Euthanasia

A detailed Summary of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is a very strong topic discussed today. It is a rising issue and the morals that support it need to be justified. Euthanasia can be defined in many ways. It is most referred to as doctor assisted suicide and mercy killing. Euthanasia really is the practice of painlessly putting to death persons who have incurable, painful, or distressing diseases or handicaps. It derives from the Greek words meaning good or peaceful death. There are many controversies involved with the issue of euthanasia, involving the sanctity of life and the right to die positions. Today it can be right or wrong depending on the individuals and their beliefs. Meanwhile, it can be justified that both positions are morally acceptable.

Before explaining the two different points that are the most controversial issues involving Euthanasia, it is important to understand the context of the issue and what kinds of Euthanasia there are. The situation involved and the reasons for the need of euthanasia must be clearly explained and comprehended. Currently 85% of Americans die in some kind of healthcare facility. 70% of those choose to with hold some kind of life-sustaining treatment. Each of us will either have to face that same decision about our

The Right to Die position sees life ontologically as an accident and almost always morally as the possession of an individual. They do not believe life is a gift from god. It is property rather than a gift. The individual owns his/her own life. The purpose of using Euthanasia is on reducing suffering, maintaining a minimal threshold of quality for the individual's life and encouraging these individuals to make their own decisions about terminating their own life. The main focus is on the quality of life and the individual's autonomy. The cases that this tradition points to are cases where the patient wants to die but are kept alive against there own wishes.

On the other hand some people strongly feel that euthanasia is not bad and should not be looked down upon. Supporters of both the sanctity of life and the right to die feel that compassionate decisions should be made. If euthanasia should become legalized, it should be admitted that there might be some abuses of virtually every practice. That is why euthanasia is a very serious issue when it comes to the legalization. The most crucial issue is whether the abuses would be so great as to outweigh the benefit of the practice. In the case of euthanasia, the question is whether the abuses or the consequences generally, would be so numerous as to outweigh the advantages on legalization. The choice is not between a present policy that is compassionate and an alternative that is potentially dangerous.

The two forms of Euthanasia are called active and passive euthanasia. Active is performed through active means such as lethal injection, which is used in order to bring about someone's death. Passive refers to the refusal to intervene in order to prevent someone's death. An example is DNR, giving permission to not resuscitate a dying patient. There are two levels of passive. The first is refusing to provide extrodenary care and the other is refusing to provide any life sustaining care at a

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Category: Science