Euthansia Essay Research Paper Introduction The

Euthansia Essay, Research Paper

Introduction The issue of euthanasia is one of heated debate. Euthanasia has been covered extensively by the media in recent years. With the focus primarily on physician assisted suicide, the attention has been drawn away from the other passive forms of euthanasia such as not trying to maintain a terminally ill person or someone in a coma on a machine. The United States of America is struggling with the proposal of legislation and possible regulation for the practice of euthanasia. There have been many legal battles fought over the issue in the last decade. However after many decisions, appeals, and overturns, the strongest legal aspect to euthanasia is a Supreme Court ruling that made it legal for states to pass legislation banning euthanasia. While the legal aspect of euthanasia is still up in the air, people are choosing to end their lives through euthanasia. Euthanasia by definition, going back to the Greek, eu, “good” and thanatos, “death” or mercy killing. This assumes that this method is a better death, a more “a gentle and easy death” than the alternative (Maguire, 1974). There are two basic types of euthanasia. The first is called active; this refers to the role that the assistant plays in the death. If there were no assistant then it would be considered suicide versus euthanasia. However, the “active” person is actually taking the victims life as in lethal injection or mercy killing. The passive type is where a person helps another kill themselves who couldn’t otherwise or allows someone to die when they could have prevented it. The most common example of this is terminally ill or those kept alive only by artificial means. The state in which some people are kept alive in some hospitals by machines is biological life only. These differences greatly affect people’s views towards euthanasia. Most people feel that euthanasia is morally wrong, but feel that the choice should be available to someone if necessary. However, people on the majority condone passive euthanasia as sometimes the right thing to do. Some people say this is natural and that is why it is moral and kind. But to take a life of a patient that would have kept living anyway is seen as interfering with something greater. The main issue here is whether or not taking someone’s life or letting someone die can be an act of kindness and compassion. We all can understand pain and intolerable suffering but everyone can not justify killing. Thus the social, political, and religious implications of euthanasia are huge. Everyone is somehow effected by its practice and its future has become a major concern to parties on both sides of the issue. There are plenty of pros and cons to the subject of assisted suicide. People are affected very strongly by death; it is the subject matter of a great deal of one’s thought. Therefore an issue like this is bound to have repercussions. One cause for controversy and a recent self-established celebrity is physician Dr. Jack Kevorkian of Royal Oak, Michigan. Notorious as the “Doctor of Death”, this enterprising pathologist has been assisting in suicides for over seven years and has euthanized over 28 people (Peck, 1997). The doctor has invented an apparatus that he calls “mercitron” that delivers a lethal yet painless administration of drugs to the patient. This killing of a human by injection of lethal doses or combinations of medicine is referred to as medicide. Kevorkian, like others practicing euthanasia today, claim that their patients must meet a strict criteria for treatment. Such criteria include the terminally ill or intolerable pain or like his first case: Alzheimer’s. Janet Adkins was Dr. Kevorkian’s first medicide. She had been diagnosed with the Alzheimer’s disease at age 54 (Eareckson, 1992). She started forgetting her family’s names or appointments she had made. She and her husband convinced Kevorkian to help her commit suicide. Where people had problems with this case was the fact that Janet was suffering no pain and was killing herself to avoid the later stages of the diseases. However, there might have been other options for Janet that Kevorkian didn’t care to discuss. The major belief in America is that Euthanasia is wrong from a religious aspect. Many Americans, the majority being religious, believe that only God, has the right to control life and that euthanasia is an attempt at playing God. Most religions practiced in America forbid murder in any situation and condemn suicide as well. Therefore even if someone wants to die it is not your right to help or even allow him or her to die. Suicide is considered an illegal act. Kathleen Foley (1995), believes that doctors should develop treatments for the physical and psychological problems rather than helping them commit suicide. Other individual problems arise for both the patient and the doctor. Some questions raised might be: Do I want someone to help me. Who will help me. Is this an easy way out. What if this is it. Or will this stay on my conscious if I help. Does this person really need to die. Is this the best option for this patient. Will there be any legal problems. Doctors as well as patients find the issue of euthanasia a tough one to decide. Another issue raised is that of a person’s political right to choose their own choices and live their own lives. Does this then give them the right to end it as well. These and other tough questions will be debated for some time until legislati