Euthanasia
As with all moral problems, a decision has to be made as to whether the action is a just one or not. An objective perspective must be taken to see the bigger -universal- picture. This is quite difficult when dealing with Biomedical Ethical problems, as issues like abortion and euthanasia evoke some strong emotions. Emotions may be said to cloud our reason and judgement and as a philosopher, these are the most important tools, but it is also important to follow your heart, as it usually has the right solution to ethical problems. Using both reason and emotion, I will throw myself into the can of worms that is Euthanasia.Euthanasia is currently in the news with the Dutch Parliament passing a Bill to "legalise mercy killings" -The Guardian, Wed.29th Nov. 2000.For an age old practice, why is Euthanasia considered to be such a contemporary moral issue? In the Western World, diseases such as small pox, tuberculosis, malaria, pneumonia, polio, influenza and measles have been kept under control by modern medicines. Diseases such as these rarely cause death in otherwise healthy individuals who are given the proper treatment. Life expectancy has also increased to almost 75 years old in some countries. Yet a change in modern day lifestyl
Even though The Netherlands will continue the process until euthanasia is made legal, it is no sure bet that a lot of other Western European Democracies will follow. Benk Korthals, the Justice Minister in The Netherlands was quoted in The Times as saying "A law where by the considered wishes of a dying patient to put an end to his life are permitted has its place in a mature society." In the press this week, we are also reminded of the Nazi programme of euthanasia the 1930's and 1940's that now casts a darkness over the practice that remains today. Theirs was a programme designed to get rid of those whose lives were deemed "unworthy of life". This quickly degenerated into the Holocaust (Newman, p.167). Being able to choose the timing of one's death may actually put one's mind as ease. It is difficult to know, unless you are faced with the prospect of the onset of a terminal illness. I hate making decisions based on a reason that cannot know the truth without an emotional involvement. Fortunately that is all I can do in this essay. I will try to justify or refute euthanasia with some ethical theories. "Utilitarianism" (Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill) is the greatest good for the greatest number. With regards to euthanasia and this particular theory, we must wait to see what happens in The Netherlands to determine if it can possibly increase the overall good. Only then can we ascertain whether it is ethical or not.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1820
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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