Voluntary Euthanasia On the eve of June 25, 2005, Tony Nicklinson a father of two young children, suffered a brain-stem stroke so severe that he was diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, a condition said to be the closest thing to being buried alive. Tony’s conscious mind was put in a body with paralyzed vocal cords and unresponsive brain signals. To him and his family, Tony had died the night he had entered the hospital. But it wasn’t until almost seven years later on August 22, 2012 that Tony’s heart finally stopped beating and he ultimately passed away. For many years Tony was the face of the right to die movement. During the end of his life, he had fought hardly to ensure his right to death through voluntary euthanasia.
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According to the BBC Ethics guide, many factors need to be considered. One of the main arguments is that death is a private matter and that if there is no harm to others, the state and people have no right to interfere. While lives are sacred, we can’t stop fully competent adult people from making their own decisions about their life in any other situation. If we can stop others, then why do we allow, or even encourage people to go to war where they could die? Why do we let it continue even though we know they could experience negative lasting impacts? We let these people do this because they have both the capability and understanding to make their own decisions. When you draw this example, the lines start to fade to gray. Additionally, according to a PEW Research Center survey from March 21-April 8, 2013, 57% of US adults would stop treatment with no hope of improvement if they were in a great deal of pain and only 35% would not. More surprisingly if an illness made them totally dependent on another for care 52% of Americans would still stop treatment so they could die compared to only 37% who wouldn’t. These statistics show that there is already a moral acceptance of the right to die and people have started to embrace this idea. However, this popular opinion has not been enacted well into law as only Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have legalized physician assisted suicide through legislation. Euthanasia has been fully legalized in countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Colombia according to Life.org. Let 's look at how euthanasia has effectively worked in many of these countries that have legalized it. In 2002, the Netherlands become the first country to legalize both euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. Their allowance of euthanasia was strictly controlled by a set of detailed guidelines. First, the illness must be incurable. Second the request must be made when the
According to the BBC Ethics guide, many factors need to be considered. One of the main arguments is that death is a private matter and that if there is no harm to others, the state and people have no right to interfere. While lives are sacred, we can’t stop fully competent adult people from making their own decisions about their life in any other situation. If we can stop others, then why do we allow, or even encourage people to go to war where they could die? Why do we let it continue even though we know they could experience negative lasting impacts? We let these people do this because they have both the capability and understanding to make their own decisions. When you draw this example, the lines start to fade to gray. Additionally, according to a PEW Research Center survey from March 21-April 8, 2013, 57% of US adults would stop treatment with no hope of improvement if they were in a great deal of pain and only 35% would not. More surprisingly if an illness made them totally dependent on another for care 52% of Americans would still stop treatment so they could die compared to only 37% who wouldn’t. These statistics show that there is already a moral acceptance of the right to die and people have started to embrace this idea. However, this popular opinion has not been enacted well into law as only Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have legalized physician assisted suicide through legislation. Euthanasia has been fully legalized in countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Colombia according to Life.org. Let 's look at how euthanasia has effectively worked in many of these countries that have legalized it. In 2002, the Netherlands become the first country to legalize both euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. Their allowance of euthanasia was strictly controlled by a set of detailed guidelines. First, the illness must be incurable. Second the request must be made when the