RST ethics internal
What is euthanasia?
Euthanasia, also called assisted suicide, physician assisted suicide, doctor assisted suicide or mercy killing, is the painless killing of someone who is suffering from a (usually) incurable disease or disability or an irreversible coma.1 The word ‘euthanasia’ comes from ancient times and was meant as an easy death without severe suffering. This is usually administers by the doctor of the patient, although there have been cases where family members of the patient have ended their lives. There is a difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide. With the case of euthanasia the patient is not in complete control, for example if they were in a coma, and with the case of assisted suicide the patient is …show more content…
• Active euthanasia: This is when the use of lethal substances is intentional to end someone’s life. This is a much more controversial method than passive euthanasia because the intent to kill is there from the beginning. It can go against people’s morals, religions and personal ethical beliefs.
There are many arguments on the case of euthanasia, both for and against. Some arguments for voluntary euthanasia are:
• Choice- This is a basic human right. We should have the right to choose something whether right or wrong, (although we do also have to face the consequences of that action) and this right can’t be taken away.
• Quality of life- Only the person who is suffering knows what it’s like to live the way that they do. They themselves know what it’s like to one be a healthy person, and then to be reduced to someone less than themselves, and they could be feeling physical pain from their condition, but also emotional pain from dealing with it.
• Dignity- Every person should be allowed to die with …show more content…
Most people who argue that euthanasia should be legal are those who are in the situation where they would like to end their life due to the amount of pain they’re in or a lesser quality of life than their used to. They could be diagnosed with an incurable disease and don’t want to watch themselves deteriorate, so they would prefer to die while they still remember who they are. This was the case for New Zealand woman Lucretia Seales. She wanted to have the ability for her doctor to end her life, as she had previously been a lawyer, a keen adventurer and could no longer live the life she had once led, and also couldn’t bear for the people around her to see her suffer. There has been another case in America, where a woman called Brittany Maynard who had a terminal brain tumour moved to Oregon (where euthanasia is legal) with her husband so she could have assisted suicide. These two women decided that ending their lives would be the best outcome for themselves and the people around them to end all their suffering. As there is a case for euthanasia, there is also a case against. It becomes impossible to draw the line at what is right and wrong with ending a life when we say that murder is illegal, but certain circumstances could be completely legal. The dilemma of euthanasia has many points that are unclear; if it were to be made legal, what conditions would people have to be
What is euthanasia?
Euthanasia, also called assisted suicide, physician assisted suicide, doctor assisted suicide or mercy killing, is the painless killing of someone who is suffering from a (usually) incurable disease or disability or an irreversible coma.1 The word ‘euthanasia’ comes from ancient times and was meant as an easy death without severe suffering. This is usually administers by the doctor of the patient, although there have been cases where family members of the patient have ended their lives. There is a difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide. With the case of euthanasia the patient is not in complete control, for example if they were in a coma, and with the case of assisted suicide the patient is …show more content…
• Active euthanasia: This is when the use of lethal substances is intentional to end someone’s life. This is a much more controversial method than passive euthanasia because the intent to kill is there from the beginning. It can go against people’s morals, religions and personal ethical beliefs.
There are many arguments on the case of euthanasia, both for and against. Some arguments for voluntary euthanasia are:
• Choice- This is a basic human right. We should have the right to choose something whether right or wrong, (although we do also have to face the consequences of that action) and this right can’t be taken away.
• Quality of life- Only the person who is suffering knows what it’s like to live the way that they do. They themselves know what it’s like to one be a healthy person, and then to be reduced to someone less than themselves, and they could be feeling physical pain from their condition, but also emotional pain from dealing with it.
• Dignity- Every person should be allowed to die with …show more content…
Most people who argue that euthanasia should be legal are those who are in the situation where they would like to end their life due to the amount of pain they’re in or a lesser quality of life than their used to. They could be diagnosed with an incurable disease and don’t want to watch themselves deteriorate, so they would prefer to die while they still remember who they are. This was the case for New Zealand woman Lucretia Seales. She wanted to have the ability for her doctor to end her life, as she had previously been a lawyer, a keen adventurer and could no longer live the life she had once led, and also couldn’t bear for the people around her to see her suffer. There has been another case in America, where a woman called Brittany Maynard who had a terminal brain tumour moved to Oregon (where euthanasia is legal) with her husband so she could have assisted suicide. These two women decided that ending their lives would be the best outcome for themselves and the people around them to end all their suffering. As there is a case for euthanasia, there is also a case against. It becomes impossible to draw the line at what is right and wrong with ending a life when we say that murder is illegal, but certain circumstances could be completely legal. The dilemma of euthanasia has many points that are unclear; if it were to be made legal, what conditions would people have to be