Michael Khoury

Khoury, 1

English 115, 2pm

Prof. Altman
11-19-14
Out With The Old In With The New
Possibly the largest political debate in American history is going on today. This
debate is over healthcare. Healthcare has recently become socialized by the Obama
administration. It has also come under fire by all conservatives in office. A large number of
conservatives believe that the only way for a socialized healthcare system to work
efficiently while being affordable would be to increase the cost of healthcare for those who
would normally pay less because of a lacking of a preexisting condition, or being 65 or
older. Those who do have a preexisting condition would not be paying as much as before
because their payments would be subsidized, not by the government though, but rather by
other tax payers who would be paying more for their insurance. Now, I have the best
solution for this problem. I have a modest proposal; we can euthanize those with
preexisting conditions and the elderly who have too many healthcare needs. I realize this
may seem inhumane but this is a necessary step to take because, they take too much time
from doctors, they are very costly when it comes to treatment, they are simply taking up
space, and their bodies could be used for research along with offering a whole new
profession to doctors.
Doctors are among some of the most important contributors to our society. They
essentially keep us alive. If their time is entirely consumed by the elderly and those with
preexisting conditions then when would we be able to see one when we are sick? Rather

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than attempting to solve the issues that face us daily, doctors are focusing the majority of
their time and energy on solving issues that only a small percentage of the U.S. population
and the world population posses. This is not a cheap form healthcare either.
The cost to take care of someone with a preexisting condition, or an elderly person,
is exponentially higher then it is to take care of someone without any preexisting
conditions or who is not elderly. In 2012, emergency medical teams reported to the Center
of Disease Control, CDC, that 2.4 million cases of nonfatal injuries were treated. According
to the CDC 722,000 of these cases ended up being hospitalized. Also, in 2012, the CDC
reported that people above the age of 65 had medical expenses, which totaled to an excess
of 30 billion dollars from just fall injuries alone and at this rate they report that expenses
could increase to 67.7 billion dollars. In just eight years, the cost of treating the elderly just
of falls will more than double. Since healthcare has become socialized in this country it
would be more expensive for the rest of us to take care of ourselves. Taking the cost away
from those who dont have preexisting conditions or are younger than 65 would allow
them to spend whatever they would save on which would help to rebalance the economy.
We have recently been in a recession and are slowly crawling out of it. Without people who
are 65 or older or those with preexisting conditions we would be able to fly out of it.
The world population at the moment is at an excess of 7 billion people and a large
number of them are 65 or older or have a preexisting medical condition. If we were to
euthanize all of them we would lose a good percentage of the world population. Which
could also reduce world hunger and help the world economy by having less people to be

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supported and dependent upon others and rather have more people to spend on
themselves to assist in economic growth worldwide.
Some people may say that doing this is inhumane or this could put doctors out of
work. The ethics of euthanization have been argued ever since it was introduced to the
medical field. One doctor is able to attribute his so-called fame because of the practice of
euthanasia. Doctor Jack Kevorkian, a doctor who practiced most prominently in the 80s
and 90s in Michigan, was the doctor who created the hype about the ethics of euthanasia.
He euthanized over 28 people between 1990 and 1996. This man assisted in the death of
over 28 people within the span of just six years. If he were outside of the medical field some
may refer to him as a serial killer. Not to mention that there are whole careers based off of
the care of those with preexisting conditions and the elderly. Doctors businesses are based
off of the treatment of those who have preexisting medical conditions or the elderly. If we
euthanize them, their business and jobs would be lost. But, they could always find new
ways to progress their profession or even modify their field of practice.
Rather than being a caretaker of the elderly and those with preexisting medical
conditions and the elderly, these doctors could study the bodies of the deceased patients in
order to understand their conditions more comprehensively. In the article, "Cadavers Beat
Computers as Med School Teaching Tool, Study Finds." A study was done with a group of
almost 240 undergraduate college students in an anatomy class. The class was split into
two groups. One group was taught on cadavers and another group was taught on a
computer simulation. After the two groups were tested, the students that were taught on
the cadaver scored 16 percent higher on their tests when it came to identifying body parts

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and 11 percent higher when it came to explaining the functions of them. Imagine of fullfledged doctors studied these cadavers in reference to their respective sects of the medical
field. We could develop medicines that could cure the most common diseases that we face
in our daily lives, from simple allergies to the common cold. Also, studying the cadavers of
certain individuals could assist greatly in more personalized and comprehensive care. Not
to mention the demand for euthanizing doctors that will arise which could stabilize the
economy.
Healthcare is one of these most common topics of debate in our country today
especially with it being socialized. Those who have preexisting conditions and the elderly
are costing people without preexisting conditions and those who are younger to pay more
for their health insurance. The best way to combat this is by euthanizing those with
preexisting conditions and the elderly. This would help us by giving more time to doctors to
study more common diseases, offering less expensive insurance plans, reduce the world
population while assisting the economy, and helping to understand the human body much
better.

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Works cited
"Cadavers Beat Computers as Med School Teaching Tool, Study Finds." Health News /
Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health. N.p., 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.

"Costs of Falls Among Older Adults." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.

Kellstrand, C. J. "Jack Kevorkian: A Medical Hero." PMC. PMC, 8 June 1996. Web. 22
Nov.2014.

Terry, Peter B., M.D. "Euthanasia and Asisted Suicide* Ethics and Politcs." ;ii Ii Ethics in
Cardiopulmonarymedicine (n.d.): n. pag. 4 Apr. 1993. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.