The Pros And Cons Of Physician Assisted Suicide

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Everyone lives, and everyone dies. It is a fact that everyone must come to terms with at some point. While we do not get to choose when, where, or how we are brought into this world, many people believe that we should have a choice in how we leave it. The method by which we would do this, and the method in question, is physician-assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia. “Euthanasia, more loosely termed mercy killing, means to take a deliberate action with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable (persistent, unstoppable) suffering.” (Nordqvist) The law that is being proposed would prohibit a physician from providing any sort of assistance to someone who is attempting to end their own life. The process of physician-assisted suicide should be completely legal because it ends the prolongation of dying, it gives the individual the ability to make a choice and die with dignity, it creates the ability to reserve resources, we already do it …show more content…

There is voluntary euthanasia, which is conducted with consent, and then there is involuntary euthanasia, which is conducted without consent. It can then be broken down even further into passive and active euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is when life-sustaining treatments are withheld from the patient, and active euthanasia is when lethal substances or forces are used to end a patient’s life. The law in question seems to be specifically targeting active, voluntary euthanasia. People are more wary of this form of euthanasia due to religious, ethical, and moral reasons. Some view it as murder while others believe that it goes against a doctor’s oath to save a person’s life however they can. From a religious standpoint, they believe that if God wanted that person to die, then it would happen and that they should not take it into their own hands. However, it is just as ungodly to take antibiotics for an infection or undergo surgery for a burst

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