...world have to encounter with the end of life every single day. Some people died young and some passed away when they reach their aged. But because of the terminal illness, someone decided to cut the last breath of their life with dignity and called it as the euthanasia. It turned out that it has two sides about the point of view towards the euthanasia issue in a positive and negative ways. Although some people against these ideas and claim that it is an unacceptable manner, I certainly disagree about that because it can be proved that the euthanasia is one of the most peaceful ways to escape the great pain for dying people. Euthanasia can be one of the way to relieve the pain and suffering for dying people. As everyone knows that people who have to struggle with the terminal illness always end up in physical and psychological suffering, so some of them wanted to die before the pain is getting worse. According to the news of the Telegraph in 2008 which reported about Val McKay, the British woman who was diagnosed with the multiple sclerosis. She commented with the reporter before she went to the Dignitas, where is the only Swiss facility to accept foreigners for the euthanasia that people should not suffer with their illness, they should...
Words: 1205 - Pages: 5
...Euthanasia: Freedom to Die with Dignity Charletta R. Anderson Strayer University ENG 215 Dr. Aaron Miller December 12, 2011 Euthanasia: Freedom to Die with Dignity The word “Euthanasia” comes from a Greek phrase meaning “good death”. However, in today’s society it means killing a terminally ill person as a way to end that person’s pain and suffering (Cundiff, 1992 ). In the year 2007, my grandfather the Honorable Leon Davis was dying. This American war hero had made a request to die with dignity. He was dealing with a failed kidney, pneumonia, dementia, hypertension, MRSA foot infection, a broken hip, and terrible living conditions at a nursing home. All these problems left him weak and physically dependent on others. For terminally ill patients like my grandfather, where death was inevitable and would have been less painful than living, euthanasia should be a consideration or an option. Euthanasia is a way of relieving terminally or severely ill people's pain and save them from the agony of their illness. People claim that the right to die is protected by the same constitutional safeguards that promise such rights as marriage, and the refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment. This essay will discuss why or why not ill people should have the right to end their suffering with a quick, dignified, and merciful death by the means of Euthanasia. Legalizing Euthanasia In the 1970s , a movement that had tried to legalize some form of...
Words: 1093 - Pages: 5
...Running head: ANALYSIS OF AN ETHICAL DILEMMA Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma NRS 437V December 11, 2011 Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma Euthanasia, sometimes referred to as mercy killing, is an act by a third party that causes a patient’s death. Such acts include administering a lethal dose of medication by way of injection or mask, usually to a seriously ill patient. This analysis will discuss the ethics of euthanasia as it relates to nursing, laws, society, and the stakeholders involved in the scenario. The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that the nurse should not participate in Active euthanasia because such an act is in direct violation of the Code for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, the ethical traditions and goals of the profession, and its covenant with society. (Task Force on the Nurse's Role in End-of-Life Decisions, 2011) While patient advocates should be vigilant for providing diligent care, they should perform their tasks with respect, support and due commitment towards their care. In healthcare practice, in order to relieve pain and suffering, there is an obligation to promote dignity and autonomy of patients. Euthanasia is a complex issue in which nurses are uncomfortable determining the life and death of a patient. Nurses have to practice ethical principles of beneficence, which maximize benefit and reduce potential risk and harm to the patient. Non-malfeasance is another ethical issue in which a nurse should do no harm. A competent...
Words: 1165 - Pages: 5
...The 'Episcopalian (Anglican) Unitarian, Methodist, Presbyterian and Quaker movements are amongst the most liberal, allowing at least individual decision making in cases of active euthanasia The BBC wrote in an Aug. 3, 2009 online article titled "Religion & Ethics - Christianity: Euthanasia - the Christian View" on www.bbc.co.uk: "Christians are mostly against euthanasia. The arguments are usually based on the beliefs that life is given by God, and that human beings are made in God's image. Some churches also emphasise the importance of not interfering with the natural process of death... Christians believe that the intrinsic dignity and value of human lives means that the value of each human life is identical. They don't think that human dignity and value are measured by mobility, intelligence, or any achievements in life. Valuing human beings as equal just because they are human beings has clear implications for thinking about euthanasia: • patients in a persistent vegetative state, although seriously damaged, remain living human beings, and so their intrinsic value remains the same as anyone else's • so it would be wrong to treat their lives as worthless and to conclude that they 'would be better off dead' • patients who are old or sick, and who are near the end of earthly life have the same value as any other human being • people who have mental or physical handicaps have the same value as any other human being... Some features of Christianity suggest...
Words: 7225 - Pages: 29
...2016 Active Euthanasia When you think about euthanasia most think of this as being an assisted suicide and or assisted murder. One has to think about the circumstances and or situation that the individual is in at the time of making the decision to end their life. Many of the physician assisted deaths or euthanasia is due to terminal illnesses or one is in such pain and suffering from a disease or a non-curable virus. When you look at these factors one would have to ask themselves, even though it is properly regulated, should euthanasia be legalized or not because everyone has the right to die, it has been proven to saves lives, and has been known to encourage vulnerable people to end their lives. First, should euthanasia be legalized or not because everyone has the right to die. There was a story that I read about a guy’s grandmother was suffering from advanced heart disease and during surgery she acquired a bacterial infection, and ended up to where she could not take care of herself. She ultimately did not want to live anymore. Matthew Hayes went on to say that to his grandmother “Life was not worth living, she told me, without autonomy. She wanted to die happy and with some dignity left” (Hayes, 2014). Since she could not end her life legally in New York, she went on to suffer for two years before finally dying a slow and painful death. Oregon passed a law in 1997 called the Death with Dignity act, where “this would allow which allows terminally-ill patients to end their lives...
Words: 1236 - Pages: 5
...Euthanasia According to Webster’s dictionary, euthanasia is “intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit”. Clearly, everybody hopes that his or her death is gentle and easy, and bypasses pain and suffering and loss of dignity. However, the question of whether people can legally passively or actively end their own lives raise many issues. Some argue that by allowing euthanasia will permit people to look down on human life, as if it is not important and can be used for certain criminal circumstances. On the other hand, others argue that permitting people to take their own lives actually maintains human dignity, since people should not have to die painful deaths. I believe that human dignity and the value of human life can best be protected and preserved by permitting people to chose to stop treatments which prolong their lives, but without legalizing the active taking of lives. The philosopher Dyck is representative of the the position that euthanasia should never be legal, because it does not entail compassion for one, or one owns human dignity. Dyck proposes an alternative moral argument to euthanasia, the idea of “benemortasia.” Benemortasia is the belief that a “good” death doesn’t need to be painless or be fully controlled by the person.. Not only does Dyck argue that our definition of good death should change, but he has multiple arguments for why euthanasia is morally wrong. First off, one who causes someone...
Words: 998 - Pages: 4
...assisted death, or euthanasia be an option for the terminally ill? In 1994, the Oregon Death With Dignity Act was formed, making Oregon the first state to legalize physician assisted deaths with restrictions. As of today, Washington, Vermont, New Mexico, along with Oregon are all legalized in euthanasia. The individuals wanting to end their life must be at least 18 years of age with a terminal illness, be a state resident, and have less than six months to live (Procon.org 2014). The question is, is euthanasia ethical? In this paper, I will be focusing on euthanasia and how it relates to the Deontology Theory. The Deontology Theory relates to the rights and wrongs of actions themselves. It is defined as "the focus on the duties and obligations one has in carrying out actions rather than on the consequences of those actions” (Mosser, 2013). Meaning, the act is right or wrong, depending upon the action in which it was brought upon. In general, Deontologist tend to focus on the the will of the person and their intentions. Euthanasia is a very debatable topic. It is a heated topic because it relates to death. Some may say euthanasia is allowing people to die, which is the same as killing. Whereas others may see it as the right to die, especially when one is suffering with a terminal illness …."life is a precious gift from God. To end it prematurely is to reject that gift; only God should determine when life should end" (Mosser, 2013). In judging whether or not euthanasia is moral in...
Words: 725 - Pages: 3
...function without 24 hour care. You feel as if your life has no meaning or purpose and you wonder whether ending your life is your only option. This is a reality for many, many people. People, who I believe, have the right to take control of their own lives. Good morning everyone. Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending the life of a person to relieve their pain and suffering. In the last few years Euthanasia, or voluntary assisted suicide, has been the subject of much moral, religious and legal debate...
Words: 1649 - Pages: 7
...Zaira Murillo Carl Franks English 1013 28 October 2014 Euthanasia In today’s world there is a multitude of controversial topics that are discussed daily. One of these topics is euthanasia. Euthanasia is also knows as assisted suicide and is used to end the suffering of a person who has an illness or physical injury that can’t be cured. Because euthanasia involves death, it is a very sensitive topic. The different viewpoints contribute to the opinions that people have about euthanasia. People with a heavy religious culture are more likely to be against it, whereas people suffering from a life threatening or terminal disease are not. Euthanasia is currently only allowed in the state of Oregon through the Death with Dignity Act that was placed in 1997 and in four other states as well as three countries. Since that act, only 752 of the 1173 patients actually carried on to kill themselves. An article written by Ryan Wallace on October 7, 2014 titled “One Woman's Quest to Die with Dignity—and What It Means for Us All” is about a 29 year old woman named Brittany Maynard who has been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma multiform, which is a fast-growing brain cancer that kills its victims. She is one of many that are in favor of assisted-suicide due to her illness. Maynard moved to Portland, Oregon where she would be able to end her life legally thru the Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act (DWDA). Those who are advocates don’t believe it is considered suicide because “aid...
Words: 1366 - Pages: 6
...been playing very important roles in the caring of patients throughout the continuum of life and at the end of life for years. It is the position of the ANA that participation of nurses in euthanasia is prohibited as those acts are in contradiction of the code of ethics for nurses. Nurses have a duty to provide humane, comprehensive and compassionate care in respect to the rights of patients, but maintain the standard of the profession in the presence of chronic, debilitating illness and at the end of life. Voluntary euthanasia is the act of taking a life painlessly especially to relief suffering from an incurable illness, with the consent of a dying patient. Denying people such wishes can lead to unnecessary suffering. There are two types of euthanasia; involuntary, where patients refuse to consent and non-voluntary, patients unable to consent. Euthanasia can have great impact on the society. It affects everyone one way or another. Although a person has autonomy to make decisions about his end of life care doesn’t take away from the fact that their family and friends will be affected with guilt, anger and bitterness. Voluntary euthanasia can hamper efforts to advance medical research in finding cures for diseases (Saunders, 2011). As the nurse taking care of a terminally ill patient, the husband confides in you that he promised his dying wife that he would assist her in taking her own life when the pain became more than she could bear. The ethical dilemma for this nurse is...
Words: 2650 - Pages: 11
...Euthanasia Is euthanasia morally justifiable? What is euthanasia? According to J. Gay-Williams euthanasia is taking a human life, either one’s own or that of another, the life being taken is believed to be suffering from some disease or injury from which recovery cannot reasonably be expected. These actions must be deliberate and intentional. J. Gay-Williams believes that euthanasia is not morally justifiable. Williams gives three main reasons to justify why he believes that euthanasia is not morally justifiable. He argues that euthanasia is not natural, works against self-interest, and it has practical effects. He believes that euthanasia is not natural. he also explains passive euthanasia which he believes is not euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is not giving someone their needed medicine or not giving someone their needed medicine. He feels that euthanasia is unnatural because it goes against our natural goal of survival. He feels that by ending a life that we do not know what will happen in the end is against God. Williams also says that euthanasia sets us against our own dignity. It takes away our dignity because instead of fighting we are giving up and seeking an end to the battle. Williams feels that euthanasia works against our self- interest. He feels that death is the end and allowing euthanasia to be practiced goes against our self- interest. Using euthanasia as an outlet from life can be wrong because people are wrongly diagnosed daily and someone could...
Words: 594 - Pages: 3
...with Dignity If we assume that every human being born into this world has a "right to life," then it logically follows that every human being has a right to end their life (or a "right to die"). Because death is a part of life, a person's right to life logically assumes a right to not have that life. Thus, any law upholding a person's right to life has inherent within that same law a person's right to die, otherwise it would not be a right to life in the true sense of the term. But there is a legal battle going on in America right now over whether or not a person has a right to die. Does the government have the right to prolong your life by artificial means whether you desire it or not? With the passing of this law nationwide, you, as the voter will simply be saying, “It is YOUR choice” (Patashnik, 2004) The issue of “Having a Personal Right to Die,” has been long simmered beneath the surface in legal and political circles: under what circumstances do terminally injured and ill Americans have the right to choose to die? The Supreme Court made a definitive statement in the landmark 1990 case Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health that severely injured patients have a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment and die. But the court also ruled that states can require "clear and convincing" evidence of a patient's intent to forgo medical treatment, a rather high evidentiary standard to meet. History The actual word for “having a right to die” is Euthanasia. According...
Words: 4441 - Pages: 18
...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...
Words: 1747 - Pages: 7
...acceptable to take the life of an innocent person? Euthanasia, or the practice of ending the life of a terminally ill person, stirs controversy. There are several different categories of euthanasia. There are also many laws and requirements for euthanasia to be performed. Euthanasia and its laws have adapted according to changes in the U.S. culture over the years that euthanasia has been performed. What is euthanasia? When a person decides that they no longer want to live and want to end their lives medically it is known as assisted suicide which is known as euthanasia. (Pereira) Euthanasia is when a medically trained professional lethally injects a medicine that will cause the patient to face a non...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...Name: Task: Tutor: Date: Physician-assisted Suicide,Euthanasia or Living? How to Die in Oregon is a movie directed and produced by Peter Richardson. It presents a case of death with dignity which it successfully achieves. Though Richardson tends to over-rely on emotional effect and additional interviews which do not give the facts about euthanasia, the movie drives the point home. Mr. Richardson focuses on one family decision, and Oregon law that mandates physician-assisted suicide for the critically ill is the Centre of discussion. Cody Curtis, a 54-year-old mother of two, suffer from liver cancer. She goes through the worst moments of her life as she struggles with unstable emotions and humiliating symptoms that appear as a result of this disease. She reaches a point where one morning she tells her husband that she doesn't wish to live and see another night like that in her life. Over ten months she suffers from this ailment which slowly causes deterioration of her health. Even as she injects herself with large doses of morphine, the pain does not seem to end. These sufferings create her one day to decide and swallow a lethal dosage of Seconal, a barbiturate (Richardson,2011). Physician –assisted suicide involves performing lethal means available to the patient so that he or she will use at the time of his or her choosing. By contrast, euthanasia means the physician participating in carrying out the patient's request, which mostly is administering the lethal drug. Physician-assisted...
Words: 960 - Pages: 4
