Introduction of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the termination of a very sick person's life in order to relieve them of their suffering.A
person who undergoes euthanasia usually has an incurable condition. But there are other instances
where some people want their life to be ended.In many cases, it is carried out at the person's request
but there are times when they may be too ill and the decision is made by relatives, medics or, in some
instances, the courts.The term is derived from the Greek word euthanatos which means easy death.

Important details of Euthanasia

Voluntary vs. nonvoluntary

If someone makes a conscious decision to seek help with ending their life, it’s considered voluntary
euthanasia. The person must give their full consent and demonstrate that they fully understand what
will happen.

Nonvoluntary euthanasia involves someone else making the decision to end someone’s life. A close
family member usually makes the decision. This is generally done when someone is completely
unconscious or permanently incapacitated. It usually involves passive euthanasia, such as withdrawing
life support from someone who’s showing no signs of brain activity.

Is euthanasia legal?

People have debated over the ethics and legality of euthanasia and PAS for centuries. Today, laws about
euthanasia and PAS are different across states and countries.

In the United States, PAS is legal in:

Washington

Oregon

California

Colorado

Montana

Vermont

Washington, D.C.

Hawaii (beginning in 2019)

Each of these states and Washington, D.C. have different legal requirements. Not every case of PAS is
legal. In addition, many states currently have PAS measures on legislative ballots, so this list may grow.

Outside the United States, PAS is legal in:

Switzerland

Germany

Japan

Euthanasia, including PAS, is legal in several countries, including:

the Netherlands

Belgium

Luxembourg

Colombia

Canada

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Euthanasia: Understanding the Facts

Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD — By Kimberly Holland — Updated on May 31, 2019

Types

Legal status

Euthanasia facts

Controversy

Making a decision

What is euthanasia?

Euthanasia refers to deliberately ending someone’s life, usually to relieve suffering. Doctors sometimes
perform euthanasia when it’s requested by people who have a terminal illness and are in a lot of pain.
It’s a complex process and involves weighing many factors. Local laws, someone’s physical and mental
health, and their personal beliefs and wishes all play a role.

Read on to learn more about the different types of euthanasia, when they’re used, and where they’re
legal.

Are there different types?

There are several types of euthanasia. What’s chosen depends on a variety of factors, including
someone’s outlook and level of consciousness.

Assisted suicide vs. euthanasia

Assisted suicide is sometimes called physician-assisted suicide (PAS). PAS means a doctor knowingly
helps someone end their life. This person is likely experiencing persistent and unending suffering. They
may have also received a terminally ill diagnosis. Their doctor will determine the most effective, painless
method.

In manyTrusted Source cases, doctors will provide people with a drug they can take to end their life. A
lethal dose of opioids, for example, may be prescribed for this. In the end, it’s up to the person to decide
whether they take the drug.

With euthanasia, a doctor is allowed to end the person’s life by painless means. For example, an
injection of a lethal drug may be used.

Active vs. passive

When most people think of euthanasia, they think of a doctor directly ending someone’s life. This is
known as active euthanasia. Purposely giving someone a lethal dose of a sedative is considered active
euthanasia.
Passive euthanasia is sometimes described as withholding or limiting life-sustaining treatments so that a
person passes more quickly. A doctor may also prescribe increasingly high doses of pain-killing
medication. Overtime, the doses may become toxic.

This makes the distinction between passive euthanasia and palliative care blurry. Palliative care focuses
on keeping people as comfortable as possible at the end of their life.

For example, a palliative care doctor might allow someone approaching death to stop taking a
medication that causes unpleasant side effects. In other cases, they might allow someone to take a
much higher dose of a pain medication to treat severe pain. This is often a standard part of good
palliative care. Many don’t consider it euthanasia.

Voluntary vs. nonvoluntary

If someone makes a conscious decision to seek help with ending their life, it’s considered voluntary
euthanasia. The person must give their full consent and demonstrate that they fully understand what
will happen.

Nonvoluntary euthanasia involves someone else making the decision to end someone’s life. A close
family member usually makes the decision. This is generally done when someone is completely
unconscious or permanently incapacitated. It usually involves passive euthanasia, such as withdrawing
life support from someone who’s showing no signs of brain activity.

Is euthanasia legal?

People have debated over the ethics and legality of euthanasia and PAS for centuries. Today, laws about
euthanasia and PAS are different across states and countries.

In the United States, PAS is legal in:

Washington

Oregon
California

Colorado

Montana

Vermont

Washington, D.C.

Hawaii (beginning in 2019)

Each of these states and Washington, D.C. have different legal requirements. Not every case of PAS is
legal. In addition, many states currently have PAS measures on legislative ballots, so this list may grow.

Outside the United States, PAS is legal in:

Switzerland

Germany

Japan

Euthanasia, including PAS, is legal in several countries, including:

the Netherlands

Belgium

Luxembourg

Colombia

Canada

Euthanasia facts

Euthanasia is a topic of ongoing debate. There’s been a good amount of research done about people’s
opinions about it and how frequently it’s actually used.

Opinions
A 2013 poll in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 65 percent of people in 74 countries
were against PAS. In the United States, 67 percent of people were against it.

However, a majority in 11 of the 74 countries voted in favor of PAS. Plus, a majority of voters in 18 U.S.
states expressed support for PAS. Washington and Oregon, which had legalized PAS at the time of the
poll, weren’t among those 18 states. This suggests that opinions about euthanasia and PAS are rapidly
changing.

By 2017, a Gallup poll found a large shift in attitudes in the United States. Almost three-quarters of
people surveyed supported euthanasia. Another 67 percent said doctors should be allowed to assist
patients with suicide.

Interestingly, a study in the United Kingdom found that the majority of doctors weren’t in favor of
voluntary euthanasia and PAS. Their main objection was based on religious issues.

Prevalence

In countries where it’s legal, a 2016 reviewTrusted Source found euthanasia accounts for 0.3 to 4.6
percent of deaths. More than 70 percent of those deaths were related to cancer.

The review also found that in Washington and Oregon, doctors write less than 1 percent of prescriptions
for assisted suicide.

Controversy around euthanasia

There are many arguments both for and against euthanasia and PAS. Most of these arguments fall into
four main categories:

Morality and religion

Some people believe euthanasia is murder and find it unacceptable for moral reasons. Many also argue
that the ability to decide your own death weakens the sanctity of life. In addition, many churches,
religious groups, and faith organizations argue against euthanasia for similar reasons.

Physician judgement

PAS is only legal if someone is mentally capable of making the choice. However, determining someone’s
mental capabilities isn’t very straightforward. One studyTrusted Source found that doctors aren’t always
capable of recognizing when someone is fit to make the decision.

Ethics

Some doctors and opponents of PAS are concerned about the ethical complications doctors could face.
For more than 2,500 years, doctors have taken the Hippocratic oath. This oath encourages doctors to
care for and never harm those under their care.
Some argue that the Hippocratic oath supports PAS since it ends suffering and brings no more harm. On
the other hand, some debate it results in harm to the person and their loved ones, who must watch
their loved one suffer.

Personal choice

“Death with dignity” is a movement that encourages legislatures to allow people to decide how they
want to die. Some people simply don’t want to go through a long dying process, often out of concern of
the burden it puts on their loved ones.

Conclusion of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. There are
two tipes of euthanasia. active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is where a doctor
or another person does nothing to prevent death. therefore allowing the person to die.

Euthanasia is the termination of a terminally ill person’s life in order to relieve patients of their severe
and untreatable pain. It is further broken down into two types: active and passive. In this paper. I will be
focusing on active euthanasia and will argue that it is morally justifiable for a physician to alleviate […]

According to the article “Euthanasia: Arguments Against Euthanasia”. people might think that death is
better than being sick. A conclusion will be drawn from all research and information gathered
Euthanasia is not in the best interests of the person.

Conclusion Four Pro Euthanasia ProEuthanasiaMost people want to live their life with dignity and die
with dignity. People make important choices anddecisions through out their life. Some of these
decisions are very difficult and even life changing.

Conclusion. Research Paper on Euthanasia. The simple influence of euthanasia represents the most
docile and self-denialless usage of accountinating a special’s conduct in command to succor them from
their abstinence. This account itself is moderate from the Greek engagement “euthanatos”. which
literally instrument comfortable expiration. In frequent instances. it is carried …

Conclusion — the same as usual: restate the thesis statement and give a short summary of your
euthanasia research paper. Your final task is to organize your notes. make corrections where it is needed
and so on. After you do it. type the final draft and your euthanasia research paper is done!

Euthanasia is viewed as murder. however. ethically; physician has the moral obligation to comply with
patients’ decisions. Making such decision to either withhold or withdraw treatment for any patient is not
an easy decision to make based on the cultural. religious and legal factors. Death resulting to euthanasia
is different between countries.

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In conclusion thus. euthanasia is a moral medical procedure that should be legalized by all states. It
helps save terminally ill patients from endless suffering. It also gives the patients a chance to choose
their time of death. and die with dignity.

The right to die should be a matter of personal choice.

We are able to choose all kinds of things in life from who we marry to what kind of work we do and I
think when one comes to the end of one’s life, whether you have a terminal illness or whether you’re
elderly, you should have a choice about what happens to you…

I’m pro life – I want to live as long as I possibly can, but l also believe the law should be changed to let
anyone with some severe medical condition which is causing unbearable symptoms to have an assisted
suicide. I wouldn’t want to be unnecessarily kept alive against my own will.”