|
|
|
|
|
Under What circumstances, if any, is Euthanasia morally justified?
|
|
|
Under What circumstances, if any, is Euthanasia morally justified? The answer to this question I feel must be entirely based on opinion. The issue of Euthanasia is itself highly controversial, and has become an increasingly contentious issue in contemporary society. There are so many conflicting views in existence that there can be no ultimate right or wrong answer. In this essay I will be looking at the differing opinions of those for and against, but will also offer my own thoughts and understanding of the difficult subject. To this day the European Commission and Court of Human Rights, have not considered the question of Euthanasia, Voluntary or involuntary. In fact Euthanasia is not a word known to English Law. It is a Greek word derived from those for “good” or “Well” and “Death”. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was first used in English to simply mean a quiet and easy death, then the means of procuring this, and then the action of inducing it. The last meaning, being perhaps the most common in use today. As law stands at the moment, the patient and/or the immediate family can stop the use of extraordinary means to prolong the life of someone when biological death is imminent. The American Medical Association (AMA) policy statement, states that euthanasia is “intentional termination of the life of one human being by another” but denies that the cessation of treatment is ‘intentional termination of life’. “It is permissible at least in some cases, to withhold treatment and allow a patient to die, but it is never to take any direct action designed to kill the patient” (James Rachels: 1990: 1). This is the view accepted by most doctors and endorsed by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1973. This is what is legally justified in terms of ‘letting die’, however, there are many different types of, or should I say circumstances in which the act of euthanasia may occur. I shall take this first part of the essay to describe the various cases. It is these types of killings that are held up for moral questioning. Euthanasia is often referred to in the media as Mercy killing, this is the term given to the intentional termination of the life of one human being by another. However, euthanasia can then be split into categories of active, passive, voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is essentially assisted suicide, where the patient asks a doctor to help them die. Non-voluntary euthanasia, is along the same lines as voluntary euthanasia, however in this case the patient cannot be asked for consent. For example if treatment was withdrawn from a patient in a deep coma, or persistant vegetative state, but for their own benefit. Involuntary euthanasia on the other hand occurs in the circumstance where the patient is killed ‘supposedly’ for their sake, but without having given their consent. Active euthanasia is when somebody purposely brings about the death of a patient, so that for example the patient would die of say a lethal injection rather than the cancer that ailes them. Passive Euthanasia however, would be an example of where the actual illness such as the cancer is the eventual cause of death, but this death is made possible by the conscious cessation of treatment from doctors, which if continued could have lengthened the patients life.
|
|
|
|
Still Can't Find What Your Looking For? Then Try a Essay Search!
|
