Euthanasia Controversy

Euthanasia Controversy

In today's society, health care is a major issue. Healthcare is preventions of illnesses. There have been many debates on how to solve the problem. Many professional doctors and nurses around the world have been discussing different topics to try to find cures for all kinds of health issues people are faced with. One main topic that has been discussed is Euthanasia, which is the act of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. Euthanasia is also called medically assisted suicide by a lot of people. It originated from the Greek language. Euthanasia should not be strained on a single person but could be helpful in some instances.

"There are two types of Euthanasia, active and passive. Active Euthanasia is death by commission. Passive Euthanasia is death by emission." (Mcmanaman 2). Many people make a moral differentiation between the two but if you are not severely ill or in a dying state these actions will not apply to you, because then it will just be just like murdering a patient. If it is not legally processed , this is a very offensive case so therefore the consequences will be highly looked at. The way of using Euthanasia is looked down upon because of the way it devalues human life. The Government should not have the power of making it legal to end someones life because it is such a moral issue.

However, Euthanasia could be good when used in a proper manner. When a person is in a vegetative state or in severe pain, Euthanasia is not looked down upon. Many times euthanasia is the most helpful way for the patient to go even though it may be a hard experience. The Terri Schiavo case was a legal struggle involving prolonged life support that lasted from 1998-2005 where her husband was involved with fourteen appeals to remove her feeding tube after she was diagnosed to be in vegetative state and then after seven years, the appeals were granted. But In Taiwan, a man killed his wife with a screwdriver and then tried to call it Euthanasia. It is not the same types of acts. Wang Ching-hsi, killed his wife Sun Yuan-ping, 80, who suffered from Parkinson's' disease. Wang turned himself in to police, claiming he performed euthanasia to end her suffering. Wang said that they were not wanting to go through old age and illness and had discussed committing suicide a decade ago, and he mentioned it several times in his blog" (Daily Telegraph). Law enforcement is also involved at some time. A judge plead guilty to accepting a charge and then requested that he receive Euthanasia. "Lawyer Chiu Chuang-shun, who formerly served as a high court judge, pleaded guilty of charges alleging that he accepted and arranged bribe payment to former colleagues. He also asked the Taipei District Court to let him have a euthanasia to end his life." (www.news.asiaone.com) When it was over, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison but was found not guilty after paying off a panel of judges.

The debate over legalizing euthanasia consists of it could become a means of health care cost containment. "...drugs used in euthanasia only cost about forty dollars, but that it could take forty thousand dollars to treat a patient properly" (www.euthanasia.com[->0]) and that it will only be performed if voluntary but emotional and psychological pressures could become overpowering. The perspective of virtue comes to the relationship that is to be between the doctor and patient, where the doctor is to be compassionate and caring. The trust that we extend to the medical profession to heal and protect life is something that we