. Physician Assisted Suicide: physician supplies the resources forcommitting suicideII. An example of euthanasiaA. Article, Its Over DebbieIII. Legalization of euthanasiaA. Euthanasia is legal in Japan, the Netherlands, and OregonB. Bills to make euthanasia have been denied in the United StatesIV. Netherlands guidelines for euthanasiaA. It must be voluntaryB. Requests must not be made on impulse or based on depressionC. The pain must be considered unacceptable sufferingD. A second opinion must be hadE. A well documented report must be written by the doctorV. Religious aspects of euthanasiaA. Conservative group beliefs vs. liberal group beliefsB. What God says about euthanasiaVI. Survey of terminally ill cancer patientsA. Cancer patients are the largest group to accept euthanasiaVII. When euthanasia is usedA. Only with people who are terminally ill and who are sufferingVIII. My opinion on euthanasiaA. A person has the freedom to choose what they do with their lifeB. Euthanasia is not suicideC. It is the patients free will to decide how their life is endedWhether to permit euthanasia is among the most argumentative legal and publicpolicy questions in America today. The argument comes down to whether a patienthas the legal right to ask their doctor to help them die when the end of life isnear and the suffering is severe. I believe that if a person is terminally ill, and is in immense amounts of pain, that it is their legal right, to end theirlife prematurely, with their doctors assistance.
The word euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means goodand thanatos means death (Article, Euthanasia). The meaning ofthe word is the intentional termination of life by another at the explicitrequest of the person who dies. (Article, Euthanasia). When people hearthe word euthanasia they usually think its meaning is either the termination oflife at the patients request, or as the Nazi extermination program of murder.
Passive euthanasia is the acceleration of death for a person by removing someform of support and letting nature take its course. An example of passiveeuthanasia is the removal of life support, (a respirator) and therefore allowinga person to die. This procedure is performed on people with massive brain damagewho are in a coma and cannot possibly regain consciousness.
Active Euthanasia is where a person asks a doctor to directly assist them indying. These patients are usually terminally ill, and suffering tremendously, and they want a quick, painless exit from life. A famous promoter of this is Dr.
Jack Kevorkian, a Michigan physician. He claims to have assisted in more than130 suicides. His method is to inject a controlled substance into a patient, therefore causing death.
Physician Assisted Suicide, or voluntary passive euthanasia, is where aphysician supplies the resources for committing suicide to a person, so thatthey can terminate their own life. The physician will usually give aprescription for a lethal dose of sleeping pills, or a supply of carbon monoxidegas. Dr. Kevorkian has also used this method, he provides a fIn 1992, the Journal of the American Medical Association printed an anonymousarticle entitled Its Over Debbie. The article describes how the authoradministered a lethal injection to a terminally ill cancer patient, whom he hadnever met. Since it was anonymous, we dont know if it was a true story, or ifit was fabricated to open the peoples eyes to what euthanasia is.
e the first state in the United States to legalize euthanasia. Many states, including Arizona, California, Michigan, and Rhode Island, have introduced billsto legalize euthanasia, but so far none have passed.
The Netherlands has the most liberal euthanasia guidelines of anywhere thatit is legal. The following are the guidelines that must be followed: the patientmust make the request voluntarily and not under the pressure from others.
Requests will not be excepted if made on impulse or if based on depression. Alsothe patient must be experiencing a pain that is considered unbearable. Theremust also be a second opinion by another physician. And lastly a report must bewritten describing the patients history, and why the decision was made.
A number of religious organizations have issued statements on euthanasiadeclaring where they stand on the issue. Official church policies usually opposeeuthanasia. Conservative religious groups tend to be vocal in their oppositionto euthanasia. The Roman Catholic Church is strongly against the legalizationeuthanasia. Liberal religious groups like, Methodists, Presbyterians, andQuakers, tend to lean in favor of the individuals right to choose.
Conservative religious groups say that euthanasia violates a personsnatural desire to live, and also that life is a gift from God, and only Godshould be allowed to end that life. They also say that God will not give aperson anything that they cannot handle, and that suffering is a punishment forones sins.
Recently Keith G. Wilson, PhD, from The Rehabilitation Centre, Ottawa, Canadasurveyed 70 terminally ill cancer patients. 73% of the patients said thateuthanasia should be legalized because of the pain and their right to chose. 58%said that in the near future they would, most likely, want to make a request foran accelerated death. They felt more hopelessness and they had more desire todie. (Cancer Weekly)Euthanasia is only to be used with people that have no hope, and no desire tolive anymore, it is both physical and mental. Euthanasia would be used for aperson who just simply wants to die with dignity before they become very sick.
The people that would fall into this group are people who have the diseasesMultiple Sclerosis, AIDS, Alzheimers, etc. They dont want to prolong theinevitable, and be in pain for an unknown time period.
I think that a person has the freedom to choose what they do with there life.
And if that person is terminally ill, and is in so much pain that they cannotfunction as they did before the illness, they have the right to end their lifein a dignified manor. I am not a supporter of suicide, but I do not think thateuthanasia is a form of suicide. It is a way to die without suffering. Not justanyone is able to die by euthanasia, there are strict guidelines that must befollowed, and only those that fit the description are allowed to follow throughwith it. Again it is by the patients free will to choose this way to end theirlife, and no one elses!-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
