Joyce Chen
Aaron Lay
ENC 1101
12 August 2013
Killing Them Softly
Death is an ineluctable phenomenon, but it can be quick, possibly painless, or one can bear insufferable pain. It is stated in the Hippocratic Oath, “I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a pessary to cause an abortion” (United States). A physician should uphold his or her duty to save a person’s life, even though that person may be in immense amount of pain and rather die. This is where the debate over legalizing euthanasia comes in. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are very similar, however, dissimilar at the same time. In all technicality, physician-assisted suicide is the active form of euthanasia, and it gained popularity after the largely controversial case of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Comprehending the basic knowledge of euthanasia and its history will help one to understand why euthanasia is not such an unacceptable practice, but also why legalizing euthanasia can benefit many people.
Euthanasia is derived from “the Greek word for ‘good death’” (Terri). This “may imply that the Greeks and Romans who coined the term agreed on the basic issues [of euthanasia although,] history shows on us that this is not the case” (McDougall 3). Until Christianity came about, if the person is suffering from immense pain and/or the quality of life is futile, a physician’s duty to kill was equated to the duty to heal. Unfortunately, euthanasia received a much more dramatic, negative reputation in Germany in the 1920s when people “who were handicapped, mentally ill, or in asylums … were killed in a program secretly approved by the government” (McDougall 5). This then lead to Adolf Hitler’s propaganda, which further the horrid image of euthanasia, though, euthanasia is indubitably not use to intentionally kill the impoverished group of people. Fortunately, years later after what is now known the Holocaust, in 1975, an intriguing story of a woman by the name of Karen Ann Quinlan tells the very first case in the U.S. history that dealt with end-of-life care.
On April 15, 1975, Karen Ann Quinlan was admitted into a hospital because she was in a coma induced by drugs and alcohol. Her parents wanted to remove her respirator after months of no signs of progress (she was in a persistent vegetative state, PVS). “The respirator was considered an extraordinary means of life support,” meaning what was basically keeping Quinlan “alive” was because of that machine. The quality of her life became worthless as each passing day went by. In the end, Quinlan’s parents were able to have the court order the doctor’s to remove the respirator. Though, Quinlan did not die and was tube fed until her death from pneumonia in 1985. Due to the fact that Quinlan refused medical treatment and artificial life support, she became “one of the earliest American symbols of a patient's ‘right to die’… [and died] ‘with dignity and grace,’ as those who advocate euthanasia describe such deaths” (National). Quinlan did not cling on to her life like some would have, but instead, she allowed death to come to her naturally. Although the court specifically said Quinlan’s case was not an euthanasia case, “right to die” advocates used this example as an example of voluntary euthanasia.
Technically, there are more than one form of euthanasia, and their differences do matter. In voluntary active euthanasia, the competent patient requests the physician to help end his or her life with the means of some form of drugs. Involuntary active euthanasia, also known as “mercy killing,” occurs when the patient has not requested death, but has his or her mind set to be relieved from suffering. Then there is nonvoluntary active euthanasia; it denotes that “euthanasia… takes place even though the patient is not competent enough to give consent” (McDougall 2). Passive euthanasia is spoken a lot less in regards to the hotly debated issue; passive euthanasia takes place when no extraordinary means are use to end the patient’s life. In this scenario, ventilators, feeding tubes, medical procedures, etc. are withdrawn in order to allow death to occur naturally. These four types of euthanasia ensues at the consent of the patient or the patient’s guardian/care taker and is directly administered by the physician. Thus why euthanasia differentiates from physician-assisted suicide.
The wildly debated issue over whether to legalize euthanasia or not tends to tie in with physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is when the physician “refrains from administering the lethal dose, but provides a patient with the means to end his or her own life” ( Right to Die). This is where the controversy persist; the physician might not be administering the lethal dose himself, but he is still aiding in the patient’s death and it is equally as bad as if it was voluntary active euthanasia. As mentioned before, all of this goes against the Hippocratic Oath and, if the people has some sort of religious affiliations that are against euthanasia such as Catholicism, Judaism, etc., it goes against those beliefs as well. Furthermore, many believe legalizing active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide “would leave the most vulnerable members of society—the elderly and people with mental and physical disabilities—susceptible to being coerced to end their lives” (“Right to Die”). Also, if the patient’s family is financially unstable, the patient would be more inclined to end his or her life because he or she would not want to burden the family with stupendous expenses.
To some, euthanasia might seem as an outlet or an alternative to dying a painful death, but to some, it is equated to suicide. Whenever the term ‘euthanasia’ comes into a conversation, Dr. Kevorkian comes into the mind of many. Dr. Jack Kevorkian was fascinated by the concept of euthanasia and used it for his “campaign on medical experiments for the dying” (Bio. True Story). Although he assisted in many people’s death, Dr. Kevorkian was tried and acquitted three times, but he was “arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Thomas Youk” (McDougall 136). Thomas Youk was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and wanted to end his life. Dr. Kevorkian was finally found guilty for assisting in the death of a person’s life (Youk’s in this case) because he himself actually administered the lethal dose and was videotaped. After serving some time, Dr. Kevorkian passed away June 3, 2011 due to heart problems.
Although it seems like there are many negative aspects of legalizing euthanasia, the positive outlooks of this debate outweighs the cons. To prevent abuse of this practice, “supporters say, the government should step in by legalizing euthanasia and setting up rules to govern it” (“Euthanasia”). Although the government should step in to make the rules, “people should have the right to control their own bodies… and should be free to ask someone to end their lives” and not have the government interfere in the people’s decision (“Euthanasia”). One should die with dignity and grace, and when the time comes, the person should depart this world rather cling on to it hopelessly. According to supporters of the right-to-die movement, “when patients reach a point where illness, pain, suffering, and lack of freedom have essentially destroyed their quality of life,… they should have the ability to end their lives legally and in a dignified manner” (“Euthanasia”). Though of course, if there are advanced treatments that are proven to help one’s illness, then of course choose it. But if the person’s death is really hopeless and there is nothing much to do about it, then it is time for them to say good-bye. Works Cited Bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, LLC. 2013. Web. 12 Aug. 2013 "Euthanasia." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 17 May 2010. Web. 12 Aug. 2013. McDougall, Jenifer, and Gorman Martha. Euthanasia. Santa Barbra. ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print National Center for Life and Liberty. “How the ‘Right to Die’ Came to America.” NCLL. 2012. Web. 12 Aug. 2013 “Right to Die." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 10 June 2013. Web. 12 Aug. 2013. Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network. Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network. n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2013 United States. Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. “The Hippocratic Oath.” Greek Medicine “I Swear by Apollo Physician…”: Greek Medicine from the Gods to Galen. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 07. Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Aug 2013.