Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide Essay Research Paper

EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE

In today’s society, euthanasia and assisted suicide is a major discussion. People, who are terminally ill or are depressed, are sometimes looking for a way out. They feel that their only hope is to kill themselves. Other people in the world feel that euthanasia and assisted suicide are morally wrong. Do you think that killing yourself is right or wrong?

For many years, euthanasia and assisted suicide have been a major controversy. Euthanasia is known as a deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of taking the life of another person to relieve that person’s suffering where the act is the cause of death. Assisted suicide is the act of intentionally killing oneself with the assistance of another who deliberately provides the knowledge, means, or both. Most people who want to commit suicide are terminally ill or they are depressed. If a person is terminally ill, this is when a doctor is involved in helping the person commit suicide. One famous doctor for doing this is Dr. Kavorkian. He has helped a number of people commit suicide. There are many activists out their today, but there are also societies like the Right-To-Die society, which promotes a person’s right to request assistance in dying. For the most part, people are generally against euthanasia and assisted suicide.

I for one am against euthanasia and assisted suicide. I believe that God put us here and when he is ready to take us he will. I also believe that God wouldn’t put us in any pain that he feels would be too much for us to bare. Suicide is morally and ethically wrong. On June 26, 1996, the American Medical Association, the world’s leading medical organization, made it clear that it is firmly opposed to physician assisted suicide. I believe that individual autonomy has limits and the right to self-determination should be decided by God and not one’s beliefs. Opponents of euthanasia are also concerned that the acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicide may contribute to an increasingly casual attitude toward private killing in society. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are morally wrong.

Many people are for euthanasia and assisted suicide. Supporters of euthanasia and assisted suicide reject the argument that there is an ethical distinction between these acts and the acts of forgoing life-sustaining treatment. They claim that euthanasia and assisted suicide are consistent with the right of patients to make choices about the time and manner of their own death. Dr. Kavorkian said, “Each person has an autonomy over their own life. Persons whose quality of life is nonexistent should have the right to commit suicide and to seek assistance if necessary.” Sometimes a terminal illness can be so painful that it causes life to be an unbearable burden. Death can represent a relief of intollerable pain.

There are many sides to euthanasia and assisted suicide. I for one am against it. Stephen Levine said, “people who commit suicide fall into two categories. There are people who get severely depressed and those, like Heaven’s Gates folks, who commit suicide for what they feel is a higher purpose.” In any case of suicide, I feel that it is morally wrong and not ethical. We are all stewards of are own life, but suicide should never be an option.