preview

Physician-Assisted Suicide Essay - I Want to Die

Better Essays

Death and dying are a natural part of our lives. Not a day goes by that we do not take the chance of being run over by a car while running, being stabbed in a robbery, or being poisoned by bacteria in our food. In all of these cases, we have very little choice in deciding our fate. But what about those cases when we can do something to affect the dying process? What if we can decide whether we wish to live or die? For most of us, that is still uncharted territory, and just the thought of it chills us to the bone. Euthanasia is one such opportunity where a person can affect the dying process. It is not, as many people believe, a case of a physician killing a patient, but instead, a case where a patient who is facing a prolonged, …show more content…

10), was tantamount to murder. The word "euthanasia," which in Greek means "the good death" (10), was simply used as an excuse to try and justify the mass executions committed by the German military. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when a patient's life is terminated even though he or she did not initiate the request, and most importantly, did not want to die. This reprehensible form of murder is illegal in all democratic societies today and would remain so under all currently proposed euthanasia legislation. Voluntary euthanasia, on the other hand, is a patient-driven action. The patient makes an informed decision and requests, in writing, a physician's assistance in carrying out that decision. In many cases, the physician takes a secondary role, with the patient actually completing the act that will end the suffering.

The issue of the legality of voluntary euthanasia has already been debated in various other countries for some time. In the Netherlands, for example, euthanasia has become an established alternative to prolonged and useless health care procedures. Even though voluntary euthanasia is not legal, it has been decriminalized, and it is possible for a physician who accedes to a patient's request for it to do so without fear of being prosecuted and punished. In order to achieve this peculiar balance in their legal system, the Dutch have established a complicated means by which to ensure that a patient who

Get Access