Death is universal and everyone will face it. We don’t like to think about it, but we often do. Each individual hopes that they will die a painless and peaceful death in their sleep. However, this is not true for many unfortunate people. Certain diseases, such as aids, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and incurable tumors, as well as accidents that cause brain death or paralysis, often leaves us with unbearable physical pain or depression to the point that many would rather die than live a life of such agony. Often, people seek the aid of physicians to end their lives. The use of Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide is sometimes sought by these individuals. These requests place a very large ethical and moral burden on the individual’s physician.
…show more content…
The Greeks tolerated suicide, but in the fourth century, the norm was challenged by a school associated with Hippocrates that forbade physicians to assist in suicide. The philosophers Aristotle and Plato also argued against assisted suicide. A key Christian philosopher, Saint Augustine, asserted that the divine commandment against killing (thou shall not kill) includes a prohibition against suicide. During the Renaissance, the medieval idea that suicide was an unforgivable sin against God gave way to belief that each individual had to decide if suicide was the best solution given the situation. Thomas Moore, and other philosophers, argued that alleviating suffering made suicide …show more content…
Assisted suicide is legal in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont. In Montana, (through the 2009 court ruling Baxter vs. Montana), the court found no public policy against assisted suicide, so consent maybe raised as a defense at trial. In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide is legal but only for residents.
Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide should be legal in the United States because it should be the right of the individual to decide the manner and time of their own death, it should be a person’s right to avoid inevitable suffering (in other words, the right to death with dignity), and we help others we love when their lives are at an end and they are facing severe pain (our pets) so we should be able to do the same for our human loved ones.
In support of euthanasia and assisted suicide, I have selected utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that one ought to choose the act that maximizes the happiness and minimizes the unhappiness of the greatest number of people. Given this definition, the person who is terminally ill and in extreme pain, would it be better for them to continue in this state or be rid of it? To be rid of it would definitely maximize the happiness of the individual, but what about the individual’s family and friends? Would they rather have their love one to continue to exist in agonizing pain or would it be better if
The Greeks tolerated suicide, but in the fourth century, the norm was challenged by a school associated with Hippocrates that forbade physicians to assist in suicide. The philosophers Aristotle and Plato also argued against assisted suicide. A key Christian philosopher, Saint Augustine, asserted that the divine commandment against killing (thou shall not kill) includes a prohibition against suicide. During the Renaissance, the medieval idea that suicide was an unforgivable sin against God gave way to belief that each individual had to decide if suicide was the best solution given the situation. Thomas Moore, and other philosophers, argued that alleviating suffering made suicide …show more content…
Assisted suicide is legal in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont. In Montana, (through the 2009 court ruling Baxter vs. Montana), the court found no public policy against assisted suicide, so consent maybe raised as a defense at trial. In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide is legal but only for residents.
Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide should be legal in the United States because it should be the right of the individual to decide the manner and time of their own death, it should be a person’s right to avoid inevitable suffering (in other words, the right to death with dignity), and we help others we love when their lives are at an end and they are facing severe pain (our pets) so we should be able to do the same for our human loved ones.
In support of euthanasia and assisted suicide, I have selected utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that one ought to choose the act that maximizes the happiness and minimizes the unhappiness of the greatest number of people. Given this definition, the person who is terminally ill and in extreme pain, would it be better for them to continue in this state or be rid of it? To be rid of it would definitely maximize the happiness of the individual, but what about the individual’s family and friends? Would they rather have their love one to continue to exist in agonizing pain or would it be better if