Should Active Euthanasia Be Legalized Essay

Mulan Kundera says it best when he states, “Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death.” Like animals, people should have the right to die with dignity. People should not be forced to live a life of pain and suffering if they have a terminal illness and wish to die on their own terms. Active euthanasia for people should be made legal. However, it should only be legal with the assistance of a licensed physician, physician assisted suicide. Many times people do not know what the differences are between active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is when a patient wishes to die and someone else helps them, such as …show more content…
While there are many concerns about the legalization of physician assisted suicide there are methods that can be put in place to ensure the patient’s wishes are honored and the physician does not have any negative legal consequences in honoring the patient’s wish to die. The patient’s state of mind at the time of their request to die can be assessed by both the patient’s physician and a mental health professional to ensure the patient is competent in making his/her decision. Both the patient and the physician can be protected legally if a physician assisted suicide form is drawn up and filled out before a patient is given a terminal diagnosis. Even if a form is filled out after a diagnosis the patient and physician can still be legally protected if the patient is found to be in a competent state of mind at the time of the form being filled out. Whether or not a patient has a form that states he/she does want physician assisted suicide can help in an angel of death scenario as well. If the patient does not have the form in his/her medical records then physician can be held liable for