Ethical Argument Against Euthanasia In The United States

This coursework is going to argue for and against the current law on euthanasia and perceived problems with the current law.

Euthanasia is the act of terminating extremely ill person’s life in order to relieve them from the suffering the illness is causing them. Euthanasia is only performed on a person with incurable condition, but sometimes there can be other instance where euthanasia can be performed. Most people seek euthanasia when they have unbearable pain and they believe euthanasia is the answer to relieve their pain. Survey in the USA and the Netherlands show that less than a third of people demanded euthanasia because of severe pain. Most people seek euthanasia due to psychological factors, which include depression as they feel they

The question can be very vague if a terminally ill patient who is indeed suffering a great deal of pain and discomfort should be allowed to terminate their life? This question can cause different views and huge amount of controversy. Some people are for euthanasia and argue that patients should be allowed to terminate their life, whereas those against euthanasia argue that it can be misused as its accessible to everyone, and it can lead to disturbing situations for those who misuse it.

There are ethical argument against euthanasia with the legislation of involuntary euthanasia. Lord Walton, who is the chairman of the House of Lords committee on medical ethics said, ‘’We concluded that it was virtually impossible to ensure that all acts of euthanasia were truly voluntary and that any liberalisation of the law in the United Kingdom could not be abused.’’ Lord Walton means

However, there can be other issue when euthanasia is legalised doctors can end up killing very ill patient without asking their consent or their families consent, in order to save money and free up hospital beds. All these situation shows how dangerous it can be if we legalise euthanasia it can lead into the legislation of involuntary euthanasia. There are religious argument against euthanasia , which is the sanctity of life. This means human life is sacred creation of God. Religious believers believe God is the only one that has the right to choose when human life should end. When an individual wish to have euthanasia it’s an act against the will of God and this is known as sin. This belief is shared among many religion such as, Christianity, Jewish and Islamic faiths. Although some individuals believe that quality of life is important than sanctity of life. However, euthanasia is the government can provide cost effective way with dealing with people who want to terminate their life. This can be an issue as health resources are limited, euthanasia can deprive society of resources that they need to help people with curable