ipl-logo

Ethical Dilemma Of Euthanasia

847 Words4 Pages

Euthanasia Being an Ethical Dilemma
Natasha N. Raju
California State University of Long Beach

Abstract
An ethical issue such as euthanasia raises many questions in our society. It can be moral or immoral to an individual or a society as a whole. Patients who are competent to make that decision are those who have suffered enough and don’t to suffer anymore. Then there are some patients who not incompetent and do not have that choice to make. Sometimes families are not able to make a decision either. People may think that death should happen when it happens by itself. Those don’t agree with euthanasia as being an option think it is immoral and should not be legal. This issue is very important because it pertains to one’s life. …show more content…

It has been an ethical dilemma for years now. “Euthanasia, also known as assisted suicide, physician-assisted suicide (dying) , doctor-assisted dying (suicide) , and more loosely termed mercy killing, basically means to take a deliberate action with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable (persistent, unstoppable) suffering” (Nordqvist, 2010). Euthanasia is an ethical issue because there those who believe it’s an immoral act and then there are those who think it can be beneficial for the patient. Euthanasia is performed on individuals who want their life to end due to suffering such as pain. Sometimes the patient doesn’t have the opportunity to make that decision. This is when it can become an issue. There are few reasons why it may be a good decision or a bad …show more content…

People have many pros and cons about this dilemma. A few pros to euthanasia are the right to die, patient suffering at end-of-life, slippery slope to legalized murder, Hippocratic Oath and prohibition of killing, and government involvement in end-of-life decisions (Procon, 2010). Patients should have the right to die if they wish to, especially if he or she is severely suffering from an illness. They have the right to make their own decisions as long as they’re competent. Once patients start to suffer at the end of their life, they sometimes might feel like they’re being forced to live. Those who are suffering greatly may not want to live longer because the pain they feel everyday may be excruciating. Hippocratic Oath is still held sacred by physicians: to treat the ill to the best of one's ability, to preserve a patient's privacy, and so on (Medicine net, 2013). Physicians have the responsibility to treat the patient with the best care possible even if it pertains to euthanasia. All the pros mentioned can be a down side as

Show More
Related

Contending With Preplanned Death: Questions For Clinicians By Joel Yager

1638 Words | 7 Pages

People may choose euthanasia because they are terminally ill and have little to no hope of getting better but are not dying. There are often in a lot of pain and that pain is often hard to relieve for long periods of time. Most people who decide on euthanasia are of sound mind and choose euthanasia because it allows them to die in peace. Many would rather die in peace than continue to be poked and opened. Euthanasia is a controversial topic in its nature because it is about death.

Read More

Euthanasia In Last Cab To Darwin, Why Does Rex Want To Die?

1025 Words | 5 Pages

Stage 1: Reflection Source Analysis Task: Euthanasia 1. Why is euthanasia an ethical issue? Euthanasia is an ethical issue as of the controversies involving the law and religion through their moral values and beliefs. As defined, euthanasia is the practice of a very ill patient ending his or her life in a painless matter, moreover associated with the terms, assisted suicide or merciful killing. Euthanasia is classified as a voluntary or involuntary act, regarding the proceeding the action with or without consent respectively.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

1101 Words | 5 Pages

Those supporting medical euthanasia argue, if the death does not harm others, then the state has no right to interfere. They believe that it is an inherent human right to make a rational and logical choice to die. Many argue that if the patient is terminally

Read More

Arguments Against Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide

932 Words | 4 Pages

The bond that a physician and a patient have is strong. For a physician to see their patient in unimaginable pain is complete agony. I support euthanasia because sometimes it is the only way out of a painful and terrifying death. People against euthanasia are willing to allow people to live a life that is worse than death. A glioblastoma patient named Brittany Maynard said, “I wish there was a cure for my disease but there's not...

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Assisted Suicide

802 Words | 4 Pages

Any Physicians that partakes in assisted-suicide are breaking their Hippocratic oath of harming patients instead of healing patients. Doctors were never supposed to be trained killers but compassionate caregivers. In like manner, euthanasia is just a halfway house to legalizing murder. Henceforth, If terminating life is a beneficial to that person, the reasoning goes, why should euthanasia be limited only to those who can give consent if it is beneficial to society? The effects of legalizing Euthanasia completely could be very detrimental and unneeded in

Read More

Should Euthanasia Be Legalized Across The United States?

443 Words | 2 Pages

On the other hand, some argue that euthanasia goes against the Hippocratic oath that doctors sworn into. Doctors sworn an oath that doesn’t allow them to kill patients. Doctors are taught to treat their patients to the best of their ability. Therefore, allowing euthanasia will go against doctors training and belief.

Read More

Ethical Dilemmas Of Euthanasia

1153 Words | 5 Pages

Ethical Dilemmas Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, is currently legal in four states (Eareckson Tada, 2015). This has become a controversial issue in our modern society. Many people support the desire to have death with dignity on their own terms, while others do not think doctors should be placed in the position to end their patient’s life. People with a Christian worldview see euthanasia as an ethical dilemma, that concerns their core beliefs, and affects how they resolve the dilemma, which involves consequences and benefits from the resolution, and the resolution differs in comparison to another worldview option. Joni was a vibrant and physically healthy teenager when a diving accident with her friends left her as a quadriplegic.

Read More

Regardles Arguments Against Euthanasia

544 Words | 3 Pages

It is important that we understand why euthanasia is being offered, and why we should not judge. It should be legal because it allows the terminally ill to end there suffering without pain and on their terms. The discussion revolves around the right to life. Those who are against it argue that euthanasia breaks the terms on a person ’s right to live.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Voluntary Active Euthanasia

1289 Words | 6 Pages

A modern ethical dilemma in the field of medicine is the morality of Euthanasia. Euthanasia is defined as, “directly or indirectly bringing about the death of another person for that person’s sake” (Vaughn 626). Euthanasia itself can be divided into two different forms, active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. According to Vaughn, “[a]ctive euthanasia is killing, while passive euthanasia is letting die” (626). Through voluntary passive euthanasia, a person dies only through the inaction of another person.

Read More

Ethical Issues Surrounding Euthanasia

1289 Words | 6 Pages

The topic of euthanasia has many complicated elements and moral perspectives surrounding it. By definition,

Read More

Euthanasia Is Wrong Essay

920 Words | 4 Pages

Doctors swear to the Hippocratic Oath by pledging, “to do no further harm,” to their patients. Is taking a life through euthanasia within the limits of the oath? Doctors must consider whether their act of taking a life is ethical or an attempt to “play

Read More

What Does It Mean To Say That Euthanasia Should Not Be Law

632 Words | 3 Pages

People who are becoming doctors must take a Hippocratic oath that it's their duty to save life not end it. According to Terminal Illness, “Physicians should not honor such a request [as euthanasia]. While doctors are obliged to respect the desires of patients and family, the choice of death over life cannot be viewed as just another choice of medicine is to maintain its moral structure.” (William 146). With that ethical dilemma, many doctors are being put in a compromising situation that causes them to either

Read More

Euthanasi A Controversial Issue In Today's Society

1341 Words | 6 Pages

Today, the hospitals are filled with patients who want to die because they suffer from chronic and critical illness. When critically ill patients start to realize that their needs are not being met and their suffering is unbearable, they contemplate death. However, the physician should not agree to heed their choices regarding death but should therapize them and make them realize their worth in this world since it is a physician civil duty is to provide care(The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, 1984). If the doctors start accepting the requests of death, this may lead to a total disregard for human life in future. As Keown said,"life is of such absolute worth, that it is wrong either to shorten the life of a patient or to fail to strive to lengthen it” (Keown, 2002).

Read More

Ethical Arguments Against Euthanasia

1234 Words | 5 Pages

A controversial practice that invokes a debate over how beneficial its intentions are is the use of euthanasia. The argument switches between whether or not putting terminally ill patients to death with the assistance of a physician is justifiable and right. Legalizing the practice of euthanasia is a significant topic among many people in society, including doctors and nurses in the medical field, as it forces people to decide where to draw the line between relieving pain and simply killing. While some people see euthanasia as a way to helping a patient by eliminating their pain, it is completely rejected by others who see it as a method of killing.

Read More

The Importance Of Euthanasia

2813 Words | 12 Pages

The availability of medicine allows patients to have a sense of peace of mind when they find out that they are sick. They know that this medication has been tested and proven and is obviously available to get rid of their misery. Being that terminally ill patients have no actual medicine to cure their disease, the option of euthanasia has the effect of a cure on terminally ill patients, as it lessens the pressure of life as the patients know that there will always be this medicine or cure that can relieve all their pain and discomfort if their suffering becomes unbearable. In an article, a retired psychiatric nurse states that, the legalization of voluntary euthanasia would bring people peace of mind (“Starving not the way to go”).

Read More

More about Ethical Dilemma Of Euthanasia

Related Topics

Open Document