Essays in this section cover topics relating to passive euthanasia, active euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. They consider types of euthanasia – voluntary, indirect, non-voluntary and involuntary – together with the relevant ethical, medical, legal and political perspectives. Scroll down for an overview of euthanasia and a guide to writing essays on this topic.
The word "euthanasia" derives from the Greek "eu" meaning "good or well" and "Thanatos" meaning "death." Therefore, euthanasia can be defined as, "good death" (Medicine Net). In more proper terms, euthanasia, which is also known as physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is, “the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the … Read more
Assisted suicide is the act of deliberately assisting or encouraging another person to kill themselves. If a relative of a person with a terminal illness obtained strong sedatives, knowing that the person intended to use the sedatives to kill themselves, they may be considered to be assisting suicide . Assisted suicide is not to … Read more
Religion Assessment By Jacob Grima 10 Blue Definition of Euthanasia: Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. The word "euthanasia" comes straight out of the Greek"eu", goodly or well and "thanatos", death meaning the good death. It refers to the situation when a doctor induces … Read more
In order to discuss the morality of euthanasia, we must first clearly define what euthanasia is. Euthanasia is the process where a patient ends their life in order to relieve themselves of the pain and suffering from a life-threatening disease. While, the legality of euthanasia discusses whether or not the patient has the right … Read more
The practise of Euthanasia is an extremely controversial subject. Within New Zealand currently, the practise of Euthanasia is illegal, because of the strong cultural belief that New Zealand’s society has opposing it, but how unethical is the practise of Euthanasia? And how many people within New Zealand actually disagree with the practise of Euthanasia? … Read more
INTRO:The Webster’s dictionary defines euthanasia as “the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain or suffering” (((((QUOTE)))) many forms of euthanasia are legal in some or all countries. I believe that is was never morally permissible for a society or an individual to perform, or engage in, involuntary euthanasia. However, due to … Read more
“Assisted suicide is a reversal of the proper role of a doctor as a healer, comforter and consoler to an improper role of the physician causing a patient’s death” (Physician-Assisted Suicide). Physician assisted suicide is often overlooked. Physicians are essentially writing a prescription to end a human being’s life. In my opinion, I believe that … Read more
The word ‘morality’ seems to be used in both descriptive and normative meanings. More particularly, the term “morality” can be used either (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/morality-definition 1. descriptively: referring to codes of conduct advocated by a society or a sub-group (e.g. a religion or social group), or adopted by an individual to justify their … Read more
As we as a general population have aged diseases which were rare only a few decades ago are manifesting themselves. Dementia related conditions, cancer wasting diseases have now reached their peak epidemic proportion. Medical technology has progressed over recent years to a point where bodies can be kept alive by artificial means. As a result … Read more
Orson Welles, Citizen Kane actor and director, once remarked, “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story” (BrainyQuote.com). The occurrence of a happy ending is prevalent in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, in which its characters desperately look forward to achieving their American Dreams. The … Read more
This essay argues that the moral permissibility of physician assisted suicide is supported by the argument for autonomy.
As the practice of intentionally ending one’s life in order to relieve pain and suffering, euthanasia should be an option that is available for all terminally ill patients to utilize. This medical practice refers to the situation where a doctor induces death with a lethal injection requested by a patient who is suffering boundlessly. Though … Read more
This report is going to discuss ethical issues around euthanasia from the point of view a nurse working at palliative ward and one of her patients. A 65 years old patient with stage 1 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with life expectancy around 3 months, is asking a nurse for help to end his life. What … Read more
The Human Right Court in Europe has alleged that although the Human Rights Convention in Europe protects the right to life, there is no human right to die (Haynes and Thompson 2017). This essay will go into depth about what the clinicians comprehend as a “good death” for the patients, and how under certain extreme … Read more
Euthanasia is the intentional act of putting an end to a patient’s life to relieve the pain and suffering. It is comprised of two Greek words – Eu and Thanatos meaning, literally, ‘a good death’. Today, ‘euthanasia’ is generally understood to mean the bringing about of a good death- ‘mercy killing’ where one person, A, … Read more
The uncertainty and complexity surrounding the legality of euthanasia has plagued the English legal system for decades, with terminally ill patients insisting they should have the choice to die when and how they wish. At present, suicide is legal but section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961 affirms that those who assist these patients in … Read more
Legalising euthanasia puts the vulnerable such as elderly, mentally ill & children at risk of non-voluntary or even involuntary euthanasia.
Euthanasia by definition is ‘the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma’ (English Oxford Dictionary, 2016). The word Euthanasia is derived from the Greek meaning of ‘easy death’. It can also be referred to as ‘assisted suicide’. There are two classifications of ways in which … Read more
Do you support or oppose euthanasia? Euthanasia happens in many places around the world, some where it has been legalised, and some where it has not. Euthanasia is only currently legal in 6 countries and in 6 US states, but is illegal everywhere else around the world. Currently in the UK, euthanasia is illegal, and … Read more
There are over seven million people in hospitals in the United States alone (Statista). The advanced technology today has allowed many of those in the medical industry to tinker, revive, and extend a patient’s life; these practices have saved tens of thousands of people, who are suffering from diseases. With this power, comes many controversies … Read more
Euthanasia, according to BBC (n.d.), refers to the intentional termination of a life to relieve the suffering of a very sick person. It can be carried out at the person’s requests, or those of their relatives, doctors, or the courts if they are too sick to decide. This practice is illegal in many countries, including … Read more
The word Euthanasia is derived from the Greek language where Euth means good and Thanasi means death. Euthanasia is also known as mercy killing. Euthanasia is a way of painlessly terminating the lives of those who are either suffering from and incurable disease or are in immense pain. Although doctors are put under oath to … Read more
The subject of euthanasia, or the ending of someone’s life to prevent their future suffering, is a much-debated topic and the title suggests that often only passive euthanasia (indirect) is morally justifiable while active euthanasia (direct) rarely ever is. I will first describe the premises of the Kill and Let Die (KLD) principle and argue … Read more
The subject of euthanasia a much-debated topic and the title suggests that often only passive euthanasia is morally justifiable while active euthanasia rarely ever is. I will motivate this claim with Foot’s arguments, and then seek to undermine and dismiss the claim with help from Rachels and Singer. Ultimately, I will conclude that medical killing … Read more
Euthanasia can be described as a practice of killing or allowing the death of an individual, who is severely sick or injured (Lecture Slides, Week 1). When suffering becomes unbearable to a person their family or themselves turn to euthanasia as the last resort to end the pain. To elaborate, euthanasia is only performed when … Read more
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines euthanasia as “ the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.” Euthanasia comes from the Greek words, Eu (good) and Thanatosis (death), and it means “Good Death,” “Gentle and … Read more
I will be writing about virtue ethics, the moral character of a person that is carrying out an action. Versus euthanasia which is the painless killing of suffering patients with the agreement of the patient and doctor. I will state my personal view on the matter and why agree or disagree. Virtue Ethics was created … Read more
Aside from the personal benefits that come along with euthanasia, there are also legal rights which provide even more support as to why euthanasia should be legalized. “The Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the personal choice of a mentally competent, terminally ill individual to terminate unendurable suffering and hasten inevitable death” (“ACLU”). … Read more
The word “euthanasia” in Greek means “good death”. Many people believe that a better representation of the definition is ‘the ending of a patient’s life according to certain principles and under certain circumstances, where medicine cannot cure or provide a life of acceptable quality’. According to one article, “The goal of euthanasia is to bring … Read more
The dispute over whether euthanasia is acceptable or not has existed for a long time, however, it did not gain attention until the 1950’s Sander Trial in which, Dr. Hermann Sander was charged with killing his patient at request (Dowbiggin). Ian Dowbiggin, professor of history and writer of medicine history topics, discusses the debate over … Read more
The Right to Die has proven a controversial statement that divides opinions on moral interpretations. It was the key focus of R Nicklinson v Ministry of Justice 2014, during which the law and Parliament stood against it. Mr. Nicklinson, paralysed by a stroke some years earlier, contested the 1961 Suicide Act as a violation of … Read more
Mr. Blackburn Inquiry Skills 2 Dec. 1996 Euthanasia In today’s society there are many disagreements about the rights and wrongs of euthanasia. Although death is unavoidable for human beings, suffering before death is unbearable not only for terminal patients but for the family members and friends. Euthanasia comes from the Greek word “Thanatos” meaning death … Read more
Define your chosen issue My chosen issue is the issue of Euthanasia, known as mercy killing, is the act of ending someone’s life if they are in pain or become a burden to their relatives. Be more explicit Outline an argument for and an argument against the issue, from a secular perspective Euthanasia allows the … Read more
A rightful death has always had controversy in how it was defined. As time and medical procedures and technology have improved the thoughts of a rightful death have been updated. As of now, a ‘rightful death’ is seen as a new protocol for physician assisted-suicide. The right to assisted suicide is a sensitive topic … Read more
In 2015-2016 5,872 dogs in the RSPCA were euthanized. 67.12% was for behavioral problems, 24.69% were for medical reasons, 4.77% was for legal action, and 2.96% was infectious. A dying dog is euthanized to put it out of its misery, but what about the other 72.26%? Is euthanizing animals an act of mercy, or an … Read more
Is there a moral difference between active and passive euthanasia? The philosopher James Rachels contends that there is no significant moral difference between the two, while Philippa Foot believes there is a crucial moral distinction. This essay will explore the arguments put forth by Rachels and Foot, using illustrative examples and academic theories to deepen … Read more
Suicide is the act or instance of taking one's own life voluntarily or intentionally, especially if that person is not sensible. Euthanasia is the act or practice of killing individuals who are hopelessly sick or injured for reasons of mercy. Doctor-assisted suicide is a term used to describe the act of a doctor or … Read more
1. What is the ethical issue? How do you know this is an ethical issue? The ethical issue is whether euthanasia should be made legal in Australia or not. Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally terminating a person’s life, typically to free them of pain and suffering. In recent years, this issue has become a … Read more
Thesis: Assisted Suicide should be fully legalized in the United States because it provides people that are unable to live life to the fullest (sick, injured, dying) with a death on their own terms, it is more humane than letting them suffer and die a painful death, and it would free up hospital beds, increase … Read more
Individuals who suffer from terminal illness must be given the choice of whether or not to commit suicide. Better yet, they might as well let someone else murder them instead. Furthermore, if an individual is already dying, everyone present should act as bystanders while they die rather than rushing to extend a helping hand. While … Read more
When medicinal interventions are eventually no longer able to give expected results, the decision to either continue aggressive treatment or transition to hospice care is a major concern and difficulty faced by many terminally ill patients and their families. Modern medicine, although has great benefits in prolonging life, has limitations in treating the psychological and … Read more
Many have heard about Physician-assisted suicide. This term signifies the voluntary ending of an individual’s own life by dispensing a deadly matter along with the facilitation of a doctor. This act is provided to patients who are competent with the primary intention of ending his or her life. Many deem doctor assisted suicide is in … Read more
In America there are about 42,000 suicides annually, of which only 2 to 4 percent are by people who are terminally ill. Many of these patients that ask to end their life usually have depression or another treatable mental disease. Euthanasia is an inhumane alternative for terminally ill loved ones who are undergoing intense or … Read more
In recent years, the debate about whether assisted dying (sometimes referred to as assisted suicide or euthanasia) should be legalised revolves around whether people have the free will to decide when they want to end their own life. In 2002 the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise assisted dying. During 2010, … Read more
In earlier periods of human history, physicians could do little to stave off death; now, improvements in public sanitation, and the many technologies of modern medicine have combined to lengthen the human lifespan, particularly in the developed world. The result is that, with its sophisticated health-care systems, most the population in these countries die at … Read more
Within the past decade, Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) has become a controversial topic within the medical field. However, many people are not entirely aware of the terminology regarding PAS (3). PAS is when a physician provides the necessary means and/or information to enable the patient to perform a life-ending act (Opinion 2.211). To get a … Read more
Melina Perez Professor swan English 122-74 15 December 2016 Euthanasia Bringing home a new baby is more than likely to be celebrated because of society’s generalized view of life. Many times when the topic of Euthanasia is brought up there is a sense of disappointment in anyone’s thought for ever considering it an option. … Read more
Euthanasia is a very controversial topic in our society today as mercy killing is seen as a personal choice that is currently being controlled by the law. Euthanasia is deemed a personal choice that should be decided by the individual and not by the law, due to the fact that it is essentially assisted suicide; … Read more
Page of 3 ZOOM Why The Giver Shouldn’t Be BannedWalking into a library, a place of learning and enlightenment, one expects to be able to explore the world through written word. However, banned books over time have shut out important voices, and in turn, closed doors for students. Throughout history, some of the most … Read more
This essay will examine what Physician-Assisted Suicide is, or PAS. Physician-Assisted Suicide, or death, is when physicians prescribe medications to people who have a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live. Physician-assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, in which the patient is the one killing themselves with the help … Read more
Euthanasia, one of the subjects that have globally faced intense debate over time, has been considered with many different views presented in terms of legal and ethical attention to patients and their families. Euthanasia impacts so many people. Instead of legalizing euthanasia, more research needs to be done to develop better treatments and medications. Instead … Read more
Introduction When there are no more options and death and disease are inevitably going to take over, how far should one go to be sure they die on their own terms? Physician-assisted suicide is a topic that has been debated over since the early 1980’s. Suicide itself is a very controversial topic; the controversy gets … Read more
Euthanasia is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. It also means a deliberate action with the express intention of ending a life to relieve persistent suffering. It is interpreted as the practice of ending a life in a painless procedure or assisted suicide. … Read more
The debate surrounding the morality of physician-assisted-death (PAD) reflects a number of stark conflicts between and within fundamental moral principles. Front and center are the principles of autonomy and beneficence. The principle of autonomy sustains that “competent patients should be allowed to exercise their capacity for self-determination” and the principle of beneficence asserts that doctors … Read more
Jordan Rashba 31 May 2018 Professor Cela Applied Ethics The issue I am discussing is the ethics of assisted suicide and end of life decisions. Many people who are afflicted with an illness that is incurable and irreversible must think of the way in which they want to die, or if they want to … Read more
Paste youLife is a holy right, the dignity of God to the human being in this world, no one can relinquish this right or abandon it, it is considered a crime of "murder of the soul", and it is even considered the most heinous crimes. All religions have agreed that life is a gift … Read more
Yingkai Zhao Professor Crawford LING 113A 14 March 2018 Physician Assisted Suicide: Annotated Bibliography Working Thesis: Physician Assisted Suicide on terminally ill patients should be legalized. Because 1. 2. 3. Brody, Howard. "Physician-assisted suicide should be legalized." New England Journal of Medicine 331 (1994): 119-123. In the scholarly article "Physician-Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalized" … Read more
Synopsis of HLCD project: 1) Methodology: I) Introduction Euthanasia is a word derived from two greek letters eu (good) and thanatos (death), so by the meaning itself euthanasia means good death. Euthanasia is generally granted to a patient who is invariably in a vegetative state and has negligible chances to recover. Many a countries in … Read more
In the UK today, around three quarters of deaths are ‘predictable’ and follow a periodic trend of chronic illnesses such as cancer or heart diseases. It was found from the survey of general practitioners that 63%of deaths in England involved an ‘end of life decision’ by a medical practitioner. The extent to which people should … Read more
Definition Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is defined as the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. The patient must be competent and terminally ill with six months or less to live. Many people argue that PAS has its proponents and its opponents. … Read more
The multidimensionality and intersection of ethical, medical and political perspectives has brought euthanasia to the center of rigorous debate. While vast literature on euthanasia can be collected, there is no cohesive agreement on the definition of euthanasia itself. For the purpose of this overview, euthanasia refers to voluntary euthanasia whereby expressed consent of the party is required and will be defined in three parts – passive euthanasia, active euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide.
Passive euthanasia is defined by many academics (Fuchs, 1998; Danis, Emanuel, & Silverman, 2009; Fost, 2011) to be the practice of the act of omission by withholding treatment, or by withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. The conventional bioethics doctrine has given passive euthanasia more legitimacy and hence passive euthanasia is viewed with more compassion and less objection as compared to other types of euthanasia. As such, passive euthanasia has been legalized in significantly more countries as compared to the two other types. Active euthanasia is generally defined to be the deliberate act of causing the end of a patient’s life. However, this distinction from passive euthanasia may not be immediately apparent. Hence, this article will use the working definition conceived by Brock (1992).
According to Brock (1992), active euthanasia is defined as having another, usually a physician, providing and administering the means of death, usually a lethal dosage of medicine. Physician-assisted suicide will only require the physician to provide the lethal dosage as the patient will administer the medication his or herself. As a result of its controversial nature and ethical ramifications, active euthanasia continues to be outlawed in many countries over the world and even countries that have legalized physician-assisted suicide may not have legalized active euthanasia. Hence, the research questions in the long essay are –
(a) Does failing to legalise euthanasia violate human rights?
(b) Why does the UK fail to legalise active euthanasia? And
(c) If so, how will outlawing euthanasia affect the different stakeholders in the UK?
In the United Kingdom (UK), passive euthanasia is implicitly allowed. According to National Health Service (England) (2017), “withdrawing life-sustaining treatment because it’s in the person’s best interests can be part of good palliative care and is not euthanasia”. While the healthcare system in the UK does not acknowledge withdrawing life-sustaining treatment as euthanasia, it is important to note that it is indeed passive euthanasia and should be considered duly so. However, active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide continue to be against the law. Euthanasia is considered murder and carries a life penalty. According to the Suicide Act 1961, physician-assisted suicide considered as encouraging or assisting someone to end their life, is a criminal offence and offenders will be liable to a maximum prison term of 14 years. However, one of the most noteworthy arguments in favour of active euthanasia (and hence physician-assisted suicides) is that active euthanasia is in many cases more humane than passive euthanasia, and that there is hardly any significant moral difference between killing and letting die (Rachels, 1975). Many proponents of active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicides have also argued that the distinction between passive euthanasia and the other types of euthanasia may not be morally defensible.
Hence, one of the key arguments that arises from this debate would be the violation of human rights – violating the right to live if assisted dying were to be legalised and violating the right to die or die with dignity if assisted dying were to be outlawed (Math & Chaturvedi, 2012; Feinberg, 1978). The debate surrounding euthanasia also lies in the profound disagreement against the innate value of human life. As such, the discussion on human rights is important to understanding the case for euthanasia.
While the issue of legalising active euthanasia has been in the public eye, it has only begun to gain traction and reach heightened public interest in the UK in recent years. This is attributable to more western countries opening its doors to legalising physician-assisted suicide, and subsequently, active euthanasia. To illustrate this, euthanasia has been legalised in Canada in 2015 (Canada Health, 2019) as well as in the state of Victoria in Australia (Health Victoria, 2019) this year. In addition, high-profile cases with terminally ill patients publicly challenging the euthanasia laws on the grounds of human rights and then refused legal permission have brought euthanasia and its ethical ramifications back to the forefront of people’s minds (BBC, 2018). Public opinion in UK has also been shifting towards legalising euthanasia. According to a public opinion poll by My Death, My Opinion (MDMD), 93% of those surveyed considered it acceptable to allow assisted suicide in some circumstances (Bowcott, 2019). However, efforts to change government policy on euthanasia have not been met with success. Hence, the UK stands out peculiarly amongst the European countries that have progressively began to accept and legalise euthanasia. Despite these statistics and the growing support for a change in euthanasia laws, the House of Commons rejected the assisted dying bill by an overwhelming majority (Mason, 2015). Thus, it is imperative that the reasons behind the growing gap between public opinion and the public policy that the government has chosen should be examined.
Moreover, outlawing active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicides may have pressing consequences. The debate on euthanasia in UK has been dominated by suicide tourism to other countries. Using publicly available data from Dignitas and figures supplied through private correspondence with Life Circle, both of which are physician-assisted suicide clinics, Dignity in Dying (2019) estimates that one person every 8 days from the UK travels to Switzerland to end their lives legally. It is also estimated that one in five people who travel to Switzerland to end their lives are from the UK (Siddique, 2014). According to the data disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act request by campaign group Dignity in Dying (2014), 7% of all suicides were by terminally ill people, which when applied across the nation would indicate that at least 300 suicides were by the terminally ill. It is argued that the current euthanasia laws, the terminally ill may choose to take matters in their own hands and die in distressing circumstances. On the other end of the spectrum, some of the most vocal groups that are resistant towards legalising euthanasia are the disabled rights movements and religious groups. Many argue that legalising euthanasia will take away their human right to live with dignity due to the many existing stigmas surrounding disability – legalising euthanasia will further this stigma and encourage suicide (Behuniak, 2011). Hence, these ramifications towards different stakeholders should also be thoroughly examined when making the case of euthanasia in the United Kingdom.
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There are various topics, themes, and points that should be raised in a discussion about euthanasia.
