Their Patients And Some Doctors example essay topic

All humans will die. Approximately 2,155,000 people from the United States will die in one year. The patient's physician, of vital treatment that could prolong the person's life describes passive euthanasia as the intentional discontinuation of life (Wesley 3). Assisted suicide occurs when a health care worker provides a patient with tools and / or medication that will help the patient kill him or herself, without the direct intervention of the care provider.

The drugs that are used that take away the major pain of a dying patient is also likely to kill that patient if it is given in high enough doses (Ward). Active euthanasia takes place when the doctor is responsible for the killing of the patient; many patients who have committed assisted suicide did not receive their prescribed overdoses from their own doctors (Wesley 2). Active euthanasia is illegal in the United States. Only three states have legalized assisted suicide and only Oregon permits physician-assisted suicide. Thirty-five states, including Colorado, have statutes criminalizing assisted suicide and nine states criminalize assisted suicide through common law. In addition to active and passive euthanasia there are three other categories of euthanasia: voluntary, non-voluntary, and involuntary (Wesley 2).

Voluntary, there is written or spoken consent from the patient; non-voluntary, the patient can not voice his or her opinion because of unconsciousness or comatose; and involuntary, which goes against the wishes of the patient, and constitutes murder (Wesley 2). Assisted suicide and euthanasia, in any form, is murder. People are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to them. To decide if euthanasia is wrong, one must first decide whom life belongs to. The Bible says, "In God's hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind" (Job 12: 10).

Life belongs to God and since God gave life to the human race, God should decide when it is time to take life. Also, the fifth commandment says, "Thou shall not kill". Assisted suicide and euthanasia disobey this commandment. Supporters of euthanasia argue that the First Amendment "forbids the establishment of religion" and therefore one can't say life belongs to God. Laws prohibiting assisted suicide are no more religious than statutes outlawing theft (Wesley 1). Legalization of voluntary euthanasia could mean legalization of non-voluntary euthanasia and possibly of involuntary euthanasia.

When the value of the human life is lost and when family, doctors, and society start to judge the value of a person's life, then the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is invalid. Terminally ill people who are seeking euthanasia, as a solution to their problems should not be encouraged to end their life but rather to focus on the small blessings of it. Some families consider ill relatives as an added pressure. Many people who ask to be euthanized are under the influence of depression. Depression, is treatable and reversible, death is not. In one study of people who wanted to commit suicide, 24% wanted to die because of a terminal illness.

100% of the patients with terminal illness had clinical depression. Patients with clinical depression are not fully capable of coming to a rational conclusion about their death, because their mind is clouded with mixed emotions (Ward 2). People in favor of assisted suicide and euthanasia defend the patients by saying they are depressed because of their illness. Some families feel like the patient deserves help so he or she can be put out of their misery. The terminally ill and depressed need to be cared for by their loved ones. The absence of a supportive caregiver could have made the significant difference between life and death for these patients.

All doctors are required to take the Hippocratic Oath before they can practice medicine. By this they swear to please no one will they prescribe a deadly drug, nor give advice which may cause death, and they will always prescribe a regimen for the good of their patients. If doctors swear they will at all times work their hardest to do good for their patients; and some doctors are euthanizing their patients, then people begin to be afraid to trust their doctors. Without a strong trust between the patient and the doctor, the entire medical practice can not perform to its highest ability.

Proponents of euthanasia say that people want to die because they fear the pain that will accompany their illness. They also say pain is incurable, because patients only get addicted to their pain medication. There is always a chance of an incorrect diagnosis or the discovery of a treatment, which will allow partial or complete recovery. If a person is seeking to kill himself or herself through a doctor, maybe the patient should be finding a doctor more qualified at alleviating pain rather than a doctor who is willing to assist suicide. There are many factors, which confirm that assisted suicide and euthanasia are murderous acts. The individual should determine the value of life, but death should occur naturally and not be imposed.

Killing, whether it be called 'aid-in-dying' or any other name, is still killing and no law can make it right..