...faced with a terminal disease or injury, it is all they truly want. That is, the ability to choose the right to die, in lieu of, a slow and painful death. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Euthanasia as, “The act or practice of killing hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy,” and also, “The act of or practice of allowing a hopelessly sick or injured patient to die by taking less than complete medical measures to prolong life – mercy killing.” In those two separate definitions, you have the words that define the difference between active and passive euthanasia. “The act or practice of killing…” is what is termed as active euthanasia, in that it involves a person physically “doing” something to bring about the death of an individual. Whereas, “the act or practice of allowing…” is considered passive euthanasia, in that it allows a person to die. Normally, this entails the withholding or withdrawal of necessary medical equipment or medicine. Historically, both methods have evoked great emotional turmoil throughout society. Why? Because, it puts into dispute moral, cultural, social, and religious values that individual’s hold regarding their right to live, aswell as their right to die. Furthermore, individuals want to be able to control, should the need arise, their right to how they die, when they die, and where they die. The fear of lacking this control comes from the thought of dying a slow and painful death from the likes...
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...is a “slippery slope” effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only the terminally and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily. Opposition overcomes 48 point deficit to defeat assisted suicide - Ballot Question 2 in Massachusetts 1 1 0 Google BOSTON, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a stunning upset, the voters of Massachusetts soundly defeated Ballot Question 2 on Election Day. Dealing a significant setback to the expansion of the assisted suicide movement throughout the United States by Compassion & Choices (the organization formerly known as the Hemlock Society), a diverse coalition of disability rights organizations, medical associations, nurses' groups, community leaders and faith-based organizations united in this effort. "Tonight was a huge victory for those of us in the disability rights community that have worked for so long against assisted suicide," noted John Kelly , Director of Second Thoughts – People with Disabilities Opposing Question 2. "This vote confirms that Massachusetts voters saw through the rhetoric and outright misinformation put out by those supporting assisted suicide. Opposition to assisted suicide cuts across all partisan and...
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...A current topic in debate is whether a person should have the right to choose when they can die? I believe a person who is terminally ill should be able to choose when they want to die. Assisted suicide is where a patient who is terminally ill can take a medication that would end their life peacefully. According to Telegram.com there were five states that allowed assisted suicide in 2014, those states were Oregon, New Mexico, Vermont, Montana, and Washington. Since 2014, there have been two additional states that have approved the right to be able to choose assisted suicide and those two states are California and Hawaii. Hawaii was the most recent signing on April 5th, 2018 by Governor David Ige and it will go into effect on January 1st 2019. California signed on October 5th, 2015 by Governor Jerry Brown and went into effect on June 9th 2016. According to Time.com 143 people have implemented assisted suicide....
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...to Live ; A Time to Die Assisted suicide should be legalized in the United States. It will put an end to the suffering of human life, let the families of the patients be at peace, and great doctors will not go to jail for helping another person move on. People think assisted suicide should be an option available to a patient; however, others strongly believe that due to many reasons it must not be accepted by society. In fact, five states have tried to legalize assisted suicide, but they were shot down. Also, three countries have legalized assisted suicide. They are Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. While it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object, but to escape some ill. People should be...
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...In Birds of Paradise Lost, written by Andrew Lam, he shows how Vietnamese immigrants escape from their pain though humor, denial, and suicide both during and after the war. Lam uses the humor to show readers how the immigrants escape from their pain in the story,“Yacht People”. For example, “When Americans say maximum capacity is forty-five, Vietnamese automatically add a zero to it.”(130) Maybe the readers think it is funny that Vietnamese add a zero to the maximum capacity, but it is what the narrator’s pain is, which is he...
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...We all have heard the stories of gun violence. The Tucson, Arizona supermarket shooting, the Sandy Hook shooting, and the Colorado Movie Shooting. But are these the fault of not enough gun control? No, they are not. People believe that stricter gun control laws will stop shootings like these, but they will not. Gun control laws will limit our freedoms as Americans, access our private information, and the laws won’t work. Wayne LaPierre, an NRA top executive, puts it best: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.” The police may not always be there in enough time to stop a mass shooter, but a trained citizen can stop any shooter. Background checks do not work to stop bad people getting a gun, because they...
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...or against today’s issues issues. One major issue in today’s world is physician assisted suicide. When people think about physician assisted suicide, they think primarily about five things; they ask what is it, what are the facts, who’s choice is it, what are the development in health care, and where can this lead? What is physician assisted suicide? Physician assisted suicide, also known as PAS, is when a physician provides the necessary means or information to a patient to kill himself/herself. However, the patient is the one who actually performs the act. People often get physician assisted suicide confused with euthanasia. Euthanasia is when the physician does both actions for the patient; the physician provides the means and performs the means. After people realize what physician assisted...
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...am unconscious. C. A living will is good. Should living wills over ride doctors and caretakers? THE STORY Imagine someone you love or better yet, imagine yourself lying in a hospital bed oblivious to the world around you, unable to move or show any signs of life, your own existence controlled by an I.V., a respiratory machine, and a feeding tube. In essence you are dead. Your body is no longer able to sustain life, its entire purpose is now replaced by a machine - you are being kept alive by artificial means. At this point the question arises - should you be kept alive by these means or should you be allowed to die a natural death? Unfortunately you are unable to answer this question because your voice is limited to a "beep" on a heart monitor machine. Who then is going to decide if you live artificially or die naturally? Who gets to play God? Well, if your family doesn't have your written consent in the form of a living will, to cease life support, then the doctor will make the ultimate decision for both you and your family. Most often this is the case. Even though writing a living will is just as easy if not easier than writing a death will, many people don't take the time to do so. Therefore, doctors have to debate the question of euthanasia – a question that each one of us should ponder long before we are put in this situation. Euthanasia is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as "the action of Killing an individual for reasons considered to be merciful" (469)...
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...well as patient’s families. Atul Gawande (2010) reports that twenty five percent of all Medicare spending is for the five percent of patients who are in their final year of life, and most of that money goes for care in their last couple of months, which is of little apparent benefit (p. 3). Even more concerning is the suffering that many patients are forced to endure due to the lack of other options. Patients must have the right to make autonomous decisions regarding the end of their lives. They need to be confident that those decisions will be upheld, even if they conflict with the wishes of their families or physicians. However, patient confidence in knowing that their final wishes will be met is complicated by a lack of education and empowerment for those who face these difficult decisions (Frank & Anselmi, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the benefits to patient autonomy and the Medicare budget, by the legalization of physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. Legalizing Euthanasia: A Practical Approach Imagine that your beloved pet suffered a stroke and could no longer eat, drink, walk, or care for itself the way it had been able to do previously. Would you have a feeding tube inserted into him and care for his every personal need? The answer to this question may seem obvious when discussing a pet, but what...
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...Assisted Suicide Teresa Grass PHI200: Mind and Machine Instructor: David Tredinnick June 25, 2012 My point of view on assisted suicide I believe it a sin. In the Holy Bible the “Ten Commandments” it is written “thou shalt not kill.” I stand on the concept that dismissing a person life before it’s his/her time is truly not right. I believe that no matter whom you or what position you may hold doesn’t give you the right to play God. Due to the obvious extent of self-interest that an individual have in their own personal choices; in this day in our culture people as usual try to seek out assured circumstances in such an upright and surprising ways. It was once said that for the ones that are extremely disabled this type of reaction bring forth a common sense of expectation. I do believe that this not right at all because even when a person is suffering under countless circumstances, they desire for this person to go through life-threating operations along with the pain and suffering. It should be that person owns choice for Euthanasia but only during those cases that are so extreme. Suicide has become a vital part of our everyday lives, but through assisted suicide from doctors we have the aptitude to keep suicide to a lessor level to the families that are involved. Assisted suicide is wrong. It is stated in the Ten Commandments “thou shalt not kill”, so with this said I believe that Assisted Suicide is definitely wrong. Many may say that the bible...
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...Position Paper Teen Suicide 04 November 2014 Instructor: Course: Identification of the Issue The term suicide is defined as the intentional taking of your own life, or by deliberate inaction, allowing your life to be taken (according to www.mentalhelp.net). The ways people commit suicide varies, but the act of suicide itself remains the same. Some people overdose on prescription pills, slit their wrists, shoot themselves the list goes on. In 2010, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that suicide is the third leading cause of death for college aged youth and ages 12-18. Teenagers experience low self esteem issues as a result of peer pressure, bullying, love lost, stress and confusion within the family whether it is due to divorce, financial uncertainty, domestic abuse or substance abuse. And for these reasons teens may associate suicide with being the solution to their problem. Causes for the Problem The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collected data in 2012 (most recent year for which data was obtained), 40,600 suicides were reported, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. In that year someone in the United States died by suicide every 12.9 minutes. Shockingly, after cancer and heart disease, suicide accounts for more years of life lost than any other cause of death. Statistics also shows that males are twice more likely to commit suicide than females. As far as ethnicity rates,...
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...Suicide Bombers What makes a suicide bomber? Is it religions upbringing with promises of paradise in reward for acts of martyrdom? Is it the parental support he or she receives for his convictions? Is it society with no means of fighting back against oppression and humiliation? (http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm). In this paper I will discuss the characteristics of a suicide bomber, their mission, as well as discuss suicide attacks. Suicide Bombers Suicide bombers are said to believe that God sends them on their missions, and by the time they are ready to be stopped with explosives, they had reached a hypnotic state. (http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm) As one can see, religion is a powerful factor. Though the Koran teaches against taking one's own life, the suicide bombers are seen as martyrs and are said to be living in the heavens. (http://www.cnn.com/2001/world/hanna.focus) However, it is stated that suicide is forbidden in Islam. However, fighting oppression is commendable, harming innocent bystanders, even in times of war, was forbidden by the prophet Muhammad. (www.israelinsider.com/channels/security/articles/sec0049.htm) Suicide bombers are very complex. They are never justified in their actions. According to Yediot Aharonot, this is the profile of a typical suicide bomber: 1. 97% of the suicide bombers have an academic education and an additional 28% have at least a high school ...
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...research paper’s final draft was prepared as part of a research project for English 1020, taught by Professor Neel. Abstract Euthanasia is commonly known as physician-assisted suicide. This is the act of a physician providing a terminally ill patient with lethal drugs and administers the drugs in a safe environment. Assisted suicide on the other hand is when the physician or pharmacist prescribes the lethal drugs for the terminally ill patient to take at a time of his or her own choosing. Assisted suicide is legal in 3 states in the United States, while euthanasia is illegal in every state. There are many arguments for and against this debate. The objections are mainly moral or ethical. There are many benefits to allowing assisted suicide in the United States, a couple of them are: less suffering for the patients, keeping the patients’ debts low, and keeping medical resources available for those with hope for more than 6 months to live. Oregon has provided the United States a good example of a state providing an opportunity for a terminally ill patient to control his or her own future. Hopefully with the first 3 states leading the way, the rest of the country will follow. Euthanasia: Quality Above Quantity in Life and Death “A dying man needs to die, as a sleepy man needs to sleep, and there comes a time when it is wrong, as well as useless, to resist.” This quote by Stewart Alsop sums up what this paper is about in one, short, witty...
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...History of Euthanasia in America 1973- The American Medical Association issues the Patient Bill of Rights. The groundbreaking document allows patients to refuse medical treatment. 1976- The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan, who has been in a tranquilizer-and-alcohol-induced coma for a year, can remove her respirator. She dies nine years later. 1979- Jo Roman, a New York artist dying of cancer, makes a videotape, telling her friends and family she intends to end her life. She later commits suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. 1985- Betty Rollin publishes "Last Wish," the story of her mother's battle with ovarian cancer. The book reveals that Ida Rollin killed herself with a sedative overdose. 1990- Dr. Jack Kevorkian performs his first assisted suicide, using a homemade machine, to end the life of Alzheimer's patient Janet Adkins. Meanwhile, after protracted legal wrangling, the parents of Nancy Cruzan, who has been in a coma for seven years, are allowed to remove her feeding tube. Friends and co-workers testify in court that she would not have wanted to live. 1991- Hemlock Society founder Derek Humphry first publishes "Final Exit." The controversial suicide "how-to" book later becomes a national best seller. 1994- Voters in Oregon pass a referendum making it the only state in the country that allows doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs for terminally ill patients. The hotly contested law was not put into effect until...
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...The Right to Choose Your Fate Physician assisted suicide, also referred to as (PAS), according to medicine.net is the “the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life.” This controversial topic challenges America to question the ethical, religious, and cultural values and beliefs that have been around for centuries. Many argue that it is not up to the patient to choose how or when they die while others argue that, in fact, it could prevent years of pain and suffering. It may be easy to hear the definition of physician assisted suicide and assume it is not morally acceptable, however, there are several educated arguments defending a patients right to choose. According to Dr. Quill, in most surveys, approximately two-thirds of the United States approves of (PAS) as as option for the terminally ill yet when the time comes to legalize (PAS), the vote splits at 50/50. The controversy of (PAS) erupted in 1990 when Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a pathologist, assisted his first patient into death (Landau 80). His first client was Janet Adkins who was a sufferer of Alzheimers. Kevorkian reported the death to police but no prosecution followed (BBC News). Before the story of his assisted suicides hit national news, these issues were not a topic of public discussion. According to the judge that sentenced Kevorkian to twenty five years behind bars, “He brought to the forefront end-of-life...
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