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PAD Laws To Support Euthanasia

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The current PAD laws support the expansion of the laws to support euthanasia. The liberal view regarding end-of-life situations is that individuals should be morally and legally permitted to exercise self-determination by both active and passive means. The principle arguments for active means are as follows:
1. Right to Autonomy—People have a right to control their lives, including the means of how they die. The idea of self-determination is the foundation of a free society. As long as one’s actions do not directly harm others, one should be free to conduct their lives as they choose. Though our actions are always restricted by competing interests of society, the procedural safeguards in place under the Death with Dignity acts and as would …show more content…
Role of the Physician—This argument involves the idea of showing mercy as well as fulfilling the role of the physician to end pain and suffering. The physician is to do what is best for the patient and treat the patient how she wishes. Though the instinct of self-preservation is a competing view, the PAD statutes already support the physician’s role as a healer. The euthanasia statutes just allow the overall goals to benefit a wider public that is suffering immensely.
4. Treat Others the Way You want to be Treated—Both PAD and euthanasia are supported by the idea that you should treat others the way you would want to be treated. Most of us would want someone to respect our wishes and end our life if we were in intolerable pain, so we should do the same for those in that position. The “Golden Rule” suggests that one should show kindness and give help to those in need. Although the PAD statutes have specific requirements to exercise the treatment, I propose that some of those safeguards should be altered in order for more people to benefit form the purpose of the statute in the first place. The only things that I believe should be changed would be the prognosis and terminally ill requirement. The term terminally ill limits those suffering from diseases that deteriorate and diminish their standard of living. The prognosis requirement also forces those suffering to wait until they only have 6 months left, when they may be in intolerable pain for much longer. The arguments advocating PAD advocate for euthanasia as well and should be adjusted

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