Why Is Euthanasia Terminally Wrong

Words: 1353
Pages: 6
Open Document
Today one of the biggest debates around the world is on Euthanasia and a terminally ill person should have the right to end their life. This is a fundamental freedom that all people should be allowed to amass throughout their lives. It is an inalienable right that is being taken away. People are saved the pain and anguish by having this freedom with them. Euthanasia is simply defined as “good death” (Dictionary.com), Rights are the Freedoms that each individual in the United States have which cannot be transferred to another person or surrendered except by the individual having those rights. (The United States Business Dictionary), and Terminally III is the term terminally ill in the context of health care refers to person who is suffering …show more content…
The debate about euthanasia and physician assisted suicide becomes real in the story about Davis when she decides the only way to exercise her right to die is through starvation. Jean starved herself a total of 5 weeks and quit drinking water 2 weeks before her actual death. Four weeks into her fast she told the Sunday Times about her experience. “It is hell. I can’t tell you how hard it is. You wouldn’t decide this unless you thought your life was going to be so bad. It is intolerable,” she said. In the concept of hurt and torture why would we choose to let someone destroy their life in an extremely painful way legally, instead of ending in comfort surrounded by loved ones? Reasonably, that should not be a question. Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide should be legal. If we can find it acceptable to have the choice to put down our own pets when they are in pain then it seems only fitting we should be able to make that choice for ourselves. Each year 2.7 million animals are put down through euthanasia compared to the minute allowance of 1,400 cases of people choosing assisted suicide in the United States. As Milan Kundera stated, “Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death.” Why would humans not have the same …show more content…
As stated earlier, it is an American right for those people who are terminally ill to have the option to end their life peacefully instead of being forced to endure the horrible effects that their diseases put upon them. The American Civil Liberties Union, a group that has been protecting individual freedoms for almost 100 years, weighed in on this issue. As quoted by the ACLU, "The right of a competent, terminally ill person to avoid excruciating pain and embrace a timely and dignified death bears the sanction of history and is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. The exercise of this right is as central to personal autonomy and bodily integrity as rights safeguarded by this Court's decisions relating to marriage, family relationships, procreation, contraception, child rearing and the refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment. A state's categorical ban on physician assistance to suicide -- as applied to competent, terminally ill patients who wish to avoid unendurable pain and hasten inevitable death -- substantially interferes with this protected liberty interest and cannot be sustained." As shown by this quote, terminally ill people have the right to end their life before their illness does, and as Americans we should respect this right and at least give people in these unfortunate circumstances the option to
Show More

Related Documents: Why Is Euthanasia Terminally Wrong

Euthanasia Essay

Brady Jones M-W 9:00-11:50 12/3/13 Exercise 2: Euthanasia Euthanasia, sometimes referred to as physician-assisted suicide, is the act of ending a very sick person’s (terminally ill) life to relieve them of suffering. Euthanasia is a topic of intense debate for religious, ethical, and practical reasons. Although illegal in the United States, people should have the right to be able to make decisions to end human suffering whether it be for themselves or their loved ones. How can a right to…

Words 1011 - Pages 5

What Is Euthanasia? Essay

Euthanasia paper What would you consider euthanasia? Can it be a peaceful death, a suicide, or a murder? Euthanasia is “…the intentional killing by the act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit” (“Euthanasia.com” Online). This means a life is taken away when a person who is critically ill or a person who can no longer function physically or mentally abdicate their decision making and the family decides whether or not to have the plug pulled. Could you imagine having…

Words 822 - Pages 4

The Pros And Cons Of Euthanasia

Another reason behind anti-euthanasia supporters reasoning is the belief that it gives the doctor too much influence and power over patients. Opponents believe that euthanasia goes against the Hippocratic Oath and the four principles of medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath states that is a popular medical statement written in the fifteenth century by Hippocrates, a Greek physician. The Hippocratic Oath states that deadly medicine should never be given to someone even if they ask (Cockeram 10). The…

Words 1087 - Pages 5

Death and Euthanasia Essay

The Ethicality of Euthanasia Lindsey Brewer Beckfield College In the medical field, there are countless issues that are highly debated in reference to their ethicality. From stem cell research to health care laws, the topics of discussion spread far and wide. One of the most controversial of these subjects is euthanasia. Euthanasia, defined as the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy…

Words 1274 - Pages 6

Human and Euthanasia Essays

“Euthanasia should be legalised” The word Euthanasia stems from the Greek, phrase ‘euthanatos’, which in turn means a gentle and easy death. In the modern world, Euthanasia refers to when a person choses to have their life ended, usually due to the fact that they are suffering or are terminally ill from for example cancer or motor neurone disease. It is in some ways the humane way of ending someone’s life. Euthanasia is only legal in three countries, they are Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, however…

Words 1434 - Pages 6

The American Medical Association Essay

The American Medical Association holds that active euthanasia is impermissible, due to it involving the intentional termination of a human life by another human. Philosophers have argued for and against this stance, discussing the moral permissibility of such an action. James Rachels, a well-known contemporary philosopher, argues that active and passive euthanasia both require an action by the doctor. Thomas D. Sullivan combats Rachels’ view by looking into the moral significance of the intention…

Words 3857 - Pages 16

Euthanasia: Euthanasia Dictionary. Com Essay

April 2nd 2014 Euthanasia Dictionary.com provides the following: eu·tha·na·sia, ˌyo͞oTHəˈnāZHə/ noun The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. The practice is illegal in most countries. This is the dictionary definition of euthanasia. Euthanasia is a very important and critical topic to talk about. Both sides of this issue can be argued very well. This paper is going to show the negative side of euthanasia, but also show…

Words 2258 - Pages 10

Essay about Euthanasia and Suicide

Assisted suicide has been an uprising issue politically and ethically. Many politicians try to avoid the subject while campaigning merely because it is a topic that’s so complex. The community has a strong feeling when euthanasia is brought into a subject of matter. Euthanasia is Greek for “good death” meaning of ending life in a painless manner. If a person feels as if they want to go due to the fact of some form of suffering, they can ask a licensed doctor to euthanize them, which can painlessly…

Words 917 - Pages 4

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay

assisted suicide Physician assisted suicide (PAS) and active euthanasia has been an ongoing battle for many years now. Some countries have accepted parts of these “end of life” techniques and some have accepted both techniques. There are also countries, like the U.S., that have not accepted either of these techniques but have administered a right to die technique that allow the withholding and withdraw of treatment to terminally ill patients. Two recent court decisions made the various states…

Words 1264 - Pages 6

ESSAY OUTLINE1

while well aware the patients intent on committing suicide. This paper will highlight the main arguments as to why physician-assisted or the act of being euthanasia should be a right granted to all people suffering from a terminal illness and do not wish to live with the pain they have any longer. The reasons physician-assisted suicide should be legal is because it gives a terminally ill patient the right to die as well as the option to die with dignity, it prevents health care officials from illegally…

Words 1175 - Pages 5