...Our democracy should not legalize active voluntary, active nonvoluntary euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, but should be given as a choice to patients in some extreme cases. Euthanasia is defined as the painless killing of a patient suffering from a terminal illness, disability, or coma. Euthanasia has sparked a strong debate in society, and continues to be controversial on whether it should be practiced at all. Euthanasia attacks the basis of many individual’s ethical beliefs and causes many to fear that how individuals view life will deteriorate in life. The debate also disrupts the world of physicians and their morals on if they want to be given the power to take a patient’s life. But the most salient person to make the decision is the patient. The patient has their own beliefs and choices on how they would like to leave this world. However, because of the harm that could be done to the value of human life and the vulnerable of society, the practice of either euthanasia or physician-assisted...
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...purpose of this paper is to discuss the topic of euthanasia with the intention of shedding some light on this issue should you ever have to make this choice. There are many reasons for and against euthanasia and this article will explore some of those reasons. Specifically this paper includes a review of the following topics; Background which will include; What is euthanasia and where does it come from, Canadian law in regards to euthanasia, Euthanasia in other countries, What does our society say today? Then I will be looking at the pro euthanasia which will include; Can euthanasia be dignified where I will be looking at the Kantian and the Healthy Soul Theories, and Personnel choice. The last part will be looking at against euthanasia which will include; Who decided when to die which will include the Divine command theory and the Ethical Dilemma and I will end with a Conclusion. Thereafter, an analysis will be completed on the a fore mentioned that will include a discussion analysis of what is taken from within an existing body of research with final recommendations which will be presented based on the research. Background What is Euthanasia and where does it come from? The meaning of the word euthanasia comes from a combination of Greek words eu meaning good and athantos meaning death (Corbett, 2009). Therefore one would say that euthanasia is a good death and by saying this we are then saying “to die with dignity” (Corbett, 2009). Euthanasia is the intentional...
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...Euthanasia or mercy killing both have the same meaning, which is stop the patient who will not recuperate from torment by using medical tools which are painless. Originally, euthanasia is a combination of two Greek words: “Eu” meaning “good”, and “ thanatos” meaning” death”, which means good death (1). Euthanasia has been known for a long time, in world war two the German soldiers who got very serious injuries and mostly would not recover let die(2). Locally, the Republic of Ireland criminalized this action. While in some other countries, as, the United States have three states that legalized euthanasia are Oregon, Washington and Montana states. In 1994, Oregon voters approved the Death with Dignity Act (DWDA) by voting of 51%. Since that year, physicians are capable to prescribe life-end medication for terminally ill people. According to Life issues Institute the DWDA records show that 455 people have requested fetal drugs from their doctors, and 292 patents have died from using them(3). The annually figure continue to rise, starting with 16 cases in 1997, rising to 38 in 2005, and reaching 46 cases in 2006 (3). On the other hand, Other States criminalized this action, and the states rules consider co-euthanasia as criminals, even for those who help people to commit suicide regardless of the fact that they are their...
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...P393 26 June 2013 Put Out to Pasture: The Problem with Euthanasia I have decided to write my paper on Euthanasia as the topic elicits all types of opinions and conversion on the matter. It is definitely a hot button topic when it comes to Ethical dilemmas, theories, principles, and how society should precede with this in application of law and legislation. I believe that allowing for Euthanasia globally and nationally will begin to further erode the very moral and ethical fiber that separates man from animal. I further support my stand with the example of abortion, and even though opinion hasn’t changed much in the 40 years since Roe vs. Wade allowed for abortion to take place, still millions of babies have been killed despite to negative opinions about it. My hypothesis on this issue is that if nationally legalized it would lead to an untold amount of elderly, handicapped, ill, poor, and lonely people vulnerable to being put to death against their wishes and before their time. The aim of this paper it too show that indeed legalizing “Euthanasia” or “Patient Assisted Suicide” would indeed lead us down the “slippery slope. This first step for me in this paper would be to talk about the theories and principles behind not being pro-euthanasia. There are a number of ethical principles that are deontological in nature, are part of the natural moral law, and relevant to the kinds of dilemmas that occur in euthanasia cases.Four of them are as follows: 1. The Principle of Autonomy...
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...THE CHURCH, EUTHANASIA and ASSISTED SUICIDE Euthanasia also known as “mercy killing” and assisted suicide are worldwide controversial issues. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the word euthanasia comes from Greek, meaning easy death (eu: easy, thanatos: death). Euthanasia means to end the life of a person who is terminally ill or suffering from severe pain, in a deliberate way. At the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) webpage, in the section Ethics guides, under the title of Forms of Euthanasia, Religions and Death? (2009), different types of euthanasia are described, such as indirect, active, passive, voluntary, involuntary and non voluntary. On the other hand, assisted suicide is usually performed with the help of a health professional; that is why; it is usually called Physician Assisted Suicide (or PAS). The main controversy is over the different opinions on whether it is the sick patient’s decision or if it is a legal, ethical or religious issue to be considered by a third party. In order to practice assisted suicide in a country where it is legal, many factors should be present, such as the moral and religious beliefs of the patient and the physician or the patient’s family and the physician, as well as the legislation of the country where it is going to be carried out. At present, in countries where euthanasia is not legalized yet, it is very difficult to obtain legal permission to practice it. As regards the ethical...
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...Euthanasia Debate May 24, 2010 Professor Melissa Green, M.H.A. Euthanasia Debate Every day in the field of medicine professionals are faced with an ethical decision or problem. The advancements in medicine and technology are raising questions and concerns never once thought of. Controversy over euthanasia is on the forefront of today’s health care platform. With the present change occurring with the American Heath Care Reform health care providers and society need to be informed of the options available in end of life care. This paper will present a debate about human euthanasia. Euthanasia will first be defined. Support for each side of the debate will be presented. Each side will be provided with questions from the opposing side, with the opposing teams response presented. Each side will then present a closing statement, again to support their side from the result of the debate. Euthanasia defined Euthanasia is the practice of mercifully ending a person's life to free someone from a deadly disease. The word euthanasia comes from the Greek word "good death." The term euthanasia is being used synonymously with the term Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS), although they are not one and the same. PAS generally refers to a practice in which the physician provides a patient with a lethal dose of medication, upon the patient's request, which the patient intends to use to end his or her own life (University of Washington School of Medicine, 2010). Voluntary...
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...Research Paper Final 12/11/2011 Euthanasia: “The Right to Die” The essential right that can assist today to every human being is life, but when turns out to be affected by a few deplorable conditions of health, which they take the one who endures them to meet in a situation in which there turns out to be imprisoned in an intensive care unit, of which it is not known if it will go out, where its existence is in the tightrope, where it can exist an irreversible exit, where the existence will depend in the future of extraordinary means, connected to machines like the artificial respirator, it is necessary to ask if the life is looking after or prolonging the agony that can take us to the death. Below I will discuss the definition of Euthanasia, some aspects to take for a possible approval, and finally i will discuss some of the points in favor and against euthanasia. For all practical purposes i will take as a definition of euthanasia the following: a patient's right to decide on the form and the time of his death., this within a short definition, but you are looking for the sole purpose the rid a person of their intense suffering, a merciless agony they endure as a result of a serious illness and incurable (for example, some types of cancer, or AIDS). The above mentioned illness or the condition must have been diagnosed sufficiently, so that its irreversibility characteristic, it is such, that determines the death as something inevitable. Within the same definition, the...
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...Euthanasia: Quality Above Quantity Inin Life and Death Leanna Smith Cuyahoga Community College ENG 1010 Professor Neel July 20, 2014 Author Note This outline research paper’s final draft was prepared as part of a research project for English 1020, taught by Professor Neel. Abstract Euthanasia is commonly known as physician-assisted suicide. This is the act of a physician providing a terminally ill patient with lethal drugs and administers the drugs in a safe environment. Assisted suicide on the other hand is when the physician or pharmacist prescribes the lethal drugs for the terminally ill patient to take at a time of his or her own choosing. Assisted suicide is legal in 3 states in the United States, while euthanasia is illegal in every state. There are many arguments for and against this debate. The objections are mainly moral or ethical. There are many benefits to allowing assisted suicide in the United States, a couple of them are: less suffering for the patients, keeping the patients’ debts low, and keeping medical resources available for those with hope for more than 6 months to live. Oregon has provided the United States a good example of a state providing an opportunity for a terminally ill patient to control his or her own future. Hopefully with the first 3 states leading the way, the rest of the country will follow. Euthanasia: Quality Above Quantity in...
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...Studies Research Paper No. 2010-05 LEGAL FORM AND MORAL JUDGMENT: THE PROBLEM OF EUTHANASIA Alan Norrie Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1577163 ABSTRACT In this paper, I want to consider the way in which categories of legal responsibility in the criminal law’s general part mediate and finesse broader moral issues around questions of euthanasia. I INTRODUCTION Euthanasia and its close cousin assisted dying represent extremely problematic areas for the criminal law, as the recent guidelines issue around assisted suicide testifies. The effect of these guidelines is to make no official change in the law, yet to make it clear as a matter of practice that where the law on its face has been broken, there will be no prosecution where the defendant was motivated by good moral reasons. On a legal realist vision of law, the law has changed, but on a positivistic reading it has not. What we have in fact is a rather complex and potentially troublesome juxtaposition of legal rule and administrative discretion. This balances strong social, political and moral claims in a society where there is no consensus as to the rights and wrongs of helping someone to die. In this context, the legal realist can say ‘I told you so’, and the legal positivist can cluck disapprovingly, but both miss the point, which is that the law’s messy mixing of messages in a pragmatic compromise reflects the moral impasse in a way that gives something to everyone. Thus the pro-life lobby...
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...IssUEs Of EUThANAsIA: ARGUmENTATIvE EssAy Bilal S. H. Badr Naga Majd T. Mrayyan (1) Bilal S. H. Badr Naga., MSN, RN, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qassim, Saudi Arabia (2) Majd T. Mrayyan., Prof, RN, The Hashemite University, Jordan Correspondence: Bilal S. H. Badr Naga., MSN, RN, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qassim, Saudi Arabia Email: Bilal_badrnaga@yahoo.com Case scenario Abstract Euthanasia is one of the issues that has been the subject of intense debate over time. It has been a pertinent issue in human rights discourse as it also affects ethical and legal issues pertaining to patients and health care providers. This paper discusses the legal and ethical debates concerning both types of euthanasia. It focuses on both the supporter of euthanasia and the opponent of euthanasia. Several statements for the Euthanasia argument arediscussed: a merciful response that alleviates the suffering of patients which is sometimes wrongly perceived to be otherwise unrelievable; the autonomy in which the patient has the right to make his own choices; the regulation and legislation of existing practices of euthanasia to protect health care providers and patients. In this heated debate religious, political, ethical, legal and personal views are also included. Among all these, those who desperately want to end their lives because they simply cannot go on in any way, are the ones who suffer. Every individual or group has a different viewpoint regarding euthanasia. Euthanasia is considered...
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...Methodology * Objectives * Hypothesis * Research questions Chapterisation * Chapter 1:Defination of euthanasia and its types. * chapter 2:Voluntary death from religious perspective. * Chapter 3:Position of euthanasia in other countries. * Chapter 4:Arguments in favour of legalizing euthanasia. * Chapter 5:Arguments against legalizing euthanasia.Conclusionbibliography | 6781011-1611121314151718 | INTRODUCTION Part III of Indian Constitution contains a long list of fundamental rights. And one of the major fundamental rights among them is Article 21. This article 21 of our constitution deals with "Protection of Life and Personal Liberty". The Article 21 read as follows: "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty expect according to procedure established by law." According to this article right to life means the right to lead meaningful, complete and dignified life. The object of the fundamental right under Article 21 is to prevent any restriction by the State to a person upon his personal liberty and deprivation of life except according to procedure established by law. But can The right to life be interpreted to such an extent which leads to its self destruction(right to die) ? This is the crucial point where the debate arises. When a person ends his life by his own act we call it suicide but to end life of a person by other on the request of the deceased is called mercy killing or euthanasia. It means applying such methods and means which...
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...Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide Stacy L. Free Top of Form PHI103: Informal Logic (ACL1248D) Instructor: Stephen CarterBottom of Form January 14, 2013 Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide “To be or not to be ” the infamous question brought about by Shakespeare in his famous play called Hamlet (No Sweat Shakespeare, 2004-2013) begged Hamlet to question whether to exist or not exist. As in the play, there are people who have struggled to answer this question throughout human history. In modern times a debate has sprung regarding the sickly who are terminally ill. Although some believe that physician-assisted suicide should not be legalized because it is a moral issue that they maintain is unnecessary and what it boils down to a lack of physician training that puts undue pressure on patients to opt for suicide, the procedure should be legalized because, when death is imminent, people should not be limited by laws that affect their basic human rights, forcing them to live in agonizing pain due to inadequate medical services, and allow them to die with dignity. If physician-assisted suicide were legalized then terminally ill people would be relieved from having to endure unnecessary pain and suffering when, even with medical intervention, the patient is forced to endure an agonizing demise. Assisting in more than 130 terminally ill patient suicides between 1990 and 1998, Dr. Jack Kevorkian believed that terminally ill patients should be allowed to determine...
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...die’? According to US Legal Inc., the “right to die” refers to a variety of issues associated with the decision of whether or not an individual should be allowed to die when it is possible for them to continue living with the aid of life support, or in a debilitated state. More specifically, it refers to the idea that an individual diagnosed with a terminal illness, committing suicide before death occurs, should be permissible with their right to refuse an extension of life through artificial or heroic efforts acknowledged. In this term paper, analyzed, are the economic issues and concerns associated with the fight for the ‘right to die’ in Canada. Explored,...
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...Student Name: David Mc Namara. Title: Are we moving towards Assisted Suicide? “Those who have exhausted the end seek the right to die with dignity, this is a choice to die, which allows the body to speak its end rather than have that end dictated by the voice of an expert, legal or medical” (Hannifin. 2009, p.84) The person who seeks to die is, to paraphrase Foucault, ‘the Passenger par excellence: that is, the prisoner of the passage’ (Foucault. 1967, p.11) The European Convention on Human Rights sets out a number of fundamental rights and freedoms, right to life, prohibition of torture, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, no punishment without law, right to respect and family life, freedoms of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, right to marry, right to effective remedy, and prohibition of discrimination The Council of Europe produced the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 1950. This body was formed in the aftermath of the Second World War to achieve unity among its members in such matters as the protection of fundamental rights. The Convention was drafted after the atrocities of the Second World War. The Convention was signed by the High Contracting Parties in 1950, and came into force in1953. It was ratified by the United Kingdom in 1957. Article 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental...
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...I wanted to approach both Kantianism vs. Utilitarianism for those who are not students of ethics words like utilitarianism and Kantianism may sound little foreign but for those are trying to tackle the world of ethics then these two represent important viewpoints. There are many similarities between utilitarianism and Kantianism but some can confuse some people. However, there are important differences between the two philosophies that I will try to explain. In Utilitarianism this philosophy believes that consequences of action are responsible for people judging that action as morally right or wrong. Thus, a believer of utilitarianism would say that the outcomes of the actions that is deemed morally right would be good. The theory says that people choose actions that help in maximizing happiness and at the same time remove misery, pain and agony. The worth of any human action depends upon its utility or value. Now with the view on Kantianism was put forward by Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher he focused on the duty he believed his philosophy take the position that the morality of an action is dependent upon whether the individual has adhered to the rules or not. Here are some points or highlights why Kantianism vs. utilitarianism. * Attitude towards what is right or wrong is what constitutes the basic difference between utilitarianism and Kantianism. * Utilitarianism says that an act is justified if maximum numbers of people are deriving happiness out of it. This...
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