Euthanasia Essay Research Paper Heather Morris Mrs

Euthanasia Essay, Research Paper

Heather Morris

Mrs. Julie Helm

English 103/7

November 2, 2000

Euthanasia

Euthanasia has become a controversial subject. It is a Greek word, that means easy death, broken down into origins EU means “good” and Thanatos means death. Therefore, this word also means good death. Euthanasia’s definition is the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies. This implies that the act must be initiated by the person who wishes to commit suicide. (Euthanasia)

There are two kinds of euthanasia, Passive and Active, there are clear distinctions between both of them. Passive euthanasia is withdrawal of life support. This type has been specifically upheld by the courts as a legal right act for a doctor to perform. A few examples of passive euthanasia is removal of life support, stopping medical procedures or medication and stopping food and water and allowing the person to dehydrate or starve to death. The two most common types of passive euthanasia are when CPR is not delivered or morphine is not given to control pain. This procedure is also done on persons in persistent vegetative state, these are individuals with massive brain damage who are in a coma from which they cannot possibly regain consciousness. (Euthanasia)

Euthanasia makes some people make very hard decisions. Passive Euthanasia is something that I support. I believe that people should not have to live on a machine. When people lie there in a vegetarian state on life support. They are truly dead. God has the power to let people live and die, but this power is seemed to be overcome by technology. A person cannot die if they are being supported by a machine.

This causes people to make major decisions and have much conflict between families. The reasons for these conflicts are because family members are not allowed to decide if their relation wants to die. The legislation passed the Natural Death Act, which allows for living wills, an advance directive to a requesting the withholding or withdrawing of life sustaining treatment. Also, in 1990 congress passed the Patient Self Determination Act. It requires health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid to funds to inform new patients about their legal right to write a living will or choose a proxy to represent them. This brings up a question, “Who’s life is it any way’s .” I do not believe that legislation should stand in the way of someone dying. I think that people should be able to decide. There are many factors that complicate these decisions. First, some people do not have health care or cannot afford someone to be on long term life support. This sounds selfish but people do have to live and go on with their lives. God has a plan for everyone and the decision’s people make are with God’s help. Therefore, letting someone die naturally is not a wrong doing.

Did you know that it is not a crime to be present when a person takes their life, but it is a crime to take direct action intentionally designed to help facilitate death. (Euthanasia) The other type of Euthanasia is Active. It is the doctor who administers the lethal drug dose. Active Euthanasia means of actions taken to bring about the death of a dying patient by physician-assisted death. This act is specifically prohibited by law in most states banning “mercy killing” and is condemned by the American Medical Association. (Collegeterm)

Active Euthanasia leads us into another subject, physician assisted suicide. This is where a physician supplies info and/or the means of committing suicide. These physicians would prescribe for lethal doses of sleeping pills, or a supply of carbon monoxide gas, to a person, so that they could easily terminate their own life.

The term Voluntary Passive Euthanasia (VPE) is becoming commonly used. Dr. Jack Kervorkian a Michigan physician. Thus, he is one of the most known mercy killing doctors. He has promoted VPE and assisted at least a hundred deaths of patients. Originally, he hooked his patients up to a machine that delivered measured doses of medications, but the patients pushed a button to release them. Lately, he provided carbon monoxide and a face mask so that patients could initiate the flow of gas. (Euthanasia) Kervorkian has assisted in more than a hundred deaths, but also he finally admitted to over a 130 assists. (collegeterm) A man named Thomas Youk, 52 was killed by the assistance of Kervorkian. The killing of Thomas was videotaped and was given to 60 Minutes to air on television. He was suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and to be killed he was injected with a lethal dose of Potassium Chloride. In this assist Kervorkian injected Youk rather than rigging up his homemade suicide machine. Thomas was frightened that the advancing disease would cause him a horrible death; he wanted to a quick painless exit from life. Dr. Kervorkian was charged with First Degree murder, and the jury found with guilty of Second Degree murder in March of 1999.

Active euthanasia, physician assisted suicide is it right. I do not believe that if someone wants to die that a doctor should help them. When you think of a doctor you think of a professional example, he or she is there to help you heal or save your life, not to kill it. I believe the active euthanasia is wrong. God has a plan for you, every day is planned out for a