Euthanasia is essentially \"mercy killing.\" It is an ethical, moral, religious

Question

Euthanasia is essentially "mercy killing." It is an ethical, moral, religious and political hot potato. Since abortion seems to be in demand and is legal in the US, mostly because of a woman's right to choose, what about euthanasia?

Should there be laws that allow people that are terminally ill to be able to be put to death? Should someone have that right to choose, just as a woman does regarding abortion? Two US States currently allow assisted suicide by a medical professional under strict guidelines. Do some research on how this is working.

What about the cost? Keeping someone alive when death is forthcoming generates a great expense for the family. Are we just prolonging the inevitable? Should society step in to prevent this or should laws be made to permit such a choice? Medicare now pays more than one half of a person's life time benefits in the last year of their life, often in the hospital, when most people say they would rather die at home.

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Since you will need some background, look up the cases of Terry Sciavo, Grace Sung Eun Lee and Dr. Jack Kavorkian (Dr. Death). Everyone of us knows the Ten Commandments so we don't need to use them for our arguments.

Explanation / Answer

Euthansia is the act of deliberately ending a patient's life by painless means permitted by law if the patient and family members agree. In Euthansia, the death is caused by doctor and not the patient himself. It is done to bring an end to a person's life for the reason of persistent suffering like unbearable pain or living in a vegetative state.

Assisted suicide - Physician assisted suicide i.e, the person committing suicide with the aid of a physician or doctor. It is legal in some states in United States as it is considered medical aid in dying. In case of assisted suicide, the person is provided the means by a second person to end his own life. It is used in United States for mentally capable terminally ill patients.

There should not be laws which allow a person take decision about ending his or her life. It undermines the importance of medical care and research. If a person has the option of ending his or her life, they can opt for it without a justifyinfg reason or circumstance. Giving a legal option to patients and individuals is promoting death than life and discouraging people to live . As it is often advocated in case of patients with depression or mental illness or terminally ill patients living in vegetative state, the option of ending life may seem easier than taking any efforts required to improve the condition to let the patient live well till his or her health allows. It is a negative approach and allows for loopholes in medical and legal system.

Since this is a cause which invites debates, any cases of euthansia or assisted suicide attracts lot of attention and coverage and influences people's mind towards these practices. Society cannot play much role to prohibit such act of there is a medical argument involved like in case of Terry Sciavo and Grace Sung Eun Lee. Laws promulgated on this issue cannot prevent misuse of laws and guidelines as happened in the case of Dr.Jack Kavorkian.

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