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Euthanasia
Euthanasia can be simply defined as “intentional death” or “good death”. It is a term that
has a controversial argument of choice and freedom. There are two different widely used terms
significantly showing variations in euthanasia: active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia
would be a more direct approach in causing a death, as passive euthanasia would be a more
indirect approach in the outcome of a death (or to let die). Euthanasia is the term used mostly in a
medical setting such as a hospital in which a patient is terminally ill and wishes for an earlier and
pain-free death. The medical term used in replace of the word; “euthanasia”, is “Physician
Assisted Suicide”. Euthanasia is illegal in the United States of America except for three states:
Oregon, Washington, and California. I believe that the current illegalization of euthanasia is
unethical because people should have the right to live or die to their own discretion upon certain
situations. Euthanasia must be legalized throughout the entire United States of America to show
respect to an individuals’ wills or rights.
Euthanasia, or, physician assisted suicide is not available to anybody who wishes to
participate in an earlier death. Euthanasia has two main requirements before being approved by a
physician: the patient must be terminally ill with less than six months to live and the patient must
not have any mental or psychological disorder that may be affecting his or her request for a
physician assisted suicide. Many people believe euthanasia is unethical because of moral and
religious conduct, though I believe the oppression of euthanasia is unethical because a patient
who is undergoing much pain should have his or her own say in whether to participate in a
physician assisted suicide.
Society in this day and age may not comply with the legalization of euthanasia because
the citizens of the United States of America are not fond of change. There are numerous cases in
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Oregon, Washington, and California that deal with physician assisted suicides, but the citizens of
this country are still unsure of their own personal ethical opinions of it. People believe that
euthanasia is considered homicide, but others believe that it should be considered tolerable only
for the sake of a patients’ request. Another reason why euthanasia may be unethical is because
some people believe it devalues life and represents rejection of a moral life. Though that is said,
if euthanasia is remained illegal throughout the rest of the United States, then I believe that
keeping it illegal is unethical because the right to live is should be based upon a patients’ will,
not the law.
As Americans disagree with the legalization of euthanasia, it reveals how those who
oppose could be inconsiderate. Citizens in the United States of America struggle with change
and are unable to get used to the idea of the way doctors interact with their patients. Before the
modern medicine that is available today; a doctors’ job was not only to take care of a patient, but
to save the patients’ life as well. Nowadays; a doctors’ objective for a patient is not to just save a
patients’ life, but to provide the highest level of comfort to a patient, even if the patient is
terminally ill and untreatable. I believe that this society is unable to see why the illegalization of
euthanasia is unethical because the people of this country struggle to cope with the change of a
physician’ methods for improving a patients’ comfort; even if the only option remaining is a
physician assisted suicide.
I believe that euthanasia should be legalized to protect and respect peoples’ individual
rights and wills. There are numerous cases in which someone who is terminally ill has less than
six months to live. In those six months they lay in a hospital bed experiencing the longest
excruciating pains in their body but cannot have the right to a physician assisted suicide because
it is illegal. These patients are condemned to their deathbeds in the hospitals as they wait for their
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terminal diseases to take over because physician assisted suicides are illegal in most states of the
United States of America. It is unethical to allow people to suffer through pain that will only be
relieved by death. Euthanasia should be legalized for every state in the United States of America
to provide respect to an ill patients’ will.