The Morality Of Euthanasia

The question of the morality of euthanasia is one of great interest to me. The article by Al-Alosi calls for legislators to discuss the topic of euthanasia in Australia and the UK. My grandfather was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer when I was a young child. He was able to live a normal life for about a year before being admitted to a hospital. He would then be admitted shortly after to a hospice where he voluntarily undertook terminal dehydration. This voluntary foregoing of food and water took about two weeks. Those two weeks were very difficult emotionally for my family and I cannot help but think that physician assisted suicide or Euthanasia could have helped to prevent much suffering both for my grandfather and my family. The question …show more content…
The article by Al-Alosi states reasons why past legislation attempts to legalize euthanasia has failed in Australia and society’s response. One of those reasons is that doctors will hurt patients. One of the major arguments against the use of euthanasia is that doctors took a Hippocratic Oath where they promise to “do no harm” to patients. This would mean that any doctor committing the act of euthanasia on a patient would be breaking his oath. However the Hippocratic Oath has gone through changes in the past, one such change is that women can now study medicine. The Hippocratic Oath clearly has been wrong before and could be wrong on the “do no harm” statement …show more content…
As a right under the European declaration of human rights we have a right to end suffering. If a patient has lost all quality of life they should have the freedom to receive euthanasia. This would be better in my opinion than voluntary suicide because it would be far less drawn out and therefore less taxing for those involved. It should have the patient’s total consent on all details that have to be known to the patient. Euthanasia could be used for children all ages where there is no chance of survival and all quality of life is gone. The parents would be the ones to make the final decision for their child. The Connecticut Supreme Court was wrong in my opinion for forcing a 17 year old girl to resume chemotherapy. There should also be a review board involved in cases with children requesting to use euthanasia, but only after it is performed to make sure there was no abuse of power. In the United States a parent has a large amount of control over their child and should also have a major role in the decision of undergoing euthanasia. A review board should be used to limit the potential and act as a deterrent for possible murders