Ethics Of Euthanasia Essay

Euthanasia is one major issue in the medical field. There are many who disagree with the ethics of it however, in order to have a complete understanding of euthanasia, one must put himself or herself in the other person's shoes. A perfect example of this is a woman named Brittany Maynard. At the age of 29 Brittany was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer. After she found out she had two surgeries in an effort to get rid of the tumor. But in April, her tumor came back and learned it was so big it was inoperable. The doctors wanted to try full brain radiation which would most likely burn her scalp along with many other excruciating symptoms. At first, she considered living in hospice care until she came to realize she will slowly become

The worst part she had to deal with is having her family watch every step. So she decided to move to Oregon, a state, where she was allowed to be euthanized (Maynard). She states, “When my suffering becomes too great, I can say to all those I love, "I love you; come be by my side, and come say goodbye as I pass into whatever's next." I will die upstairs in my bedroom with my husband, mother, stepfather and best friend by my side and pass peacefully. I can't imagine trying to rob anyone else of that choice.” (Maynard, 20) There are many people that disagree with Brittany Maynard choice. In the medical field there are many restrictions on how a person should live or die like in the case of Brittany. These standards are set by state allowing another unknown person to decide how another should die. However, there are many opinions about this issue and the strongest being that euthanasia is a personal issue, and no one especially the state should restrict a patient's right to

There are three types of euthanasia Voluntary, Non-Voluntary, and Physician Assisted Suicide. Voluntary euthanasia is the internal administration of lethal drugs in order to terminate painlessly the life of a patient suffering from an incurable condition unbearable by the patient, at this patient’s requests (Gielen, 304). Non-Voluntary euthanasia is the internal administration of lethal drugs in order to terminate painlessly the life of a patient suffering from an incurable condition unbearable, not at the patient's request (Gielen, 304). Physician assisted suicide is when a physician intentionally assisting a patient, at this patient’s request, to terminate his or her life. (Gielen, 304) According to Rogatz there are several questions that a patient must pass in order to be accepted by the doctor to be euthanized . The questions are;

1.The patient must have an incurable condition causing severe, unrelenting suffering. 2.The patient must understand his or her condition and prognosis, which must be verified by an independent second