Euthanasia (better known as murder) robs one of a natural death. If Euthanasia is legalized, then it should be carefully regulated and practiced by a competent individual, not of the medical society, in that person's home with family member's consent and presence. If Euthanasia is not regulated carefully, then medical institutions will abuse this practice and consider Euthanasia an acceptable way of lowering health costs and giving up hope on a sick individual too soon. Moreover, doctors have a moral obligation not to kill, and Euthanasia goes against that obligation.

In April of 1988, a gynecology resident was called to the aid of a young woman dying of cancer. The resident had never seen or taken care of this woman before. The resident was alarmed by her pain; the young woman uttered a phrase saying, "Let's get this over with,"(Not knowing this person or what "let's get this over with" really meant) the resident administered a lethal dose of morphine, purposely killing the young woman. The resident then submitted a description of this event to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) who published the resident's story, but not his name. However, act cannot be

Situations like this happen all together too often. These are the cases People hear about and naturally they do not agree with keeping people alive like that. But, clearly, taking someone off of a respirator or machine of some sort is not Euthanasia. No one is arguing against natural death, but everyone should all argue against legal murder.

Moreover, doctors have a moral obligation to treat a patient until nothing more can be done to help that person and he or she dies a natural death, meaning without the aid of a poison or something of that nature being administered. Doctors are the ones people look to with a sense of hopelessness and confusion. People feel that a doctor knows what is best and that they are the ones who can ease the pain. In a time like this, a doctors words and opinions are very powerful. Being optimistic is the key. A doctor should not have the lack of courage or hope required assisting in a person's self-inflicted death.

Some illnesses that were chronic in the past are now curable because of research and new found information. If Euthanasia was legal thirty years ago, the medical community may not have that information and research may have slowed drastically. If Euthanasia is legalized now, who knows what cures or vaccines may never be found? For instance there has been a big step taken in the direction of finding a cure for H.I.V, in the last ten years. Aids can be a very painful disease and many people have wanted to die instead of try experimental drugs. Had this been an option, the medical profession would not have half as much information about the disease as they do now.

Take Alzheimer's disease, for example. A patient with this illness is not completely competent Due to the deterioration of the brain resulting in memory loss and brain damage. After enough requests for Euthanasia and the proper steps, (as mentioned above in the proposed law in California) such a patient could legally be killed. Alzheimer's disease is terminal at one point or another, but life expectancy can never be determined accurately, one hundred percent. C. Everett Koop wrote in Euthanasia: The Moral Issues about this situation:

This is where the term Euthanasia must be defined. Euthanasia means the "painless killing of a person or animal suffering from an incurable disease," or "(physician administered aid in dying)." Euthanasia contradicts every natural physical or psychological instinct of survival. Taking a patient off of a life support system would not be considered Euthanasia because if that person needs a life support system or machine to keep them alive then one is doing nothing other than letting that person die a natural

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