Ethical Dilemmas Of Euthanasia Essay

Exploring the Ethical Dimensions of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is one of the society’s most widely and fiercely debated moral issues. People tend to polarize around pro-life and pro-choice positions in this ethical issue as it ranks in terms of controversy with debates surrounding abortion. Some people argue that euthanasia is ethically permissible for a dying person or patient who has chosen to release themselves from unbearable suffering at the end of their life. Yet some people possess the completely opposing view where they argue that euthanasia is not ethically permissible, because it contradicts the traditional duty of a physician, which is to preserve life, to do no “murder” and to do no harm. Today, there are several countries that allow

This is a humane way to allow the patients who have suffered so much from terminal illness and incurable injury to die painlessly. The legalization of euthanasia is also the quickest way to give someone the peace that he or she deserves and it would end the physical and emotional suffering not only of the patient but of their immediate family member and caregivers. The purpose of medical science is to alleviate human suffering, not to prolong it, and the stricture against voluntary euthanasia contributes to the continuation of suffering in many cases. This is a real-life story which I read from a “Campaign of Dignity in Dying” website. Colin, a man who was diagnosed with terminal cancer asked his doctor how long he had left in the week leading up to his death. When the doctor told Colin that he expected him to live for about another week, he cried—not because he had so little time left—but because he was in such pain, unable to eat or sleep properly and could endure his illness. Yet he still has to bear all these sufferings for another week before he could be freed. Despite the hospital’s best efforts, he did not have the death he wished for. If and only if euthanasia or physical-assisted suicide was legalized, Colin and other patients who are encountering similar situations do not have to prolong their suffering. It is not right to treat people in such a way. They have already suffered so much as they

Life is meant to be a beautiful, joyful experience and once these enjoyable aspects of life have ceased, the will to live diminishes. Everyone has the right to choose how and when to die if they are already in so much pains, suffering in incurable illness and do not wish to live any longer. “It’s about the right to control how much an individual have to suffer and when and how he or she dies. It’s about having some control over one’s dying process in a system that can aggressively prolong life with invasive technology” (Orfali 14). Legalization of euthanasia would be a good thing for everyone as an individual right to determine the time and manner of their death is far more important than keeping a suffering person alive for the sake of “preserving life.” For some of them, euthanasia is not only humane and ethical, but also allows the person the ability to maintain their dignity by planning their own end, thus letting them die with dignity and at peace. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES) states in their official website that, “Each person has value and is worthy of respect, has basic rights and freedoms and the power to control his or her