EuthanasiaA Essay Research Paper EuthanasiaEuthanasia is one

Euthanasia(A) Essay, Research Paper

EuthanasiaEuthanasia, is one of the most controversial issues ofour time. This diverse issue raises many questions such as:how should decisions be made, and by whom. What should bedetermined as a matter of law and what left a matterofdiscretion and judgment. Should those who want to die, orwho are in a “persistent vegetative state” be allowed to dievoluntarily. Who should decide: the patient, the physician,the courts, or the families.the pro-euthanasia arguments turn on the individualcase of thepatient in pain, suffering at the center of anintolerable existence. When life becomes unbearable, quickdeath can be the answer. If livingpersons become so illthat they cannot tolerate the pain they have a “right to die”to an escape from torment. So long as the right to die meansnot prolonging the life by undesireable treatment, it may beclassified asrational suicide. The term “euthanasia” means “good health” or”well dying”; it is derived from the Greek “eu” and “thanatos”. Initsclassical sense, it is a descriptive term referring to aneasy death asopposed to an agonizing or tormented dying. InGreek literature,euthanasia connoted a “happy death, anideal and coveted end to a fulland pleasant life.” Theconcern to die well is as old as humanity itself, for thequestions surrounding death belong to the essence of beinghuman. All people die, but apparently only people know they are to die. Theylive with the truth that life is under thesentence of death. Thus, fromthe “beginning of the speciesconcern with how one dies has been animplicit part of thehuman attempt to come to terms with death.” Paul D.Simmons, + +Birth and Death: Bioethical Decision Making- -(Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983) Page 117. + There is still a question involved in the contemporarydebates about euthanasia which isposed by a case such as the terminally ill who are dying. The issueconcerns the morality of mercy in aiding the dying patient. The questiongoes beyond simply withdrawing treatments. The issue is whether, in the name of mercy, one might morally aidsomeone’s dying. “Are circumstancesunder which it ismorally responsible to terminate a person, or does lovealways require resisting death through every meanspossible.”Wickett,The Right To Die- – (Harper & Row, Publishers,1986) p. 109. Paul D. Simmons declares bluntly that “it isharder morally to justify letting somebody die a slow andugly death, dehumanized, than it is to justify helping him toescape from such misery. Samuel Gorovitz, Drawing The Line: Life, Death, and EthicalChoices in an American Hospital- – (Oxford University Press, 1991)p.113. ++ p p +Some very prominent people are making packs with friendsor relatives that specify that either will help the other die when life becomes desperate from pain or tragic accident.Families and physicians feel a variety of powerful emotionswhen dealing with a patient dying a slow and agonizing death.Certainly they wish that the pain were relieved and thathealth restored; that the patient not die but go on living and sharing concerns and joys together. “When the illness isterminal and there is no hope of relief orrecovery, however,death is often desired for the patient as God’s appointed wayto relieve suffering.” Paul D. Simmons, Birth and Death: Bioethical Decision Making- -(The Westminster Press, 1986) p.116. Mr. Sorestad, my junior high teacher, shared hisexperience at the death of his beloved wife after herprolonged battle with breast cancer. She had deterioratedphysically and mentally practically beyond recognition. “Iprayed for death,” he had said, “because I loved her so much and could not bear to see her suffer so. And when deathfinally came, I thanked God for his good gift.” She’d hadenough, made her choice, and her choice was honored. + p p +But suppose that Mrs. Sorestad had asked her husband tohelp her die! He felt already that death was imminent anddesirable. As a true Christian, he felt that death would bea merciful relief of pain and suffering. He was morallyjustified to act out his love for his wife by ending hersuffering life in a painless manner. “The meaning of death, the morality of taking or ending life of one’s own spouse or the “relationship of the person to the processes ofnature and the activity of God in one’s life.” Ann Wickett, The Right To Die: Understanding Euthanasia (Harper & Row Publishers, 1986) p.109. Thisissue raised concerns to doctors. Even the bestdoctors, given all thepressures that they must bear, could”benefit from more structured waysof remaining informedabout how their efforts are viewed by their patients.”Samuel Gorovitz, Drawing The Line: Life, Death, and EthicalChoices in an American Hospital(Oxford University Press, 1991)p.10. + Importantly, it also heightened my curiosity about what it islike to be a physician about what sorts of problems andpressures sustain their distance and separateness, and makeit so hard for them to be open to new ideas from outsidetheir profession. Most doctors found themselves spending more time thanever before dealing with decisions they were never trained tomake decisions at the edge of life. Where the question “iswhat can be done for the patient.” Thomas W. Case, Dying Made Easy(Neal Bernards Inc., 1991)pp.25 26. n + He is uncomfortable whenthe issue turns from how to sustain a patient’s life to suchquestions as whether to stop providing nourishment, thereby,to end a patient’s life. It is strongly believed