Essay on Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide - 1175 Words

Understanding Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide This paper will address some of the more popular points of interest involved with the euthanasia-assisted suicide discussion. There are less than a dozen questions which would come to mind in the case of the average individual who has a mild interest in this debate, and the following essay presents information which would satisfy that individuals curiosity on these points of common interest. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal in the state of Oregon and in the country of the Netherlands; these are the only two jurisdictions in the world where laws specifically permit euthanasia or assisted suicide. Oregon permits assisted suicide.(Oregon) The Netherlands permits both†¦show more content†¦It would also be assisted suicide if a patient pushes a switch to trigger a fatal injection after the doctor has inserted an intravenous needle into the patients vein. Its true that modern technology keeps people alive who previously would have died earlier. A century ago, high blood pressure, pneumonia, appendicitis, and diabetes likely meant death, often accompanied by excruciating pain. Women had shorter life expectancies than men since many died in childbirth. Antibiotics, immunizations, modern surgery and many of todays routine therapies or medications were unknown then. A lot of people think that euthanasia or assisted suicide is needed so patients wont be forced to remain alive by being hooked up to machines. But the law already permits patients or their surrogates to withhold or withdraw unwanted medical treatment even if that increases the likelihood that the patient will die. Thus, no one needs to be hooked up to machines against their will. Neither the law nor medical ethics requires that everything be done to keep a person alive. Insistence, against the patients wishes, that death be postponed by every means available is contrary to law and practice. There comes a time when continued attempts to cure are not compassionate, wise, or medically sound. T hats when hospice, including in-home hospice care, can be of great help. That is the time when all efforts should be directed to making the patients remaining time comfortable.Show MoreRelatedEssay on Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide - The Will to Live606 Words   |  3 PagesEuthanasia and the Will to Live    The denial of food and fluids to Terri Schindler-Schiavo, the 36 year old Florida woman in a vegetative state since a heart attack, has caused Americans to ponder the fact that any one of them could be in this womans place for a variety of reasons, like an auto accident, fall, mishap, etc. And most Americans dont want to be treated by their family as Terri is being treated by her husband - being denied food and fluids in order to hasten death.    ItRead More Euthanasia Essay - The Controversial Issue of Doctor-Assisted Suicide805 Words   |  4 PagesThe Controversial Issue of Doctor-Assisted Suicide      Ã‚   Imagine youu have just found out you are going to die within three months. 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Euthanasia is Greek for easy or happy deathRead MoreEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide1799 Words   |  8 PagesEuthanasia, which is sometimes referred to as physician assisted suicide are to different practices, euthanasia is â€Å"A doctor intentionally helping a person to commit suicide by providing drugs for self-administration, at the person’s voluntary and competent request.† [Materstvedt, Lars Johan, et al.] Euthanasia however is simply the doctor administering the drug to the patient with the intent to end the pain and suffering of a terminal illness. Euthanasia has been a topic of debate lately withRead MorePros and Cons on Assisted Suicide - Essay1221 Words   |  5 PagesKeri Starkel Pros and cons on assisted suicide Pages 5 What happens to a person when they get so depressed that they are on the verge of suicide? Well the only answer would be to commit it but what if that person cant find the guts to go through it alone. Well then they ask for assistance. This is called assisted suicide. Assisted suicide or in other words euthanasia is the killing by an act of an independent human being for their own benefit. There are many kinds of definitions that one mustRead MoreEssay about Euthanasia Should be Allowed1214 Words   |  5 Pagesare on the verge of suicide? Well the only answer would be to commit it. But what if that person cant find the guts to go through it alone. Well then they ask for assistance. This is called assisted suicide. Assisted suicide or in other words euthanasia is the killing by an act of an independent human being for their own benefit. There are many kinds of definitions that one must argue the fact of, what is euthanasia. Well you would have to keep reading farther on. Euthanasia can either be voluntaryRead More Assisted Suicide Essay824 Words   |  4 Pagesthe fifth assignment for the English class was by far the hardest essay I have had to write. Constantly was I running into problems, and this ended up taking me much longer than I had originally planned. Writing about the opposing side of this topic was very hard, as I usually caught myself writing things that I couldn’t make work in my paper. The writing was very tough to keep on track because it isn’t actually how I feel. This essay helped me to better understand the argument that is presented from