1. Introduction
Euthanasia is defined as intentional killing to end a person’s suffering, typically only classed as such when carried out by a medical professional. The ‘Oxford dictionary’ [source 1] defines euthanasia as “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma”. The ‘World Federation of Right to Die Societies’[source 2] states that the term is derived and compounded from the Greek words “eu”, meaning “good”, and “thanatos”, meaning “death”. The ‘World Federation of Right to Die Societies’ says that euthanasia is distinguished “from most other forms of taking life” due to that fact that “life is taken for the sake of the person whose life it is”.
[source 3] ‘The Stanford …show more content…
Their family may feel betrayed by the patient’s decision to die and therefore, leave them. Similar to suicide cases, people close to the patient may feel guilty that they cannot help to end this person’s suffering while still letting them stay alive.
The British political parties mostly voted against the ‘Assisted Dying Bill 2015’ to allow people to legally undergo the process of medically assisted euthanasia. However, the public’s opinion was typically for the bill and that people should have a right to die if they are suffering. The politicians may believe that by making euthanasia legal, this could be abused to murder people. For example, people could make elderly family members feel guilty about being a burden and convince them to undergo euthanasia so that the family members could inherit money.
If desperate people are not allowed to undergo medically assisted euthanasia, they may still resort to suicide which would cause more emotional stress for the person who would prefer a more peaceful and dignified death by their own choice and under the care of a medical professional. This would result in inequality for people who are physically unable to commit suicide without assistance and they would be forced to live while
Euthanasia is defined as intentional killing to end a person’s suffering, typically only classed as such when carried out by a medical professional. The ‘Oxford dictionary’ [source 1] defines euthanasia as “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma”. The ‘World Federation of Right to Die Societies’[source 2] states that the term is derived and compounded from the Greek words “eu”, meaning “good”, and “thanatos”, meaning “death”. The ‘World Federation of Right to Die Societies’ says that euthanasia is distinguished “from most other forms of taking life” due to that fact that “life is taken for the sake of the person whose life it is”.
[source 3] ‘The Stanford …show more content…
Their family may feel betrayed by the patient’s decision to die and therefore, leave them. Similar to suicide cases, people close to the patient may feel guilty that they cannot help to end this person’s suffering while still letting them stay alive.
The British political parties mostly voted against the ‘Assisted Dying Bill 2015’ to allow people to legally undergo the process of medically assisted euthanasia. However, the public’s opinion was typically for the bill and that people should have a right to die if they are suffering. The politicians may believe that by making euthanasia legal, this could be abused to murder people. For example, people could make elderly family members feel guilty about being a burden and convince them to undergo euthanasia so that the family members could inherit money.
If desperate people are not allowed to undergo medically assisted euthanasia, they may still resort to suicide which would cause more emotional stress for the person who would prefer a more peaceful and dignified death by their own choice and under the care of a medical professional. This would result in inequality for people who are physically unable to commit suicide without assistance and they would be forced to live while