Euthanasia Or Physician Assisted Suicide

The subject of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is a controversial one. Should the decision of whether to end one’s suffering be that of patient autonomy or a matter of the state? Euthanasia is “the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit.” (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, 2015) There are two types of euthanasia, active euthanasia is performed by an action, like a lethal injection, and passive euthanasia is done by omission, like withholding or withdrawing life support. When an individual goes to a health care professional to assist them to end their life it is considered physician assisted suicide.
When one thinks about euthanasia the thought of a retired pathologist …show more content…
(Wikipedia, 2016) Kevorkian was legally tried four times for assisting suicides from 1994 through 1997, having been acquitted three of the four. The last trial ended in a mistrial. Kevorkian’s luck ran out in November 1998 when he was convicted of second-degree murder when videotape was produced showing Kevorkian himself administering a lethal injection to a patient. Kevorkian, having a revoked medical license, legally wasn’t allowed to be in possession of the medication he had used to end the suffering of an end-stage Lou Gehrig’s patient, even though the patient gave his informed consent earlier in the videotape. After eight years and two months behind bars, Kevorkian was granted early parole due to good behavior. At the time of his parole, Kevorkian was given a year to live, he was dying of Hepatitis C and liver cancer. Did Kevorkian deliver justice by allowing those he deemed terminally-ill to end their lives? One can argue whether Kevorkian was a godsend or crazy mastermind for those looking to end their