There is an unlimited supply of controversy and opinions on whether or not it is legal, moral or right to have a physician assist the terminally ill and suffering with their end of life by use of euthanasia. There are so many different religious beliefs and lines that can be crossed in the ethics concerning the medical field, as well as legal implications too. It seems almost impossible to get everybody to agree on anything. This issue should be seen as a matter of personal choice with certain restrictions in place to prevent doctor privilege abuse and let the terminally ill and long suffering choose their own ending.
What exactly is euthanasia? As per the definition in Miriam Webster dictionary euthanasia is: the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.
Physician assisted euthanasia or suicide is the act of a physician helping a patient follows through with the ending of their own life.
There are many alternatives to physician assisted suicide. For one, the patient could simply continue to exist in the current situation with no change. Another option would be for a patient to try to end their own life unassisted and hope the technique they choose does not cause undue pain or injury to others or not succeed and end up in a worse than before situation. Patients can ask of their friends and family to assist with over medicating to smothering with a pillow or plastic bag etc.
Why would someone choose to end their own life? There are too many reasons and issues that could be discussed by this question. In this literary document the issue at hand is euthanasia in the circumstance or situation that the patient is terminally ill and or long suffering with pain that is unable to be controlled or relieved. So why would someone choose to do this to themselves? Perhaps the goal is to end the long term suffering and they just can’t handle the pain anymore. If someone has no quality of life, basically being kept alive by machine and or medication and they are unable to participate in any way in society then questions arise such as: What quality of life is this? Another reason is to end the burden it is placing on their family to have to take care of them. A terminally ill patient may think that if they are unable to be treated or reverse their condition, then why bother? A point could be made that the family’ time and money, as well as the physician’s time and money, may be better utilized in helping people who have a chance to get better. (Euthanasia 2011)
All human being have certain human rights and freedoms. We all have the right to be alive and make our own decisions. We have the right to provide for ourselves and protect ourselves. Many people feel that euthanasia is a sin or immoral. Doctors all take the Hippocratic Oath, to help their patients. Once a person decides to go through with euthanasia, they should be able to have the help of a physician so it can be controlled and monitored with no complication and made to be as pain free as possible. Many states feel euthanasia is a form of murder regardless of the issues or reasons behind it. (Death 2011)
There are comparably pros and cons to this decision. The positive aspects of it are the fact that it gives the person making the decision control in a terrible situation. It gives them freedom to end their own suffering and not be a burden. It also takes the responsibility of life support decisions off of the family. The patient who knows they can make this decision freely may have more enjoyable time in their last days because the issue has been decided and planned giving a certain peace of mind. Knowing when it is going to happen can also give the family time to get affairs in order say goodbyes.
Some negative aspects to making this decision are the fact that doctors could in time abuse this power without proper regulation. The families of the patient could disagree and pursue legal action. Religious groups could rise up and cause potentially harmful protests. The very people that say they are against this because of religious beliefs sometimes cause more harm than if the patient could have just fulfilled their own wishes. (Zimmerman)
Regardless of a person’s religious, legal or medical background, choosing to end their own life because of long suffering pain or a fatal disease or condition, can be a very controversial and emotional decision. Since the beginning of time, man has been on a never ending quest searching for answers to truth of life and creation. There are immeasurable theories and opinions to this question. In such a diverse culture, people should be allowed to make this personal decision for themselves with the assistance of their physician, with the provision all other methods or medications and therapies have been exhausted and there is no chance for cure or improvement in quality of life.
Death with Dignity National Center. 2011. Retrieved on April 1, 2011 from:
Euthanasia. 2011. Retrieved on April 1, 2011 from: http://www.euthanasia.com/index.html
Zimmerman, Sloan. Euthanasia: The right choice for some. Retrieved on March 27, 2011 from:
I think you have done a great deal of research and provided excellent information on this topic. Honestly, I had never given much to thought to the subject of euthanasia until I read your blog.
ReplyDeleteEuthanasia does in fact appear to be a very controversial topic in soceity. I did some reading of my own on the topic, however, I still feel that I need to do more research before I debate my opinions and findings.
For now I will say that according to my research and religious beliefs that I do not agree with euthanasia. I feel that God has given us the gift of life and we have the choice of what we do during our life, however, we shouldn't have the choice to choose when our life ends. A person that is in extreme pain isn't thinking rationale about the effects that euthanasia would have on those that are left behind. Also, how many times have we all heard stories about people that were told they would be dead in a short period of time as a result of an illness and those people lived well beyond that time frame. God is still in the healing business, and what if he has plans to heal that person ?
Euthanasia is a very controversial and emotional topic. I agree that euthanasia should be allowed under certain circumstances. It seems to me that the laws have not kept up with the changing controversy. For instance, someone who is ill can sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) for after they pass away. If they do not sign a DNR the healthcare providers are required to pursue CPR until the patient is classified as deceased by a doctor. Also, individuals can sign a living will, with instructions to not keep them on life support. However, these are not considered euthanasia by any State or Federal laws. I know many have religious reasons why they are opposed to euthanasia, but it seems these same people don’t have an emotional response to medicine keeping people alive. This doesn’t quite make sense to me saying that only God should decide when you die, but it is ok to use human intervention to stay alive. I believe this topic deserves more attention and should be given more thought in our legal system. There are many people who face many years of horrible conditions, who are unable to decide for themselves when they are able to die.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that euthanasia should be legal for someone that is terminally ill. To not be allowed to end their own life is ridiculous. THEY ARE GOING TO DIE ANYWAY! Why should someone suffer through pain and misery because of someone else’s moral or religious belief? The Bible states in the sixth commandment “thou shall not kill” But the question is, is it suicide if you are the living dead? To play devil’s advocate, if there is a God isn’t God the ultimate most high and can read the heart’s condition? The argument against euthanasia is it will displease him because it is murder. This discussion can be argued many times over, but the bottom line is, our bodies are our decision!
ReplyDeleteTrue doctor’s could abuse their power to perform this procedure but isn’t that true of anything? Some patients families will always want to sue no matter the procedure there are just those types of people.
It is time for people to look past the religious or moral reasons against it. The only ones who should have that decision is someone that is suffering! . What makes it any different than abortion? If it is because the fetus at some stages by certain people isn’t considered a life well then neither is lying in a hospital bed with your body full of disease.
Wow, you picked a very strong and controversial topic for a blog. I agree with you that physician assisted suicide should be regulated and controlled. I would only agree if it were a person who had a mental disorder such as Alheimzers and was in the final stages or was in the hospital and were in the final days of their lives. A few years back on the news, a husband had the feeding tube removed from his wife and she died a few days later from starvation. I am completely against this type of euthanasia. While she physically was not able to respond, doctors said that she was mentally still aware. Lou Gehring disease is also similiar to this. If euthanansia is allowed, it should be when a person is days from death or mentally no longer able to comprehend and function as a person. It should not be done for the person when they get told they have weeks or months to live due to doctors having a high chance of being wrong as it has been proven by AIDS patients the past 20 years due to advancements in medicine and treatment.
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