Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide Essay
Candace Shorter
12/17/15
Medical Law & Ethics
Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide Euthanasia or attempted suicide is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. In most countries this method is illegal. Euthanasia carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison in the UK. In the USA the law varies in some states.
There are four different forms of euthanasia. Voluntary, involuntary, active and passive. Voluntary euthanasia occurs when the decision is made by the person who is dying. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when the patient is unconscious or unable. In active euthanasia a person directly and deliberately causes the patient's death. In passive euthanasia they don't directly take the patient's life, they just allow them to die. Active euthanasia is when death is brought about by an act for example when a person is killed by being given an overdose of pain killers.
Passive euthanasia is when death is brought about by an omission or when someone lets the person die. This can be by withdrawing or withholding treatment. Withdrawing treatment is switching off a machine that is keeping a person alive, so that they die of their disease. Withholding treatment is like not carrying out surgery that will extend life for a …show more content…
I think everyone should have a fair chance with life. To me assisted suicide is like playing God. Some pros of euthanasia are that it provides a way to relieve extreme pain, it provides a way of relief when a person's quality of life is low, frees up medical funds to help other people, and it is another case of freedom of choice. Cons of euthanasia are that it devalues human life, can become a means of health care cost containment, physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death, and the terminally ill and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done
12/17/15
Medical Law & Ethics
Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide Euthanasia or attempted suicide is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. In most countries this method is illegal. Euthanasia carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison in the UK. In the USA the law varies in some states.
There are four different forms of euthanasia. Voluntary, involuntary, active and passive. Voluntary euthanasia occurs when the decision is made by the person who is dying. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when the patient is unconscious or unable. In active euthanasia a person directly and deliberately causes the patient's death. In passive euthanasia they don't directly take the patient's life, they just allow them to die. Active euthanasia is when death is brought about by an act for example when a person is killed by being given an overdose of pain killers.
Passive euthanasia is when death is brought about by an omission or when someone lets the person die. This can be by withdrawing or withholding treatment. Withdrawing treatment is switching off a machine that is keeping a person alive, so that they die of their disease. Withholding treatment is like not carrying out surgery that will extend life for a …show more content…
I think everyone should have a fair chance with life. To me assisted suicide is like playing God. Some pros of euthanasia are that it provides a way to relieve extreme pain, it provides a way of relief when a person's quality of life is low, frees up medical funds to help other people, and it is another case of freedom of choice. Cons of euthanasia are that it devalues human life, can become a means of health care cost containment, physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death, and the terminally ill and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done