In considering whether physician participation in capital punishment is just, it is essential to recall the purpose of the purpose of capital punishment, the harm that lethal injections can cause and the purpose of medicine. Now, in the introduction of this essay, I stated that the underlying purpose of this essay is not to provide a stance on the subject of capital punishment. However, in order to provide a justification for why physicians should not participate in capital punishment, it is necessary to provide a stance on capital punishment. In fact, According to Ph.D. Adam Kadlac states…
Lethal injections have been a controversial topic for many centuries. People have many opinions as to if lethal injections are humane or if the act violates the Constitution. The use of lethal injections became a topic of interest around the 1980s. The first lethal injection execution was administered by Dr. Ralph Gray in 1982. The execution went successfully and from there the use of lethal injections became more popular, which started arguments as people expressed their opinions. For example, the correct dosage, protocol, medicalization of execution, ethics of health care professionals, and participations of health care professionals; all raise a red flag as to if lethal injections are constitutional. In my opinion, lethal injections are…
The topic of euthanasia arouses much ethical debate and controversy. Euthanasia is the termination of a person’s life to end their suffering, usually through the injection of drugs. Debates about the ethics of euthanasia and medical assisted suicide date from ancient Greece and Rome. Nowadays, euthanasia comes in four main different forms. The first one is “active” euthanasia, which happens when a person directly and deliberately causes the patient's death. The second form is “passive” euthanasia: someone does not directly take the patient's life, but just allows the person to die. The third form is called “voluntary” euthanasia and it occurs at the request of the person who dies. The fourth form is called “involuntary” euthanasia, or “non voluntary”, and it occurs when the person is unconscious or otherwise unable to make a meaningful choice between living and dying, and an appropriate person takes the decision on their behalf. The two most controversial forms are the “active” euthanasia and the…
Since the first civilizations Executions have always been a method of punishment for crimes. In some cases the crimes may have been a little ridiculous for being considered crimes, but that never stopped the swing of the ax or whatever type of “death penalty” it was. Back in medieval times a man could have been executed for anything from stealing a horse to stealing an apple from a market stall. All around in some people 's opinion the death penalty is cruel and unfair. These are new ages and our culture has far grown out it’s brutish past traditions, so why should we continue to take barbaric transactions that have no place in today 's advanced society. The death sentence is uncivilized and therefore the death sentence…
The author’s point of this article was to give insight to the controversial view points on the death penalty, being in favor of those who deserve the capital punishment and opposed to those who do not deserve it, and argues that until the death penalty is not justified even without uncertainty to those that deserve it, and the moral deterrence is abolished from those that favor it, the argument against it will never…
What role should medical personnel play in giving treatment to a patient who has to die from a terminal illness or a court order? While we know the patient’s fate would be death, it has been controversial in the federal and the medical world on whether medical personnel should assist in state executions, involving lethal injections. The 8th amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, such as executing an inmate by a firing squad, hanging, or electrocution. To carry out this law, the courts require medical personnel assistance, for example in tasks like placement of intravenous lines, monitoring of consciousness, adjustment in medication timing and dosage in state executions (Gawande ). This makes execution through lethal injections…
Controversies have been revolving around the reckless outcomes in the legality of euthanasia. Also known as mercy killing, euthanasia is the implementation of dismissing a life with a terminal illness or intolerable suffering. In the levels of morality and professionalism, it is ludicrous to assist termination of one’s life, especially in a passive or involuntary way. Legalization of euthanasia has proven higher levels of convictions in non-voluntary euthanasia. Thus, the United States as well as many other countries around the world, have developed a negative reputation from controversial cases surrounding assisted suicides. Therefore, such practice should be well evaluated to prevent misfortunes of our sometimes inhumane society.…
Shemtob and Lat reason that since executions are done in the name of the American people and using their tax money, the executions should be televised. The authors note that although most executions are said to be virtually painless, certain methods, such as lethal injection, can lead to painful death, and that the public should be made aware of this "unnecessary suffering."…
The article was written to inform the public that lethal injections should be televised or made for public viewing since our tax money is being used to conduct it. During an execution there is are a limited number of people present and the media gives an account of what takes place when a person is put to death. Since video-taping is mandatory on debates, rulings, interrogations, and confessions, why not at lethal injections. The decision could strengthen the support to abolish executions or add support to the family’s of the victims that need the closure that the execution brings them.…
Being killed by lethal injection or being electrocuted is not always smooth and painless, sometimes it causes a painful death. An essay written by Kelly Oliver, “Death as Penalty and the Fantasy of Instant Death”, discusses the contradictions about the death penalty being painless and humane and argues “that the fantasy of instant death is at the heart of tension between death as painless and death as penalty” (Oliver 137). She recounts the execution of Dennis McGuire, where his death by an “untested combination of drugs” took 25 minutes and sounds of “gasping, snorting, and choking” were heard (138). In other words, McGuire clearly suffered the execution, which makes it a cruel and inhumane treatment. This is one of many examples of the execution process being painful and cruel to inmates. Besides killing people, the death penalty also tortures physically by the brutal nature of execution and psychologically by forcing individuals to wait to be…
Recently there has been a shortage of drugs used for lethal injections, so often times it is the job of the pharmacist to compound the drugs necessary for these injections. In some states, laws have been passed that prohibit disclosing the names of the pharmacists and pharmacies who prepare these lethal injections to the public. Pharmacists adhere to the Code of Ethics and take the Oath of a Pharmacist, which could be problematic when preparing lethal injections. There are many legal and ethical implications for pharmacists that are evident in this situation, therefore it is important to consider both sides of these issues.…
Nowadays, though medical treatment has developed a lot, there are still some diseases cannot be cured. Many people have been suffering from terminal diseases, being tortured by the endless pain. A retired doctor, called Jack Kevorkian, sympathised them and tried to escape them from agony. He invented a simple machine that allows patients to end their lives painlessly and he struggled to make assisted suicide legal. He had already assisted several people successfully suicide and therefore, he had to face criminal charges and criticism from society. Anyway, Dr. Kevorkian’s activities should be accepted and legalized by the whole society for several reasons.…
People have distinct capabilities and obstacles that determine their well being in life, this can include disabilities and or other factors that can interfere and cause suffering for individuals. It is up to relatives or guardians to judge the matter and decide if they want to take the life of people, through mercy killing. Set in the stressful time period during the 1930s in Soledad, California, George Milton and Lennie Small are both migrant workers who happen to travel and explore together looking for a job in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. George acted as a father figure and cared for Lennie, even through the inconvenience that Lennie has caused.…
This argument relates to the notion of mercy as another beneficial element of the assisted suicide. In fact, the motivation of this procedure is not to end the existence, but rather to stop the unbearable torment. Supporters also notice that society and government must control assisted suicide and allow it on the national level because there is a high possibility for this process to happen in any case (Sumner, 2011). There are many situations in medical practice when physicians illegally help to stop the life of incurable patients with a motivation to stop torment. The last argument for the assisted suicide is the public perception. Studies and surveys of incurable patients made an opportunity to conclude that more than 60% of people support assisted suicide (Sumner, 2011). Besides, the survey shows that a great percentage of healthy individuals have positive convictions about this process. Consequently, there are many serious arguments that demonstrate the benefits and the advantages of assisted…
Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) is the act of intentionally providing an individual with the means to die. The act is executed by a doctor either by performing the act or by counselling an individual about drugs that can assist in making the process achievable. In most countries PAS is surrounded by a lot of controversies hence making it illegal. In America, PAS has contributed much in the history of medicine and most specifically the evolution of euthanasia. PAS is controversial because it defies the principles of natural death. Moreover, there are various circumstances surrounding PAS that do not warrant for the process to be carried out. These controversies are…