Essay on Euthanasia
Euthanasia Term Papers
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Many people confronted with a terminal illness are confused about what they can do as a dying person. This is when euthanasia is often discussed. Deciding that this is the only option is a long drawn out process. Being that a large part of American society is of Christian beliefs, it is necessary to look at morality based on religion. The main pro-suicide argument deals completely within the issue of choice. If life is seen as a covenant, or temporary loan from God, the freedom to choose how that loan is repaid should lie directly within the person contemplating euthanasia. Since life is not a gift of choice, is it just to, under Christian morality, be able to choose the details and time of his or her death? ( Rauscher 13 )
Catholic views that God is the Creator, and therefore master of our fate. Hence, if to live a life of agony and pain is your fate as deamed by God, the so a person should live his or her life as it comes and accept it. We have the use of our body while we are earthly soles, but we don't have absolute use of which choosing to end our lives falls. Suffering through life instills humility in man, since he sees that only God can comfort him in his time of suffering. Accepting suffering purifies man, since man relinquishes himself to the will of God.( Trubo 90 )
Trubo makes reference to one, A. T. Welford, who at the time was professor of psychology at the University of the Adelaide in Australia.
Welford stated that an amount of suffering is necessary to bringing out good in any individual. He uses the example that sheltering a child from all worry, pain, and disappointment stunts a child's mental and emotional development. ( 93 )
If one comes from a religiously strong background, they will find that euthanasia is to always be condemned as well as prohibited. However, if euthanasia seems to be the only choice, a person may find him or herself discarding the religous beliefs that have guided thier lives.
The key to having family be a part of a person's decision to euthanize, is to keep from waiting untill it is too late. As Humphry cites, a person needs to approach discussion while they're still healthy. Another key is to make sure that the person doesn't just surprise thier family by telling them that the person has already made the decision to euthanize. A person contemplating euthanasia should subtly make references to thier opinion of euthanasia. It is important to take the feedback of how a person's family reacts to the news of the person's intentions; as well, it is important to not
let family make a person's decisions for them.
As Maguire, on the laws pertaining to suicide and euthanasia, said: Most jurisdictions have what is known as as the "year-and-a-day rule for punishing homicides. This means that death must ensure within a year and a day from the infliction of the mortal
wound or it is concluded that death was due to other causes and the assailant escapes charges. With a respirator, a victim could be kept alive for longer than a year and a day and murder
charges would fail. ( 49 )
There is only one country which permits doctors to help patients die
legally by request. This country is the Netherlands, also known as Sweden.
Helping another person die is against the law in America. Unlike common
belief, suicide and attempted suicide are not crimes. Supplying the means
of helping someone die, such as drugs, is more than likely a crime, although
it has never actually been tried in a court of law. The actual criminal liability
falls from the actual touching of the person whom euthanasia is has been
chosen. ( Humphry 32 )
Trubo cites the double-edged sword of legally classifying euthanasia:
The Medical Society of New York State, for example, has already
declared that "every human being of adult years and sound
mind" has the right to determine what shall be done with his own
"body" after death. But there is no clear definition of when a person becomes a "body". ( 28 )
Resulting from dispute by medical authorities, a new definition centered around the brain was conceived. The determination of the end of
life should be derived from the cessation of the brain's electrical activity. This could possibly end the number of cases of people spending weeks,
months, and even years lying in suspended animation.
Hospice care involves the care of the dying person, but not the
treatment of the illness which has brought him or her to the end of his or her life. People who don't want to deal with the constant pain that they live
with, can choose euthanasia over hospice care. However, people that have
strong religious beliefs, and/or thier religion won't permit euthanasia, usually
choose hospice care. To choose hospice care, the person must be sure that
they are dying and that no new treatments exist that could cure or heal his
or her illness.
When a person chooses euthanasia over hospice care, there are many
exponential factors involving the actual assisting in suicide. To begin with, a
person has to choose a doctor that will support his or her decision, and will
carry out his or her wishes as the time of death approaches. Finding
doctors who have taken the time to think about euthanasia and have a clear
opinion on the matter isn't easy, and can be rather frustrating. A person
must judge the doctors standing on the issue from the answers the doctor
Johnson 5
gives regarding his or her situation. Any hesitation when aswering these
questions will more than likely rule that certain doctor out. When choosing a doctor, there are two documents the dying person should have present upon meeting with a doctor. The first is a Living Will, which gives
permission to pull the plug on a life support machine. The second is a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. Like it's name would suggest,
the second document is more likely to stand up in court. However, it too deals only with passive euthanasia. ( Humphry 20-24 )
The choice between passive euthanasia, or pulling the plug on a life support machine, and active euthanasia, also commonly know as assisted suicide, is usually the easiest decision a dying person has to make. If a person is living by means of repirator or other life support, passive euthanasia is the only option. If a person has no life support for which to unplug, then active euthanasia and hospice care are the only options. ( Trubo 11-12 )
As far as active euthanasia goes, there are many possible methods. Anything from hanging to shooting oneself ar considered active euthanasia, but are never recommended. There are numerous drugs available, but only doctors have access to these lethal narcotics. Unlike societies has been led to believe, cyanide is not a drug of choice when considering euthanasia.
Many television programs, as well as wars, have led society to believe that cyanide is a reasonable way to end a person's life. Actually it is known to lead to a very violent as well as painstaking death. The real drugs of choice are barbituates such as Seconal and Nembutal. Other choice drugs are non-barbituates like Valium and Darvon. The barbituates almost always produce death by very non-violent means. The non-barbituates may not always work, and a plastic bag should be kept ready for backup. Drinking alcohol with any of these drugs will accelerate death by fifty-percent, since alcohol speeds up absorbtion of the drugs into the blood by way of the small intestine. Therefore the less food in the stomach, the faster the absorbtion. However, if nothing at all is eaten prior to ingestion of the drugs, the result is terrible nausea and the vomiting of the drugs before absorbtion into the small intestine. ( Humphry 41, 111 )
Choosing the time to die is most often the hardest decision to make, since it offers the last chance to turn back and decide that even a miserable existence is better than none. The two main issues that revolve around choosing the right time to die are not being sure that death is very close, and the sharing of the decision of when with a loved one. If a person thinks that death is near, but aren't sure, a physician should be contacted. Then the person should talk with the doctor about the progression of his or her illness, and find out if there are any new treatments available to try before he or she makes his or her final decision. ( Trubo 103, 104 )
When deciding who will be present for an active euthanization, the law is something to keep in mind. A person wouldn't want tell anyone outside of
the immediate family anything of the euthanization. If someone did find out, any loved ones that would be present could possibly charged with assisting in the death of his or her dying loved one. However, usually only two or three close family members are ever present.
Bibliography
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/daily/0,2960,5445,00.html
KEVORKIAN TO FACE CHARGES Time Magazine Online
A Michigan judge has ruled that Jack Kevorkian must stand trial for assisting two suicides in 1991. Kevorkian faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine in the deaths of Marjorie Wantz and Sherry Miller. Miller, 48, who had multiple sclerosis, died after inhaling carbon monoxide through a mask. Wantz, who suffered from chronic pelvic pain, died after using a Kevorkian device that injected lethal drugs into her system. The trial is scheduled to begin April 1. Kevorkian was already scheduled to stand trial beginning February 12 for assisting two other suicides in Michigan.
CURTAINS FOR DR.DEATH Time Magazine Online
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0%2C3266%2C22204%2C00.html
Post Mortem: People
http://www.pathfinder.com/people/960916/features/suicide.html
Early this summer, Christy Nichols and her mother, Rebecca Lou Badger, shared their lastmoment together in a Michigan motel room. It had...
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