Euthanasia Essay Example for Free

Euthanasia Essay Euthanasia is challenging moral, ethic, and religious values. There are some groups of people who favor the right to die; even the state of Oregon has statutes such as the right-to-die or death-with-dignity. The purpose of these groups is to achieve nationwide recognition of the right to die with dignity. Other groups, such as the Hemlock Society, believe that in justified cases (terminally ill) there is an obligation to help, if asked, a dying person to end his of her life. At the present this is against the law nd the Hemlock Society wants to see this rule modified so that a doctor may help without fear of prosecution (Berger and Berger 162). On the other hand, religious groups are horrified by this idea. For example, the Catholic tradition sees death as a negativity and not as something one has a right to. In this tradition, spiritual death in which human being rejects the offer of Gods self-disclosure and cuts himself or herself off from the source of supernatural life, is worse than physical death. Thus, to directly take the life of a person is not only wrong because of the harm done to the other party, but, for Catholics, it is also rong because it is an act of appropriating to oneself an activity reserved to God alone (Berger and Berger 14). There is no need for euthanasia. God gave life and only God should resolve when life ends. In the article Active and Passive Euthanasia, Rachels describes the situation of a patient who is dying of incurable cancer of the throat. He was certain to die within a few days, but he did not wanted to go on living for those days, since the pain was unbearable. So, he asked the doctor to put an end to it (Rachels 485). Life is sacred, and this illustration provides a clear denial for the physical pain and not for the ife itself. Therefore, if there were methods to alleviate the pain caused by any disease, fewer patients would opt for euthanasia. Indeed, no one (doctor, patient, family) would have to attribute to him of herself a decision reserved only for God. Life is a gift from God, and euthanasia represents a crime against God. Another objection to euthanasia is the fact that physicians may not be completely assured that a patient is dying. There are practitioners who contend that no one really knows when death is inevitable(Frank J. Ayd, Jr. qtd in Larue 9). Sidney Hook is n example of this fact. He was a stricken patient who suffered from congestive heart failure. While in the hospital, Hook experienced violent and painful hiccups for several days. His left side and one of his vocal cords became paralyzed. The physician who was assisting Hook did not know if Hooks case was incurable. For this reason, at Hooks request he refused to discontinue all life supporting services. Miraculously enough, a month later Sidney Hook was discharged form the hospital (Hook 483). He survived what many people believe to be an irreversible coma. Euthanasia is unnecessary. In addition, doctors are, as well as patients, human beings with feelings and emotions. The purpose of their professional career is to assist and cure the ill. They have been prepared to save not to kill. Adopting euthanasia as part of their medical practice would contradict with the purpose of their existence, as doctors. Medical practitioners are not prepared to deal with some of the psychosocial dimensions of dying and death. Their training has prepared them as rescuers form illness and pain, and physicians may see themselves as archrivals of death (Larue 11). Legalizing euthanasia could lead to involuntary euthanasia. And, because this practice can be performed without the patients knowledge, newborn infants with defects, comatose people, and senile aged, to mention some, could eventually be killed as the terminally ill. As Marcia Angell explain in her essay, The Supreme Court and Physician- Assisted Suicide-The Ultimate Right, although it is possible that we may someday decide to legalize voluntary euthanasia under certain circumstances or assisted suicide for patients who are terminally ill, legalizing assisted suicide for the dying does not in itself make these other decisions nevitable (Angell 504). Thus, euthanasia should not be legalized in this country. More over, depressed patients would have the option to request euthanasia. And, they will since depression is a state of mind that renders people unable to think rationally. As Marcia Angell states, depressed patients would seek physician-assisted suicide rather than help for their depression (The Supreme Court and Physician-Assisted Suicide-The Ultimate Right 505). Depression is a treatable problem and does not count as an irreversible suffering. People in such conditions usually feel nwanted. They do not see a reason why they should continue on with their lives. However, these people are in great need of love. They do not need euthanasia as an option. Contemporary advances in medical technology have made possible the prolongation of life. Indeed, it has contributed to the inability for Americans to accept death. Americans have developed a paradoxical relationship with death-we know more about the causes and conditions surrounding death, but we have not equipped ourselves emotionally to cope with dying and death (Dickinson and Leming13). Nevertheless, illness and disability at advanced age have created the possibility for the act of painlessly ending the life of a person. Groups of people who support euthanasia believe that it is the quality of life that should influence the decision and that death may be preferable to a severely impaired life (Rottenberg 481). However, life is sacred, and no matter how severely disable the patient may be, no human being can arrogate to him- or herself a decision reserved for God (Rottenberg 481). Doctors are not totally convinced of when a patient is dying. They may misdiagnose the ailment such as Sidney Hook who survived from a presumed to be irreversible coma. Depressed patients would have the option to request physician-assisted suicide instead of help for their depression. Even in the terminally ill, a request for assisted suicide might signify treatable depression, not irreversible suffering (Angell 505). More over, euthanasia would create a moral slippery slope. It is impossible to avoid slippery slopes in medicine (or in any aspect of life) (Angell 504). For these reasons euthanasia should not be legalized in this country.