Euthanasia : Life vs. Death
The word euthanasia is of Greek origin, which literally translates to mean "happy or good death." However, since the beginning of the 19th century, euthanasia has become associated with speeding up the process of dying or the destruction of so-called useless lives. No longer true to its literal meaning, it is now a practice of deliberating causing or assisting in someone's death. Because it constitutes murder and is immoral, euthanasia should not be legalized in the United States. Almost everyone who attempts suicide or asks for assistance in their death do so as a subconscious cry for help (What's Wrong With Making Assisting Suicide Legal?). These people want to hear they are loved, not that someone is actually willing to assist in their death (Johansen). Many of these people have emotional and psychological pressures, which can cause them to choose euthanasia as a way to solve problems. Many are either depressed or dependent and are incapable of making well-informed decisions in that state of mind (Euthanasia:Answers to Frequently Asked Questions). The main concern for those who ask for euthanasia practice should be to give them emotional and spiritual support for the
When many are suffering from a disease, they would rather die a dignified death than suffer tragically from the disease (The Case For Voluntary Euthanasia). Euthanasia activists claim euthanasia is "death with dignity", even though the methods in which the deaths are carried out are anything but dignified. This can be supported by the euthanasia cases of Dr. Kevorkian, the "Doctor of Death" (Johansen). Dr. Kevorkian has used carbon monoxide to gas people to death, and has also had bodies dumped in empty vehicles in parking lots ( Euthanasia : Answers To...). Even though neither the laws nor medical ethics say everything should be done to keep a person alive, the oath forces medical professionals to make a promise to help the sick (Maier). Doctors should be highly enough educated in order to make the best decision for each individual patient. Even if a person requests assistance in their death, it does not give the doctor enough reason to say euthanasia would be the best choice for that patient (Gormally). "Poisons", as stated in the Hippocratic Oath, are not to be administered even though many mercy killings now are committed with "double effect." These are high doses of medicine that may kill a person faster (The Case for...). A high dose of a medicine is as much of a "poison" to a body as carbon monoxide, another means of carrying out the death, is. If euthanasia became accepted in the medical professions, it would be an immoral practice that would contradict its origins. Though euthanasia is illegal in most countries, where it is widely practiced, such as in the Netherlands, it has sometimes become involuntary on the side of the patient. Euthanasia is held accountable for 15 percent of deaths in the Netherlands, where patients actually fear being checked into hospitals (Johansen). Many times involuntary euthanasia occurs because the patient is incompetent to make decisions. Even though the patient may have written in advance a living will, a will in the United States that allows a person to make decisions on the type of treatments they would want if they were ill, a proxy can override these decisions. A proxy is usually a relative or friend of the patient that can make decisions for them if they are incapable of communicating on their own. This person could then cause the death of a patient, even if it is a passive act of euthanasia which is not doing something that is necessary to keep a person alive (Pratt). If euthanasia were practiced legally in the United States, it would become involuntary to the patient and possibly cause a larger percentage of deaths than it already does, as it has in the Netherlands where it is commonly practiced. It is also said that euthanasia would be for those dying from an incurable d
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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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