Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Ethics
Detriments of Euthanasia
In recent years there have been increased calls for the acceptance of euthanasia. The practice has been legalized in some European states, such as Switzerland, Holland and Belgium as well as some U.S. states, including Oregon, Montana and Washington (Steck et al., 2013). The increasing acceptance appears to indicate that the benefits of the practice outweigh the costs, but any consideration of euthanasia should also consider the potentially severe detriments. Three hypotheses will be considered in this paper; that euthanasia may lead to the devaluation of life, that euthanasia may increase social divisions, and euthanasia may reduce the attention and commitment to developing effective palliative care.
Euthanasia may result in a devaluation of life
One of the main detriments is the way that the availability of euthanasia may devalue life; it can be easily forfeited...
Matthews (1998) looked at a country where voluntary euthanasia is legal; Holland, arguing that some cases of voluntary euthanasia were emerging, where doctors believed it was right, but the patient was unable to giver consent. This is trend indicates that doctors are seeing some lives as less worth saving and treating then others. Block (1998) argues that in some cases that in some cases the real reasons why euthanasia is requested may not be investigated; reasons may include depression or concern that the individual maybe a burden (Kaldjian, 2001; Block, 1998), if a patient without a terminal illness made this request further investigations would be made; does this mean that patients with terminal illnesses have lives that are worth less? Pope John Paul II in a letter to the bishops argued that those suffering from terminal illnesses…
An area of significant concern may be the way in which social divisions may impact on the practice of euthanasia. In Oregon, where euthanasia is legal, Kaldjian (2001) found that of those requesting euthanasia, 60% indicated that one of the influences was a desire not to be a burden. Invariably, those who are most likely to feel there are a burden will come from backgrounds where they will require a higher level of social support, often families of a lower social or economic status, which may also be aligned with ethnic minorities and lower education (Ward, 1980). The disparities which may lead to the desire to avoid being a burden are known to more prevalent with in ethnic minorities, and disadvantaged social groups, were ironically, there is likely to be a higher level of terminal illnesses at younger ages due to the health disparities (Geiger et al., 2007). Interestingly, it is noted that ethnic minorities tend to have a lower level of trust in authorities with regard to decisions made euthanasia and the overall practice (Ward, 1980).
Euthanasia may reduce the attention and commitment to developing effective palliative care.
If increasing numbers of people request euthanasia, rather than live
Euthanasia The power to control the destiny of another person's life is an opiate which no person should have the ability to ingest when the control is over the persons life, or death. While medical technology has been creating new conditions by which individuals can live longer, and medical science has entered a new era regarding treatment of conditions which only a few years ago would haven the lives of those
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, as what the most common definition says, is the (medical) process of killing somebody in a merciful manner and is aimed at putting an end to that person's pain and suffering. The claimed justification for euthanasia first takes the moral high ground of compassion. When a truer form of compassion is found in palliative care, the ground shifts to an appeal to human rights, especially to the
Euthanasia is basically described as the intentional killing of an individual for his/her benefit, and is usually carried out because the person who dies requests for it. While it can also be referred to as physician-assisted suicide, it's known as euthanasia because there are situations where the individual can't ask for it. As one of the major issues in the medical field, there are various laws regarding euthanasia in almost
There are many other related reasons for arguing against euthanasia and its acceptance or legalization. One is that it contradicts the medical code of ethics and the Hippocratic Oath, which, "…expressly forbids the giving of deadly medicine to anyone who asks" (Cauthen). The argument that euthenasia is an act of compassion and mercy can also be contradicted. There are many drugs available today that can be used to control pain;
It is important to realize that this perspective is still highly prevalent in many countries, and that even the notion of euthanasia could be hugely offensive to some people, especially in sensitive situations such as end-of-life discussion. While this argument is admittedly built on subjective individual views of morality, it is still a very valid ethical view (Paterson 2003). Other ethicists take a more moderate, middle view of the issue,
This literature review supports the premise that opinions regarding euthanasia differ among various groups of professional. This literature review demonstrates that the nurse plays an important role in the perceived quality of the death experience. The study indicates that there is a need for training in a number of clinical settings regarding care of the dying and futile treatments. Literature indicated that differences exist between nurses that are new to