Euthanasia 6 Essay Research Paper EUTHANASIAEuthanasia Greek

Euthanasia 6 Essay, Research Paper

EUTHANASIA

Euthanasia (Greek, “easy death”) is the act of inducing a gentle, painless death. In recent decades the term has come to mean deliberately terminating life to prevent unavoidable suffering. Passive euthanasia is discontinuing life-sustaining treatment of the ill or stopping so-called extraordinary treatment. Active euthanasia, or mercy killing, is putting to death a person who, due to disease or extreme age, can no longer lead a meaningful life; the term can also include an act of voluntary euthanasia, or SUICIDE, for similar reasons.(Mullen, 11)

Active euthanasia-The deliberate termination of the life of a human being who is ill.

Passive euthanasia-The withholding or withdrawal of treatment for a patient where the disease is terminal, and where treatment is futile.

Voluntary euthanasia-Requires consent of the patient.

Physician-assisted euthanasia-Same as active euthanasia but the doctor isn t necessarily present at the time of death.

Involuntary euthanasia

The deliberate taking of a suffering person s life without the persons explicit request.

Alleviation of pain and symptoms

The administration of painkillers, usually morphine, with the intent to ease a dying patient s pain and remove distress symptoms with the understanding the drug may unintentionally hasten the patient s death

Should doctor-assisted suicide be made legal or prohibited by law.

Legally permitted 70%

Prohibited 24%

Unsure 06%

*The results of a telephone poll

(In class handout)

Based on these results we can see that Canadians support Euthanasia.

Many physicians consider it good medical practice not to artificially prolong the life of a suffering person whose disease is inevitably fatal. Instead, they provide comfort and relief while the patient awaits death. Passive euthanasia, however, has only recently gained legal support. In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that doctors may disconnect a mechanical respirator that is keeping a comatose patient alive because it prevents the patient from dying with decency and dignity. In 1977, “right to die” bills were introduced into several state legislatures. Since then, more than 30 states have passed laws that confer the authority to withdraw life support from a patient upon a designated relative, friend, legal or religious advisor, or court. In 1990 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people who make their wishes known have a constitutional right to have life-sustaining treatment discontinued. In the cases of permanently unconscious persons who have left no clear instructions, however, the state may deny the request by family members to terminate treatment. This ruling gave legal backing to the living will, which provides evidence of a person’s desire not to be kept alive by artificial means should that person become terminally ill and incompetent.(Oosthuizen, 147)

Free Inquiry: “So, not leaving the respirator on, pulling the plug-that s not a good death.”

Jack Kevorkian: “Gasping for air. Starving and thirsting to death. Like Nancy Cruzan: it took her a week to die. Try it! You think that just because you re in a coma you don t suffer.”(McCuen, 33)

Passive euthanasia continues to raise many legal problems, however, such as in cases in which parents and doctors decide not to pursue drastic life-saving measures for children born with severe birth defects. An enduring ethical question is also raised by the Hippocratic oath, which requires physicians both to relieve suffering and to prolong life. The problem is intensified because the definition of death has become blurred. Formerly a person was considered dead when breathing and heart action ceased. Since these functions can be maintained artificially now, a definition of death that includes brain death–lack of electrical activity for a period long enough to make return to functioning virtually impossible–is widely accepted.

In the United States active euthanasia is a serious crime, punishable by life imprisonment. Some doctors are helping terminally ill patients commit suicide–a so-called physician-assisted suicide–without being punished. In some countries active euthanasia is a special crime with lighter penalties, and in Uruguay it is not a crime. In the Netherlands, doctors are not prosecuted if they follow specific guidelines on euthanasia. A 1992 survey showed that not all doctors were following the guidelines and thus were committing involuntary euthanasia on some patients.(Beauchamp, 91)

+ Do human beings have the right to control the circumstance of their deaths or should that be left to God or nature.

+ What is the role of law or government in enforcing public morality or accommodating moral choice.

+ Can a legislative system respect individual autonomy yet at the same time protect those who are less able to exercise their autonomy-the mentally incompetent or ill, the disable, the elderly, the socially disadvantaged, the depressed.

+ If we give doctors the power to end our lives, will it erode the ethos of the medical profession, shift the nature of the doctor-patient relationship, or undermine the commitment to optimal care for the dying.

+ Does the medical profession event want the responsibility of helping pa

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