Arguments Against Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia Everybody has heard of famous court cases regarding euthanasia or news stories talking about people who have used it, but what is it really? Euthanasia is the practice of ending a human’s life with that person’s consent, either by withholding life supporting medical care and drugs or by a specific act of killing (Newton, 2009). The patient must be in critical care and have very little chance of recovery in order to use euthanasia. Many court cases have fought for the rights to use it on patients and repeatedly their requests are shut down. So should the killing of humans be illegal, or should people be allowed to decide when and how we are going to die? What is Euthanasia? Euthanasia is derived from the Greek word euthanos, which means good death (Dychtwal, 1989). Once it was converted into English, the word translated out to mean a
Physician assisted suicide is similar to euthanasia in many ways but physician assisted suicide may involve prescribing lethal medication, offering advice on various suicidal methods, or helping a patient use a killing device to take their life (Griswold, 2009). Physician assisted suicide differs from euthanasia by the doctor prescribes lethal medication that the patient consumes on their own time instead of killing the patient personally (Newton, 2009). Assisted suicide, like euthanasia, puts the patient in control of the time of their death, the place of their death, and how their death will occur (Walter, 2009). Many laws ban the use of both of these forms of suicide, but many advocates for euthanasia are fighting for the right to use it (Supreme Court upholds right to die, 2003). Much debate is up about the quality of life versus the length of life, which one is more important? (Supreme Court upholds right to die,