They argue that patients hold the autonomy to decide what is good for them. For patients with incurable diseases which essentially makes the patient lack the meaning and purpose of existence, assisted death should be their best option as this will lessen they distress and emotional suffering of people close to her (Levene 205)
Jack Kevorkian, known for helping terminal patients to die received an imprisonment for a second-degree murder for providing suicide advice to patients. He served 8 years of his ten to twenty five years prison sentence and he got released on parole in 2007 (McDougall & Gorman 584)
Her parents mainly encountered difficulties in receiving acceptance from the authorities because those opposing euthanasia claimed that it was not clear what the patient's actual intentions were as long as she could not express herself (Dowbiggin 164). Non-voluntary euthanasia continues to be one of the most important impediments in accepting the process, with people supporting the procedure as long as they know that it only takes place when a capable patient explicitly requires a deadly dose of medication on the grounds that his or her suffering is too great and when his or her health condition is likely to worsen or remain the same in the near future (Allen et al
This is still a religious country." 2 While much had changed since the days of Charles Potter, much had remained the same" (Dowbiggin 164)
A terminally-ill patient who knows that he or she will continue to suffer for the next years until his or her death is likely to acknowledge that death is the only viable solution. The masses have traditionally grown accustomed to be against euthanasia and one of the most common justifications they provide in regard to the topic is that suffering is normal and one should not try to remove it when there is no alternative other than prolonged pain (Neuhaus 65)
). Passive euthanasia is also debated for the fact that it does not guarantee the conventional benefits of euthanasia (a rapid and painless death), considering that doctors do not know for sure if patients who are in a vegetative state have sensations and are thus unable to tell whether or not these people actually go through extreme pain during the last moments of their lives (Rayner 31)
If people will have accepted euthanasia, decades of years ago, then there might have undercut the urgency of the research efforts that led to the discovery of those treatments. If euthanasia will be socially accepted now, people may well delay by decades the discovery of effective treatments for those diseases that are now terminal (Brock 1999)
They are citizens and a significant part of the society around them. People should be very worried about what the institutionalization of euthanasia will do to society, in general, how will the civilians regard murderers? (Brody 1988)
When a truer form of compassion is found in palliative care, the ground shifts to an appeal to human rights, especially to the sovereignty of self- determination." (Gormally, 1997)
Melanie Mills Mills did not fully state that she is against euthanasia or not. However, she stated that there should be boundaries and/or compromises (Mills, 2006)
In a more religious point-of-view, euthanasia is an act that is and should not be socially accepted. However peaceful the act is done, it is still an act of killing (Nesbitt, 1995)
, 2000) Levinas totally disagrees with the idea of euthanasia. Like the common perceptions of those who are against euthanasia, Levinas argues that nobody has the right to decide for the death of somebody else (Nuyen, 2000)
For him, if one is competent enough to decide on what to do with his body, his life or his sickness, then he should be allowed to act with his desired decision. However, if such decision is done impulsively as a result of varied emotions, then the state has then the right to intervene (Rawls, et
Originally he hooked his patients up to a machine that delivered measured doses of medications, but only after the patient pushed a button to initiate the sequence. More recently, he provided carbon monoxide and a facemask so that his patient could initiate the flow of gas (Robinson, 2002)
Many contemporary medical ethicists agree with Kevorkian, reasoning that the Hippocratic Oath to which physician licensed in the United States swear before beginning their medical practice, was conceived long before modern medical science, at a time when life expectancy, and specifically, continued survival after the onset of debilitating disease were virtually inconceivable (Humphry, 2002). Kevorkian and other who share his position believe that the physician's primary role is to prevent suffering, and that this aspect of medical ethics is even more important than the prolongation of life, merely for life's sake (Abrams & Bruckner, 1983)
The Ethics of Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Role of Law: In Kevorkian's view, euthanasia is sometimes warranted by the ethical desire to end the suffering of patients with fatal illnesses who wish to end their lives instead of enduring unnecessary pain before inevitably succumbing to their ailments. Many contemporary medical ethicists agree with Kevorkian, reasoning that the Hippocratic Oath to which physician licensed in the United States swear before beginning their medical practice, was conceived long before modern medical science, at a time when life expectancy, and specifically, continued survival after the onset of debilitating disease were virtually inconceivable (Humphry, 2002)
Euthanasia: Legal Considerations Euthanasia, doctor-assisted suicide, and mercy killing of any type is prohibited by law in the United States. In June of 2007, 79-year-old retired pathologist and patient rights activist Jack Kevorkian was released from federal prison, after serving eight years for his second-degree murder conviction (Martindale, 2007)
There is no "after" in which forgiveness can be asked. This is not the only reason people are against euthanasia, however, another reason many people do not feel it is the right thing to do is because they believe it opens the door to allowing doctors to make a euthanasia decision for patients who are not longer "valuable" from a societal standpoint (Harris, 2001)
Their views might be very different if they had all the information they needed to make a truly informed decision. Those who believe euthanasia should not be allowed often cite religious reasons (Rachels, 1986)
This could include the handicapped, the very sick, and the elderly. If these people are not able to be productive members of society in a financial sense, there are fears that they will be euthanized because of this (Torr, 2000)