In the past many years, many advancements have been achieved in medical technology. From surgical robots to the first heart transplant, all these advancements are in the hopes of achieving one goal: prolonging a human’s life. Most people are afraid of death; which is why these advancements are ferociously being pursued. However, what if a patient wants to die? Even with all the medical innovations humans have achieved, can a patient be granted death if they wish for it? The word “euthanasia” was first used by a Roman historian to describe a painless, easy and happy death given to a patient with help from their physician (“A General History of Euthanasia”). Euthanasia can be classified into three categories: voluntary, non-voluntary, and involuntary.
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The voluntary euthanasia of terminally ill patients in the United States should be legalized because it ends patient suffering, it saves money, and it is the patient’s right to die. Opponents against euthanasia argue that its legalization will result in legalization of disabled people, depressed people, and the mentally incompetent. This argument does hold some truth in what could plausibly occur. Doctors could take advantage of these situations and kill many patients who did not want euthanasia. However, many precautions could be taken to prevent such a disaster from happening. For example, euthanasia has been legalized in the Netherlands since 1973. Upon being legalized, doctors who participated in euthanasia were required to intensively …show more content…
Most patients diagnosed with a terminal illness are faced with many difficulties in life. For some, just the idea of dying itself leaves them depressed, lonely, and diminishes their self-esteem. Val Mckay is a woman suffering from these factors. She lived in Scotland and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and ever since she was diagnosed, her body began shutting down from her feet and up. The doctors told her she only had six more months to live, but to Val that was too much. When she did her interview with Jocasta Shakespeare in 2008, Val could still use her fingers but was slowly losing control of her left arm. Val knew that soon enough she would be stuck on her bed. Unable to digest her own food, she would be fed through a tube in her stomach; she would slowly choke to death as her airways close down. She has family and friends that she does not see because she is too ashamed to let them see her the way she was. Val felt that she was trapped and the pain was something she could not deal with it. All she wanted was a “dignified death which she had control of” (Shakespeare). In 2006, accompanied by her son and daughters, Val Mckay was given lethal drugs by Dr. Turner when it was approved that he met all the guidelines. Val was taken to her apartment by a nurse, her son and daughters where she died a happy death (Shakespeare). Val’s disease prevented her from going out and living life
The voluntary euthanasia of terminally ill patients in the United States should be legalized because it ends patient suffering, it saves money, and it is the patient’s right to die. Opponents against euthanasia argue that its legalization will result in legalization of disabled people, depressed people, and the mentally incompetent. This argument does hold some truth in what could plausibly occur. Doctors could take advantage of these situations and kill many patients who did not want euthanasia. However, many precautions could be taken to prevent such a disaster from happening. For example, euthanasia has been legalized in the Netherlands since 1973. Upon being legalized, doctors who participated in euthanasia were required to intensively …show more content…
Most patients diagnosed with a terminal illness are faced with many difficulties in life. For some, just the idea of dying itself leaves them depressed, lonely, and diminishes their self-esteem. Val Mckay is a woman suffering from these factors. She lived in Scotland and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and ever since she was diagnosed, her body began shutting down from her feet and up. The doctors told her she only had six more months to live, but to Val that was too much. When she did her interview with Jocasta Shakespeare in 2008, Val could still use her fingers but was slowly losing control of her left arm. Val knew that soon enough she would be stuck on her bed. Unable to digest her own food, she would be fed through a tube in her stomach; she would slowly choke to death as her airways close down. She has family and friends that she does not see because she is too ashamed to let them see her the way she was. Val felt that she was trapped and the pain was something she could not deal with it. All she wanted was a “dignified death which she had control of” (Shakespeare). In 2006, accompanied by her son and daughters, Val Mckay was given lethal drugs by Dr. Turner when it was approved that he met all the guidelines. Val was taken to her apartment by a nurse, her son and daughters where she died a happy death (Shakespeare). Val’s disease prevented her from going out and living life