In the argument for euthanasia, patients who are terminally ill and have no chance of recovering should not have to live a life of pain. The only way these patients can escape from this pain is through euthanasia. Patients should have to lay in a hospital bed all day hooked up tubes. Are they actually living and experiencing life in this state or are they just alive? Since we all have a right to life, shouldn't we have a right to death and choose are time to go? Not only does this cause pain to the patients, it also causes pain and emotional stress towards family members. This increases a patients drive to receive euthanasia because they feel they are a burden to their family and worthless. Euthanasia allows patients to die with dignity, as it puts them at peace and relieves them from the agony they experience when they are living.
Against Euthanasia
In the argument against euthanasia, physicians take a Hippocratic Oath in which they swear they will do all they can to increase the health of their patients, and euthanasia goes against it. The main cause of patients wanting to receive euthanasia is because of depression, which is a treatable illness. Their are several alternatives to euthanasia, such as palliative care, that can increase the well being of patients. If euthanasia were to be legalized, it would cause a slippery slope into it and be abused by physicians. Euthanasia shows a disconcern for patients, as it destroys all chances them recovering. Below is my against essay explaining in depth the different arguments against euthanasia.
The
Slippery Slope to Suicide
The legalization of euthanasia would negatively affect
our society today as it would display a lack of care for those who are
suffering. Allowing people to make the decision to end their own life is
unacceptable and inhumane. Human life is sacred and should be preserved
regardless of your age, sex, religion, race, or health. Most who are
considering euthanasia, often referred to as “assisted suicide”, are seriously
or terminally ill and live a life of frustration. Instead of legalizing a
life-ending option, there should be necessary support provided to improve their
lives. Euthanasia goes against the tradition and morality of the medical field,
has alternative resolutions to the suffering, and could easily be abused
through avoiding regulations and not having consent.
Euthanasia
counters one of the most historical edicts in the medical field, the
Hippocratic Oath, from the time of ancient Greek physical Hippocrates. Health
professionals have been following “First Do No Harm”
since fifth century B.C. Its purpose is to guide them through their practice,
basically saying that they will do nothing to end a patient’s chances of
survival. Assisted suicide is ending every chance a person would have of
survival. From the beginning, doctors have had the moral responsibility to keep
patients alive and do everything in their power to save lives. Ending a life
should not be a part of a healthcare professional’s duty. Despite the fact that
over the years the medical field has been evolving with new medicine and
technology, the overall morality and goal they have should not change.
Legalizing euthanasia would greatly impact the medical field because it is a
direct killing of a patient. It states blatantly in the Hippocratic Oath, “to
please no one I will prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause
death” (Schiavo). Despite if the assisted suicide is requested by a patient, it
still goes against that significant code in the medical field. If this ancient
edict has been respected and followed since fifth century B.C., what gives us a
right to change it now?
Although with the legalization of euthanasia would come
laws and safeguards, the risk of lacking proper consent could lead to the abuse
and misuse of the practice. According to research done by J. Pereira from the
department of Palliative Medicine, “present paper provides evidence that these
laws and safeguards in other countries, currently practicing euthanasia, are
regularly ignored.” As much as other countries that practice euthanasia have
declared that it is not abused, the reality is that the regulations are not
followed properly. Consent is not as necessary and certain as made out to be.
By law, “all euthanasia has to be voluntary, well-considered, informed, and
persistent over time” (Pereira
During a period of time when one is suffering through a
serious or terminal illness, “the desire to die or thoughts of suicide are
simply due to depression, which is treatable” (Schindler). Palliative care is
an alternative to assisted suicide because it takes the negative thoughts of
why a patient wants to kill themselves and gives them self-worth. Healthcare
professionals work with patients and “relieve suffering to provide the best
quality of life for patients and their families” (Schindler).The goal is to
realize that the thoughts of suicide are only due to a patient going through
depression, and depression is fixable through time and effort from the
physicians. Assisted suicide is taking the easy way out. Although palliative
care requires more attention from medical staff, in the long run it is the
right thing to do for the patient. Legalizing euthanasia displays that the
medical field is enabling people to give up instead of fighting to change their
depressed mindset. Making assisted suicide legal would lead to people no longer
making the effort to understand why they are feeling the suicidal thoughts, but
instead just follow through with their current state of mind. It would be way to accessible and if a
patient was having a bad week, even a bad day; they could follow through with
ending their life even if that isn’t truly what was best for them and their
family.
Euthanasia is rejected by one of the most ancient
guidelines for the medical field. If a doctor’s whole purpose is to keep a
patient alive, then why should they be allowed to assist a murder? Despite all
of the arguments against it, accepting euthanasia will open the flood gates for
accepting murder as suicide. Voluntary euthanasia could slowly lead to a
progression of the lack of consent from patients, which could create a slippery
slope towards voluntary euthanasia. The risk of assisted suicide without truly
receiving consent is much of a hazard towards innocent people and their lives.
Instead of allowing them to give in to their suffering, health professionals
should be working hard to change the suicidal mindset of patients. Paying attention to a patient’s feelings and
concerns opens up a bridge of communication that would help treat these
mindsets. The healthy mindset of a patient directly correlates with their
health progression and there are plenty of studies to confirm this. The option
of euthanasia is way too dangerous compared to the simple solution of the
attention provided in palliative care. By allowing the end of their life,
society is displaying their disconcern for those who are suffering and the
chances of a patient recovering are diminished.
Works
cited
Pereira, J. "Legalizing
Euthanasia." Current Oncology. N.p., 2 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Nov.
2013.
Schiavo,
Terri. "Euthanasia." News. Terri Schiavo Life & Hope
Network, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Schindler,
Robert. "Should Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide Be
Legal?" Euthanasia Suicide. ProCon, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Nov.
2013.
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