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Similarities Between Euthanasia And Utilitarianism

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The idea that every human life is sacred and, therefore, killing an innocent human being regardless of the circumstances is unacceptable, has long dominated the public mind, making various issues like euthanasia a topic of heated debate. Euthanasia, also commonly referred to as mercy killing, can be defined as the act of putting a person to death or allowing to die in order to end pain and suffering. There is a lot of controversy regarding this practice, especially when it comes to the ethical aspect of the issue.
From the Utilitarian perspective, euthanasia is an act that needs to be considered in terms of whether or not it brings the largest amount of good to everyone involved. Utilitarianism is an ethical doctrine based on the idea that whether an action is morally right or wrong depends on its effect. According to its main advocate, Jeremy Bentham, the morality of an action is derived from its utility. In Bentham's theory, the principle of …show more content…

In this regard Singer (2003) points out that if a person decides that the good in their life will no longer be available to them due to the effects of their illness, they have the right to make the decision to end their unhappiness. In addition to this, euthanasia normally affects more than one person. Those closest to the patient will also be relieved from having to share their pain and watch them suffer. In addition to that, both the family members and the medical facility will no longer have to spend money on medical treatment of the patient. Following this logic, we can conclude that euthanasia can augment happiness for a number of people and therefore maximize the utility. However, this kind of reasoning is only applicable in case of voluntary euthanasia, i.e. when a person specifically expressed their wish to end their

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In addition, Williams states that this “policy is a slippery slope” for non-voluntary euthanasia and others may decide for the patient what they think is best, even when the patient does not have a say. William strongly believes that “the dangers of euthanasia are too great to all run the risk of approving it in any form” (William

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Threatening to diminish the value of life is very dangerous. Euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is the practice of doctors intentionally ending a terminally ill patient’s life in what is purportedly a gentle and dignified manner. The term originated in ancient Greek and means “easy death.” Doctors perform euthanasia by administering lethal drugs or by withholding treatment that would prolong the patient’s life. Physician-assisted suicide is also a form of euthanasia, but the difference between the two methods is that in euthanasia, doctors end the patient’s life with lethal injections, whereas, in physician-assisted suicide, patients kill themselves with a lethal amount of drugs prescribed by the doctors.

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Rule utilitarians might also argue that allowing euthanasia is a way to improve the quality of life for individuals who are facing terminal illness or unbearable suffering. If an individual's quality of life is inferior, they might feel that their life is not worth living and that ending their own life is the only option. Allowing euthanasia in these cases might be seen as a way to promote overall happiness by allowing individuals to make decisions that reflect their values and

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Moreover, euthanasia may also serve as an option for families to prevent further expenses for patients that only exist due to life support. Aside from that, international codes and laws for human protection against medical

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Dr. Clarke states that, “so long as the person is a mentally competent adult and his family or doctor are willing to help...then no one else is harmed” (Clarke 4). When an adult chooses euthanasia they are doing so because their life no longer holds any more value to them, they can not keep seeking their individuality, and ultimately it does not cause harm to the community. By “appreciating the deeper meanings of individuality” (Clarke 4) we understand that euthanasia does not cause harm to a person or even their community and further guarantees

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In this circumstances, there is no difference of involuntary euthanasia between killing, so euthanasia could not be legalized as a

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If a patient wants and consents to euthanasia and their case is hopeless, euthanasia can make an impending death come closer. This, in the

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Rachels prefaces her two arguments by explaining that the single most powerful argument in favor of euthanasia is mercy. The concept of mercy and how it relates to euthanasia is quite simple. Terminally ill patients may suffer from pain and agony so terribly inconceivable that it is beyond the comprehension of those who have never experienced it. Mercy dictates that euthanasia is justified in that it ends suffering that is essentially worse than death. The first argument in regards to cases of justified killing functions under the ideological principles of utilitarianism.

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The argument that I am analyzing is found in Philippa Foot’s article Euthanasia. This specific section starts at the beginning on page 88. This argument starts once she talks about the true meaning of Euthanasia and the difficulty in how people see or perceive it. In Foot 's article, she wants to prove that an act of euthanasia is morally permissible, as long as you’re performing it for the right cause or reasons. Foot defines euthanasia as "a matter of opting for death for the good of the one who is to die."

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Euthanasia differs from murder because the killing is done without the systematic selfishness of the killer gaining something. However, the ethic debate centers around the variability of euthanasia. According to Roy Perrett, euthanasia can either be voluntary, involuntary, or non-voluntary. Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient has consented to the quest of assisted suicide, involuntary euthanasia is when the patient does not consent to treatment, and non-voluntary is when the patient in unable to consent, an example would be a terminally ill patient who is in irreversible comatose but has formerly declared desire for euthanasia.

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This is relevant to euthanasia since it means ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. Ending someone’s life might seem cruel at first, but looking at the bigger picture, euthanasia can benefit the patient from relieving pain, and it allows family members to mentally prepare themselves, so they can also catch the patients last words. Everything is planned, so funerals, last words, and many other things can be planned by the patient.

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Assisted suicide Euthanasia is mercy way of helping a patient who is suffering from severe pain from a certain injury or disease to get rid of this pain by mercy killing or assisted suicide. Euthanasia is killing the patient without any rights of taking his own soul which is a gift from god just because he is feeling the pain which could be cured or healed in the future, also refusing medicines and drugs is kind of legal euthanasia even if it is a cause of financial problems. This essay will outline the arguments against euthanasia as no human being should have the right to kill another person even with his permission to avoid suffering from certain pain. Different religions had prohibited euthanasia, there are different ethical arguments as there must be respect for the sanctity of life and all lives must be equal in value, no life is more worth than other just because of suffering pain or injury, some practical problem which make it more prohibitive as there is no way of regulating euthanasia and also gives doctor too much power. So I totally believe that Euthanasia should be banned globally for religious, ethical and practical reasons.

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467). For instance, prolonging the life of a patient who has an incurable illness will only serve to extend the duration of their illness resulting in dissatisfaction with their quality of life. Watching and/or caring for a terminally ill loved one can also take a toll on the family’s well-being, leading to feelings of burnout and unhappiness (Quaghebeur et al., 2009, p. 469). However, when a patient with a terminal illness, is able to receive voluntary active euthanasia, they will experience happiness as they are able to alleviate their agony. As well, once the terminally ill patient is at peace, their family members will feel relief and happiness knowing that their loved one is no longer suffering (Quaghebeur et al., 2009, p. 469).

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Euthanasia is usually used to refer to active euthanasia, and in this sense, euthanasia is usually considered to be criminal homicide, but voluntary, passive euthanasia is widely non-criminal. Voluntary Euthanasia is conducted with the consent of the patient while Involuntary Euthanasia is conducted against the will of the patient. Beginning with the philosophical aspects of euthanasia we must first understand the importance of the sanctity of life. Human life is sacred because God made humankind in His own image, and that each individual human

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INTRODUCTION Euthanasia alludes to the act of deliberately close a life keeping in mind the end goal to assuage torment and enduring. There are different euthanasia laws in each country. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering".[1] In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient"". Euthanasia is sorted in diverse ways, which incorporate voluntary, non-voluntary, or automatic.

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