Free Essays on Euthansia

Meanings of terms Why is it an issue? Beliefs about suicide and euthanasia Meanings of Terms Most people in North America die what may be called a bad death. One study found that "More often than not, patients died in pain, their desires concerning treatment neglected, after spending 10 days or more in an intensive care unit." cited in Ref. 1 The word Euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death". One meaning given to the word is "the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies." 2 That is, the term euthanasia normally implies that the act must be initiated by the person who wishes to commit suicide. However, some people define euthanasia to include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life. Like so many moral/ethical/religious terms, "euthanasia" has many meanings. The result is mass confusion. It is important to differentiate among a number of vaguely related terms: Passive Euthanasia: Hastening the death of a person by altering some form of support and letting nature take its course. For example: Removing life support equipment (e.g. turning off a respirator) or Stopping medical procedures, medications etc., or Stopping food and water and allowing the person to dehydrate or starve to death. Not delivering CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and allowing a person, whose heart has stopped, to die. Perhaps the most common form of passive euthanasia is to give a patient large doses of morphine to control pain, in spite of the likelihood that the pain-killer will suppress respiration and cause death earlier than it would otherwise have happened. Such doses of pain killers have a dual effect of relieving pain and hastening death. Administering such medication is regarded as ethical in most political jurisdictions and by most medical societies. These procedures are performed on terminally ill, suffer... Free Essays on Euthansia Free Essays on Euthansia Euthansia Euthanasia is often called â€Å"mercy killing†. It is intentionally making someone die, rather than allowing that person to die naturally. It is sometimes the act of ending someone’s life, who is terminally ill, or is suffering in severe pain. Euthanasia is mostly illegal in the world today. Euthanasia can be considered a form of suicide, if the person afflicted with the problem actively does it. The person volunteering to commit the act to that person can also consider it a form of murder. The positive side of Euthanasia is that it ends a person’s suffering in this world. Many physicians and psychiatrists believe that it may a humane act. From a virtue ethics point of view, it may be appropriate. What we seek in human existence is to be happy, and find happiness. Suffering from a terminal illness, or affliction, could inhibit one’s happiness in life. If the goal is to be happy, then Euthanasia would be an answer for this person. Euthanasia may even bring about happiness in that it is what the person desires and wants, in order to no longer to be a burden to his/her family. Also, Euthanasia would stop the pain and not prolong the dying process. In the utilitarian point of view we all have a duty to our happiness, and a duty to the society. Euthanizing a person based on the society aspect makes sense. With greater and greater emphasis put on managed care today, many doctors are at a financial risk when they provide treatments to patients who are in the dying process. These patients may also feel like not becoming a burden to the society at large, and choose to fulfill a duty – Euthanasia. If the person is in a coma or is brain dead, that person is no use to himself or herself, or society anymore. Euthanasia is a viable method to end an otherwise futile attempt at recovery. The family of the person being euthanized may not want their family members in pain – to suffer. It can be a family duty to do the ... Free Essays on Euthansia Meanings of terms Why is it an issue? Beliefs about suicide and euthanasia Meanings of Terms Most people in North America die what may be called a bad death. One study found that "More often than not, patients died in pain, their desires concerning treatment neglected, after spending 10 days or more in an intensive care unit." cited in Ref. 1 The word Euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death". One meaning given to the word is "the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies." 2 That is, the term euthanasia normally implies that the act must be initiated by the person who wishes to commit suicide. However, some people define euthanasia to include both voluntary and involuntary termination of life. Like so many moral/ethical/religious terms, "euthanasia" has many meanings. The result is mass confusion. It is important to differentiate among a number of vaguely related terms: Passive Euthanasia: Hastening the death of a person by altering some form of support and letting nature take its course. For example: Removing life support equipment (e.g. turning off a respirator) or Stopping medical procedures, medications etc., or Stopping food and water and allowing the person to dehydrate or starve to death. Not delivering CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and allowing a person, whose heart has stopped, to die. Perhaps the most common form of passive euthanasia is to give a patient large doses of morphine to control pain, in spite of the likelihood that the pain-killer will suppress respiration and cause death earlier than it would otherwise have happened. Such doses of pain killers have a dual effect of relieving pain and hastening death. Administering such medication is regarded as ethical in most political jurisdictions and by most medical societies. These procedures are performed on terminally ill, suffer...