...Euthanasia: The Dignity of End of Life There are many questions that can be asked on the very controversial topic of assisted euthanasia. The most common views or beliefs of this medical dilemma can be said to be extremely for or against the process of euthanasia. Opposition can argue that assisted suicide devalues human life, is ethically and religiously immoral, and can lead to purification of society or performing euthanasia for financial reasons. Although these are valid political and religious arguments to consider, a much more personal view must be argued. The quality versus the quantity of the patient’s life, the patient’s personal wants and feelings, and the family must be taken into consideration. “There is no single, objectively correct answer for everyone as to when, if at all, one’s life becomes all things considered a burden and unwanted. If self-determination is a fundamental value, then the great variability among people on this question makes it especially important that individuals control the manner, circumstances, and timing of their death and dying.” (Cassle and Meier, 1990) The patient’s specific illnesses, the treatment that has already been endured, and the projected outcome of the disease should also be looked at when asking if assisted euthanasia/suicide should be morally and legally accepted by society. Although there are many religious and political points of view on assisted euthanasia, the patient’s individual circumstances and own personal...
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...A Life Saved by Rebellion, Dignity and Faith. Survival, Resilience and Redemption; these are three themes Laura Hillenbrand defines as major themes in her book Unbroken. While I agree with Hillenbrand that these are very strong themes I feel that rebellion, dignity and faith are far entirely better fitting. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a non-fiction tale of Louis Zamperini, a man who began life as a rambunctious child and teenager and grew to face great odds during World War II, yet came out alive and with a new outlook on life. Hillenbrand unravels Louie’s life as she illustrates his journey following his World War II bomber crashing into the ocean on a routine flight, and the rescue of his deathly frail body 47 days later is better referred to as his capture. He was now at the hands of enemy Japanese soldiers, and would face years of agonizing mental and physical torture in their imprisonment camps. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following his return home, as many World War II soldiers did, Louie sunk to very low place in life. In that time he realizes these themes in himself and finally finds his peace. As a first generation American who was born in New York and raised in California, Louis Zamperini’s acts of rebellion were not only out of desperate desire for attention but for sustaining the lives of his family and himself. Louie’s family struggled with money as he was growing up, so he had taken it upon...
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...The Fifth Commandment: Violations of the Dignity of Human life The fifth commandment, "You Shall Not Kill", directly forbids us from making any direct attack on human life as well as on the integrity of the human body By prohibiting violence and murderer. As a "people of life and for life", we are called to understand reasonable apply what our Church teaches about different life-related issues. We are called to listen to the church in the same way we are called to listen to our parents-- always with an openness of mind heart, grounded on the truth that it is our happiness and joy that our parent and the church desire. This new life of grace is Christ's gift of his Spirit who inspires and empowers us to live life to the fullest. God gives us life more abundantly by sending the Holy Spirit who strengthens us individually, but specially as members of the mystical Body of Christ, the Church thus becoming a "people of life" But we are a people not only of life but also for life. Human Life is sacred because it is a gift given by God without any return. Some people forget about it by aborting an innocent life. Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before birth, resulting in, or accompanied by the death of the fetus. But more than merely ending pregnancy, abortion is the "the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her...
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...Dignity is Essential for Life In the book “Unbroken”, Laura Hillenbraud introduces a theme that dignity is vital for life. Dignity is something that is not easily defined. It’s not something you can touch or necessarily look at, but you can see the strength and sense of self pride in someone who is dignified. Louie Zamperini had a lot experiences that built up his dignity and vice versa. In what seemed to be the darkest moments of his life, he didn’t allow his dignity to be stomped out. It was only when he became obsessed with revenge and hatred that he allowed his dignity slip from his hands. Louie grew up as a hard headed, rebel that was very successful in everything he did, from stealing from the neighbors to running. This built a strong...
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...The Use of Human Dignity in Death Penalty Cases: An International perspective An examination of cases from several jurisdictions that address the legality of the death penalty reveals various uses of the notion of human dignity. In 1972, in Furman v. Georgia, the United States Supreme Court declared all existing death penalty statutes at the time unconstitutional as a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment". There was no majority opinion, and each of the five majority members wrote a separate opinion. While three of them based their decision on the arbitrary and discriminatory application of the death penalty in the U.S., Justices Brennan and Marshall based their opinions on the per-se unconstitutionality of capital punishment. Justice Brennan argued that although human dignity is not explicitly guaranteed by the United States Constitution, it is the fundamental concept underlying the Eighth Amendment. In his opinion: "The State, even as it punishes, must treat its members with respect for their intrinsic worth as human beings. A punishment is "cruel and unusual, therefore, "if it does not comport with human dignity". He declared that the severity of capital punishment is degrading to the dignity of a man, and since even the vilest criminals share an inherent dignity, the punishment is unconstitutional. Though in Brennan words human dignity functions as a justification for the Eight Amendment, they seem to illustrate the psychological approach...
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...and die according to one’s desires and beliefs. Death with dignity is a national organization located in Oregon, which is non-partisan, non-profit that has led the legal defense and education of the Oregon law for nearly twenty years; however, the actual law for death with dignity was not passed until 1994 and due to legal issues, it became effective later in 1997. The Board of Directors for Death with Dignity Movements are some of the most esteemed medical, legal and scholarly experts, which are responsible for the political defense of the Oregon law and the promotion of death with dignity initiatives in other states. The Oregon Death with Dignity act has given patients what others might think or find deplorable a chance to die with dignity in their own terms. The Act allows mentally competent terminally ill adults who have six months or less to live receive, under strict safeguard, a prescription for life ending medication The goal of the Death with Dignity National Center is three fold: defend dignity, mobilize dignity, and preserve dignity. To Defend Dignity, the Death with Dignity National Center works with an “extensive and costly legal defense of the Oregon law, as well as coalition building providing the flexibility to rapid response to both legal and political challenges” (DWDNC, 2011). A second goal of the Death with Dignity National Center is to mobilize dignity. In mobilizing dignity, the Death with Dignity National Center “provides various educational and outreach...
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...Death with Dignity Act Esther Harris November 29, 2015 Business Law – BA3310 Death with Dignity is a very controversial subject that has spanned many decades and continues to spark great debate from both sides of the subject. Death is a very personal matter, and those who support that law believe that a person should be able to die with dignity if he or she chooses to do so. Those who oppose the law believe that there should not be any human intervention into the process of dying. There are two distinct sides of the debate, but people should have the choice if he or she chooses to do so. Death with Dignity should become a legalized process throughout the United States. HISTORY Death with Dignity laws in several states allow mentally competent, terminally-ill adult residents to voluntarily request and receive a prescription medication, from a physician, so they can die in a peaceful, humane manner in a place and time of their choosing (Death with Dignity, 2015.) In layman’s terms, a person who is eighteen years or older and has received a terminal medical diagnosis, with less than six months to live, can request for a physician to provide him or her with a prescription of pentobarbital, which can be used at the patient’s discretion to end his or her life. Some states require that the patient request the medications in writing and then again verbally, while others only require the patient to make a verbal request. The patient’s primary diagnosis must be validated...
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...The Dignity of the Human Person The “human person” is a philosophy of Louis Janssens from Vatican II, basically says that the human person is made in the image of God and is the unity of body and soul and that the person is human and living because of the soul. One of Janssen’s points was that all persons are utterly original but fundamentally equal. Daniel Sulmasy said that there are two types of dignity: intrinsic and attributed. He said that intrinsic is the kind people have simply because they are members of the human family; it is intrinsic to being human. Attributed dignity is the value or worth one attributes to others or to oneself. It is based on ones power, prestige, function, productivity, and degree of control. I believe that intrinsic dignity is the element that makes all human persons’ fundamentally equal and attributed dignity that makes them unique and the role of the health care provider is not to protect the dignity of the patient, but to respect the dignity of the patient as well as all human persons. Intrinsic dignity is not earned, compromised, increased or decreased by one's conduct or the conduct of others. This also means that no disease, disability, or suffering, of any kind, can reduce or compromise our intrinsic dignity, regardless of the quality of life. Intrinsic dignity remains equal in all humans from their beginning to their death and beyond. People in the severest stages of illness, who may have lost all measurable autonomy, independence...
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...recent years there has been this discussion on the topic of the “Death with Dignity” act. This act came into play in particular with the case of Brittany Maynard, a twenty-nine year old with terminal brain cancer. Brittany decided that rather than to see herself and her quality of life deteriorate, or be a burden to others, to forego physician-assisted suicide. While death with dignity has made its seem as if it is helping people, there are some questions that come into play. What about the family of the disabled? What are you telling people who are disabled or stricken with sickness that will eventually lead to their death? With the death with dignity act, it is telling people they should give up, not only on life, but on themselves and allows further people’s right to take away the life of the most defenseless. It...
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...Dictionary.com lists six definitions for the word dignity. But the definition for dignity can be expanded greatly from there. In World War II the Japanese took away dignity in their prisoner of war camps and in Germany they took away Jewish peoples dignity in the concentration camps. They learned that dignity is as essential to survival. If they made a person feel like they weren’t a human then that person would not have any reason to live and they would just give up and die. Having dignity saved many lives in World War II but losing it also helped in the demise of millions of other people. First it would be good to know where the word dignity came from. The word dignity comes from the old French word digite which meant privilege and honor....
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...United States should have access to the Death with Dignity Act. The Death with Dignity laws allow patients who are terminally ill and state residents to die voluntarily by prescription medication under a physicians care. Right now this is only legal in the states of Oregon, Washington, and Vermont. There are many reasons why the Death with Dignity laws can be beneficial for the patients as well as their families who are going on this painful journey as well. Access to the Death with Dignity laws allows the terminal ill patient to deal with minor pain and suffering, ultimately giving them the decision when the pain is to much. It also would help lessen the amounts of suicides thats are directly correlated with patients who have been diagnosed with a terminally ill diseases. Having the death with Dignity laws in place would help with vital organs that can be saved and used help save the lives of others. And lastly, these laws would help with health care costs. Although there is the flip side to this case about religion and morality, the benefits overcome these issues by having a positive influence on these patients and their families. I think the most positive benefit that is related with Death with Dignity Act is the limit to the pain and suffering both the patient and the families must go through. In a recent story on the news and internet a cancer patient name Brittney Msynard made the decision to access the Death with Dignity laws. She was diagnosed with brain cancer and is...
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...I believe that dignity is tied to true happiness. As Gandhi put it, happiness is an enlightened realization of human dignity. Simply put, dignity is the state of being worthy of honor or respect. Many people believe that happiness is an individual responsibility and that people shouldn’t look to others for happiness, but I believe that whether we like it or not our happiness is tied to the happiness and well-being of others around us as well. If we assume Gandhi’s definition of happiness, then I do not see how one could be truly happy if they don’t have their dignity. When thinking about happiness, I thought it was important to make the distinction between real happiness and “happiness” one finds in material objects. It’s possible to be content...
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...Dignity can be defined as “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.” From the moment the human species developed reasonable thought and understanding, the concept of dignity has played an important role in our individuality and cultural perceptions. It is a powerful state of being that is often a source of utmost pride. In this essay, we will discuss the “Death with Dignity Act” (DWDA), a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care, and discuss why it is important that this legislative act and others characterizing euthanasia on humans should become legal nationwide. On October 27, 1997 Oregon passed the “Death with Dignity Act”. This act allows terminally-ill residents of the state of Oregon...
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...Right to Die Movement The Right to Die movement began in 1993, and has continued to grow over the past twenty-three years. In 1997, Oregon passed the first right to die law called the Death with Dignity Act, which allowed those who were terminally ill to choose a death on their terms. It withstood multiple attempts to nullify it, and in 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that Oregon physicians can prescribe life ending medications under the act. At this time, there are five states who have passed a similar Right to Die law, and in the next election, 19 more states will attempt to pass their own version of the Death with Dignity Act. In this essay I will explain Death with Dignity, address any frequently asked questions, express how the opposition...
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...Why is Human Dignity important ? What is Human dignity ? "dignity: the quality of being worthy or honourable; worthiness, worth, nobleness, excellence. Latin dignitāt-em merit, worth" Oxford English Dictionary The focus of UNCC100 is on the theme of the common good: how we think about what is needed in order for all people to flourish in society. UNCC300 shifts this focus from the social to the individual, although of course, we can never think about the individual without reference to the broader context of society. In this unit, we are going to consider what it means to be a human being, and more particularly, how we can understand the notion of human worth, or value. This is what we are referring to when we talk about human dignity. Activity 1 Complete some research on Rosa Parks . 1. Who was she? 2. What impact did Rosa Parks have on the US Civil Rights movement? 3. What impact do you think Rosa Parks has had on our understanding of human dignity today? 4. There have been numerous songs written about Rosa Parks. The Neville Brothers recorded “Sister Rosa” in 1989. Click the link to hear the song and follow the lyrics. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/two-songs-about-rosa-parks-lyrics.html Human dignity is probably a very familiar expression, because the concept is part of many conversations taking place in the contemporary world. At the same time, once we begin to think about it, we find that the basis of human dignity can be understood...
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