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Seneca's Argument Against Euthanasia

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“Just as I shall select my ship when I am about to go on a voyage, or my house when I propose to take a residence, so I shall choose my death when I am about to depart from life”- Seneca. In our world we are entitled to the right of making certain decisions freely. Seneca believed that along with all of the rights he possessed, he should have also obtained the right to choose the ending of his life. While it seems like a simple request, it is actually a controversial topic in our current society. Euthanasia is the act of killing someone who is extremely sick beyond the point of recovery, and wishes to die. Some firmly believe that euthanasia is a way to help the ill escape their pain; others view it as the complete opposite of God’s desire …show more content…

Life support is a costly expense; however, euthanasia is very affordable. Someone who wishes to end their life, but is refused, will spend a substantial amount of money on life support. It is estimated that the cost of euthanasia is around thirty five dollars; however, proper life support expenses add up to around $35,000-$40,000 (Economic Aspects of Euthanasia, n.d.). Many families who have loved ones that need life support eventually choose to ‘pull the plug’ after placing so much money into this expense. The availability of euthanasia allows patients to decide if they want to continue fighting, prior to spending this excessive amount of money. The expenses that hospitals could be saving due to euthanasia could be put towards other aspects of the hospital. Medical institutions spend 27% of Medicare’s budget on final-year-of-life expenses (Robert Leeson, 2013). The hospitals spend such excessive amounts because the deaths are so prolonged, and the sick require many resources. The government is planning to reduce medical spendings by 716 billion over the next ten years (Avik Roy, 2012). This immense loss of funds will deeply affect hospitals nationwide. Legalizing euthanasia will save hospitals some money, since the ill who choose physician assisted suicide will not need life support. Those who choose euthanasia save hospitals tens of thousands of dollars per person. Hospitals who desire to save money may provide unsuitable treatment if euthanasia is legalized. When medical professionals fail to perform the correct tasks to keep their patient alive, it is known as passive euthanasia. Some examples of passive euthanasia include failure to administer life-extending drugs, switching off life-support machines, and disconnecting a feeding tube. By performing passive euthanasia hospitals save money since they do not have to pay for long term life support bills. Legalizing euthanasia encourages

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