Arguments Against Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Euthanasia is defined as “The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma.” I believe that patients suffering a terminal illness should have the right to end their life in order to spare themselves the pain and suffering that their illness will inflict on them. The practice is illegal in most countries and most states in the U.S. As of 2014, euthanasia is only legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, Albania, Colombia, Japan and in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon,Vermont, New Mexico and Montana. Even in the places where euthanasia is legally permissible, many people still

They advocate that the right to die is protected by the same constitutional rights that guarantee rights such as marriage, procreation, and the refusal or termination of life-saving medical treatment. Many of the people that seek euthanasia or PAS are seeking comfort in having a choice in how they end their life. A recent example of this is Brittany Maynard, a 29 year old woman who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Upon finding out about her terminal illness, she decided that she wanted to take her life into her own hands and die when she saw fit to. Murphy and her husband moved across the country to Portland, Oregon in order to receive legal physician assisted suicide. She picked the date in which she decided to die, and prepared to pass away surrounded by her friends and family in her portland home. She decided PAS was right for her because she didn’t want to suffer in pain while her husband, friends, and family slowly watched her wither away until she finally passed. "My glioblastoma is going to kill me and that's out of my control," she told People Magazine last month. "I've discussed with many experts how I would die from it and it's a terrible, terrible way to die. So being able to choose to go with dignity is less terrifying. For people to argue against this choice for

They argue there may be a "slippery slope" from euthanasia to murder, and that legalizing euthanasia will unfairly target the poor and disabled and create incentives for insurance companies to terminate lives in order to save money. One of the most widely accepted arguments against euthanasia is that there is no a way to properly regulate it. Many opponents worry that if it were to be legalized then there would be abuse of the system. Euthanasia would allow for the potential problem of people being pressured to end their lives, especially in the case of the elderly and those of are a financial burden on their loved ones. According to opponents of euthanasia, there is a middle way, that of creative and compassionate caring. Meticulous research in Palliative medicine has in recent years shown that virtually all unpleasant symptoms experienced in the process of terminal illness can be either relieved or substantially alleviated by techniques already available.There is also a fear that people would be coerced into ending their lives in order to save the hospital and insurance companies money, especially in cases where the patient has no chances of getting well again. These worst case situations are what many people fear would happen if it was widely legalized. By legalizing the option of PAS and euthanasia, the