The Value Of Euthanasia

Terri Schiavo collapsed in her St. Petersburg home in full cardiac arrest on February 25, 1990. She suffered massive brain damage due to lack of oxygen and after two and a half months in a coma her diagnosis was elevated to a vegetative state. Between her parents and husband there was a legal battle on whether the equipment that had been used to sustain her life, specifically a feeding tube, should be disconnected allowing her to die (Funk & Wagnalls, 2002). Both her family and doctors had a say in Terri’s life, but did she? The doctors and her husband thought that Terri was in her final stages of life and just wanted to end things sooner. This diagnosis unfairly targeted Terri, who was unable to stand up for herself and state her wishes about …show more content…
Euthanasia diminishes the value of life by unfairly targeting the sick and creates incentives for insurance companies to terminate lives in order to save money.
Value of life

Life is the most sacred gift that is given to each one of us and the legalization of euthanasia to more states and allowing doctors to take someone’s life diminishes the value of life. In society, doctors already have so much power over our lives, that by utilizing euthanasia it takes away the quality of life and questions the sanctity of life. Although not exceedingly looked upon, there is always the option for people that are unsatisfied with their lives to choose suicide, which is equally as concerning as doctor-assisted suicide. According to the Santa Monica College Library (2008), attitudes would loosen to the point that certain states may decide that any person can commit suicide at any time and shatter values. Also shown by ProCon (2010), …show more content…
This unfair steering and incentives creates both social and political constraints regarding euthanasia. Keeping in mind our duty as future nurses, it is important to advocate for our patients and perform a complete assessment to best assist a client before life altering decisions are made. Put on this earth with the right to let no one else choose the destiny of our lives euthanasia defies all aspects of the natural life cycle. No one should be given a time frame for the end of their life and due to that euthanasia should not be legalized in more states allowing third parties such as families, doctors, the government and insurance companies to extemporaneous decisions in others’ lives. Terri may not have been able to decide the time and place of her death, but that does not mean that others should have to be put through the same situation. Euthanasia is a well-known controversial issue and has had many great debatable cases, but there is no need for there to be any more deaths due to euthanasia. Before euthanasia is legalized in more states we need to intercede for the rights that were given to each one of us and not let any more lives be controlled by