Euthanasia is, by textbook definition, the painless killing of a patient suffering due to an incurable and painful disease or an irreversible coma. Euthanasia is not just death, but it is caused by what was done or what was not done to prevent death. Euthanasia, also called mercy killing or assisted suicide, it is currently legal in California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington; its status is still being disputed in Montana, however it is illegal in most countries across the world. Many people strongly oppose euthanasia and physician–assisted suicide as it questions the ethics and morality, but there are those who are in favor of it as it is a means of ending a life without pain.
Euthanasia derives from the Greek words, Eu and Thanatosis, meaning "Good Death" or a gentle and easy death. Euthanasia has come to be used for "mercy killing", which is considered to be the active death of a patient or the inactive death of a patient through dehydration and starvation. Euthanasia has been used for many years. The first recorded use of euthanasia derived from the death of Augustus Caesar, however, it was not encouraged by the actions of another person. The actions of euthanasia have been used for suffering patients since ancient ages, but was forbidden by Mesopotamians, the Jewish, and Romans. The Jewish society followed the teachings of the Bible, "thou shalt not kill". In ancient Rome, euthanasia was a crime deemed as murder. On the other hand, euthanasia was used in
Euthanasia is typically undertaken when an extremely sick person has lost the will to live and is terminated to alleviate them from their suffering. The idea of physician assisted suicide has sparked a debate on the ethical, economical, and social consideration of the act. As we approach a time where physician assisted suicide becomes more and more politically and ethically charged, lawmakers, physicians, and the public alike need to understand autonomy and respect the natural functionings of the human body, even if the patient or the family of the patient asks for euthanasia. Therefore, due to ethical and economical considerations, euthanasia should be outlawed throughout the United States. The origins of physician assisted suicide trace back to the ancient Greek and Roman days (Math and Chaturvedi). Before the ascendance of Christianity, physicians of that time tended to support euthanasia. According to Dr. Ian Dowbiggin, a professor of history at the University of Prince Edward Island, "In ancient Greece and Rome, before the coming of Christianity, attitudes toward infanticide,...show more content... Many senior advisers and medical doctors agree that euthanasia ends patient suffering at the end of a person's life. "Americans should enjoy a right guaranteed in the European Declaration of Human Rights – the right not to be forced to suffer. It should be considered as much of a crime to make someone live who with justification does not wish to continue as it is to take life without consent" (Girsh). This opinion applies to patients who are terminally ill and have no possible medical remedies which could bring them back to a normal state. Some doctors have even gone so far as to say that the Hippocratic Oath should be amended to allow for physician assisted suicide, and even one clause of the Oath should be reviewed in the case of this medical
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"Euthanasia and assisted suicide are terms used to describe the process in which a doctor or a close relative of an either sick or disabled individual (physically or mentally) engages in an activity which directly or indirectly leads to the death of the individual"(402), explains Tal Bergman Levy in the article "Attitudes towards Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: a comparison between Psychiatrists and other Physicians". This practice is also called "Mercy Killing", for the fact that the main reason people do it is to be freed from the pain. The procedure may happen in a few forms, but it all depends on the patient and the circumstances; but no matter how it happens the result is the same. An overdose of a shot or pills is how the procedure will kill the patient; it will happen in a matter of minutes and will be given either by the doctor or the patient itself. Assisted suicide has been controversial throughout the United States, and only a few states have legalized it. But assisted suicide is wrong and should be illegal nationally because it goes against the Hippocratic Oath doctors take, it could easily be corrupted, and it goes against most of the human morals. To begin, supports of assisted suicide believe strongly that it is okay because it is the patient's life and they are in control of their life and death. First, in the article "Suicide, Euthanasia, and Physician–Assisted Suicide" by Sandra Alters, it lists a few of the biggest reasons why people support and request
One of the most difficult aspects of working in the medical field, specifically as a nurse, is the loss of a patient. Similarly, watching a patient who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease struggle emotionally and physically to deal with their upcoming death is difficult to watch. Suffering in the hospital, their life is not of quality and their family is watching them struggle. Highly debated, physician assisted suicide has been named one of the options for these patients. Physician assisted suicide occurs, at least where is is legal, when a terminally ill patients makes the decision that they would like to die, rather than suffer the rest of their life. Once the patient makes this decision, the physician can assist them in death by either administering euthanasia to the patient or prescribing the drug to the patient to take on their own. There are currently, according to Death With Dignity, six states that have legalized physician assisted suicide: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington (Death). As can be seen by the amount of states with physician assisted suicide legal, it is not a widely supported practice. However, lawmakers should work towards the removal of bans in many locations of physician assisted suicide and towards legalizing; it violates no federal law, end of life care isn't efficient enough to eliminate mentalsuffering, animals are euthanized for the same reasons, and it ends the patient's suffering. In the past
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Euthanasia
"You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible." (Moyes, Jojo. Me before you. Penguin Books, 2016). Life is a celestial object, and we are obliged to handle our lives with prudence. Abdicating your life is vile and dissolute. Assisting in the termination of one's own life is even more absurd; therefore, it should be hindered. Euthanasia should be stated illegal and prohibited throughout the whole world, for it leads to disadvantageous long–term consciences including distrusting the medical field and giving more power to doctors than what they deserve. Usually, those who demand euthanasia are pressured by those around them including doctors, and they are deceived by their depression. Euthanasia devastate patients' trust in the medical field. If your teacher gave you the choice whether to do your homework or not, what will you choose? Of course, you won't do your homework because it is the easier choice. Human beings are inevitable to pick the obstacle–free route; therefore, if doctors were given the choice to simply kill people whose cases seem unpromising, they will select this choice. Doctors will be discouraged to research and create new medicines. "What is the point? I can just painlessly and effortlessly kill them". Cures that could extenuate pain will not be discovered anymore, and scientists would not even try to invent cotemporary medicines. Moreover, accepting euthanasia is a breach of The International Code of Medical Get more content
Do you know what euthanasia is ? Have you ever heard of it ? Well if you have not heard of it or have not heard people talking about it , I'm about to tell you what it is. Euthanasia is assisted suicide. Which means a physician or someone in the medical field helps you die by prescribing a lethal dose of medicine which can either be injected or the patient can drink it. It is morally wrong , the reason I say this is because you are helping someone kill their self. As a physician or anyone in the medical it is against the Hippocratic oath. Euthanasia is legalized in Netherlands , Belgium , Switzerland , Luxembourg , and Montana is currently unclear. Oregon and Washington PAS and euthanasia was legalized between 1997 to 1999 , but as of right now it is illegal in both place . There are safeguards and laws regarding euthanasia. The laws are a patient must give explicit consent , all cases must be reported , any and all lethal substance administered to a patient must be given by a physician , all and any cases must have a second consultation by another physician according to this article "Legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide: the illusion of safeguards and controls". The reason you would need another consultation is because 63% of physicians feel that a single consultation is insufficient and does not fully evaluate why the patient is requesting the need for PAS/ euthanasia. All assessments must be objective in all cases of euthanasia according to"Legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide: the illusion of safeguards and controls". At first between the years of 1970's to the 1980's advocates for PAS/ euthanasia was on ment for a small group of people which were terminally ill. In 2002 also it was only allowed to perform the procedure to terminally ill patients. It later then extended to patient that are adults , anyone who has a terminal illness/ disease such as dementia , anyone who is " tired of living " that is seventy or over the age of seventy. In 2001 the jurisdiction extended to children between the ages of twelve to sixteen with parental consent , four years later in 2005 the Groningen protocol allows euthanasia to newborns that are expected not to have " a good quality of life" when they Get
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are very controversial and sensitive topics because of the ethical, legal, and moral issues of them. In the United States alone, it is illegal almost everywhere, however; it's legal in Colorado, Vermont, Montana, Washington D.C., Oregon, Washington, and California. But, what exactly is euthanasia? Euthanasia can be categorized in three different ways; voluntary euthanasia, non–voluntary euthanasia, and involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is when a patient agrees to receive assistance to end his or her own life, which is legal in some places around the globe. Non–voluntary euthanasia occurs when the consent of the patient is not available. For example, if an individual is in a coma or vegetative state, they are physically incapable of giving consent. Involuntary euthanasia happens when an individual decides to end a patient's life without asking for consent, or doing it against the patient's will. This can also be considered murder. Initiating euthanasia can be in the forms of, but not limited to, injections, drugs, Nitschke's suicide pill, and dehydration, all of which vary in pain. Now, what exactly isassisted suicide? What is the difference? Assisted suicide is a little bit different because of the fact that the lethal substance is available to the patient. Euthanasia is when someone performs the act of killing the patient for the patient. Assisted suicide is when your provide the patient with what they need to do it themselves
Do you know anybody that has illness or disease where they just wished they wouldn't have to live through it because they were so miserable from pain or just because they couldn't function by themselves? Euthanasia is a type of lethal injection that allows a patient who has an illness or disease to get rid of the pain and suffering by ending their life. This injection is administered by their primary physician. There are only four countries in the world where euthanasia is legal and there are six states in the United States where physician assisted suicide is legal. Laws based on Euthanasia should not be enacted in Alabama because it is unlawful, a patient can be incompetent to make such a decision, and the evolution of medicine could change someone's life if they choose not to use physician assisted suicide. In our country we have laws that are set in place mainly to protect our rights as citizens. Many of our laws have a resemblance to the Ten Commandments. The 9th commandment says that you should not lie about anyone or anything. When a person goes to court and they present any type of evidence or they give a testimony, they take an oath that states "I swear that the evidence that I shall give, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God." That statement not only states that you are not going to lie but it is also an oath that you take under God. Although that has absolutely nothing to do with euthanasia, the 6th commandment does it says that we should not murder. In the state of Alabama, the law says that you have committed murder if you have killed someone "With intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the death of that person or of another person." (Reuters) When a doctor or Physician gives their patient, who has requested to end their life by euthanasia, they have the intent to cause the death of another person. If someone is suffering from a type of illness or disease, that is god's plan for their life. God gives the hardest battles to his strongest warriors. His intent might not be for you to survive but for you to strive through the hard times. Make out your remaining days like they're some of the best days you have ever had. There are many
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Euthanasia is prohibited in 50 states under the homicide law (shah) This fact is often questioned by people because they hear about euthanasia on the daily. But to fully grasp the idea of euthanasia readers must understand the background and get a grasp of the meaning. Euthanasia was founded in the 17th century by Francis Bacon, this method of killing was used before the 17th century but was finally given its medical name around this time. Francis described the practice of euthanasia as "Happy death" because of the thoughtful nature behind the killings. Now of days, to distinct euthanasia of humans and animals we often use the term assisted suicide but that still leaves people questioning what the act of euthanasia is and what it entails "Helps the elderly or those with terminal illness" ("why I'll be voting") This is one of the many ways that euthanasia is defined when speaking about humans but then there's the definition of euthanasia for animals and it often gets super simplified "Killing to create space for animals in shelters"(Shah) This is the easiest for people to understand because this is the side of euthanasia we hear about the most, animals suffering in shelters so they advise people that they should adopt as soon as possible. Even when defining people often tell their views when they are supposed to be informing others, "A merciless act of assisting in one's death" ("An American take") But when reading others definition you have to realize the bias in it due Get more content
Throughout the evidence, it is made clear that little is currently certain about this substance. The regulation is hard with no immediate scientific roadside test. Even though there are no long term health effects for people with fully developed brains child exposure is a major concern. Additionally, dependency on the drug could pose a risk to the health and functionality of people in our communities. Although, the decrease in crime and opioid use would inevitably increase the safety of our communities and it is true that the dangers that marijuana poses to our society are already present due to the legal status of alcohol and tobacco. From this information my conclusion would be that it should remain illegal until a functional roadside test is put into place in the form of training of all police officers or an actual sobriety/blood test. I believe that although this could be a great way to make our country more secure, we should be able to have complete regulations before it is legalized nationwide. Euthanasia is the medical term for providing a terminally ill patient with the means to end their life under strict circumstances. This is an issue that is heavily debated because of the ethical dilemma that exists: should we force somebody to suffer or should their life be allowed to end? People's backgrounds with religion and belief systems play a strong role in the discussion of euthanasia, especially because this is a sensitive topic for many people. In support of the
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Persuasive Speech: Euthanasia
SPEECH OUTLINE
(Persuasive Speech)
Title : Euthanasia: To live and let die.
Specific purpose : To persuade my audience that euthanasia should be legalized in Malaysia.
Central idea : Euthanasia is about giving people the right to choose how they want to live and die, saves money in medical bills, and it also stops the person from having a bad quality of life.
INTRODUCTION
Attention getter :
Imagine yourself being unable to walk, unable to see, and can barely breathe let alone speak. Your life was well lived all those years before. You are now in such unbearable pain that you can't even cry. You can no longer complete simple tasks on your own and there is no way that you ...show more content...
Why should they not give us the right to decide if we want to live or not? That should be the first right before all the ones I have mentioned. It is not logical that we can choose in all those other decisions if we cannot first choose to live or die.
ii.Supporting details:
It has been argued that for people on life support systems and people with long standing diseases causing much pain and distress, euthanasia is a better choice. It helps in relieving them from pain and misery. In cases like terminal cancers when the patient is in much pain and when people
associated with them also are put through a lot of pain and misery, it is much more practical and humane to grant the person his/her wish to end his/her own life in a relatively painless and merciful way.
– Here, I would show a picture.
iii. Supporting details:
Everyone has the right to choose how they want to live and die. Their decisions lie with them and people hold their own key to life. No one else can decide for you how you live, therefore choices are also made by one, and hence, if one wants to go for euthanasia, it should be granted. He definitely has reasons why he wants to leave the world.
Transition to Main Point 2 :
B. Main–point 2 : Assistedsuicide saves money in medical bills
Another reason to support assisted suicide is that medical costs are very high. Today the cost of a hospital room can be as much
In 1994, physician–assisted suicide became legal in Oregon which was the only state during that time. Physician–assisted suicide, also euthanasia, is when a physician provides a patient with the medical means or the medical knowledge to commit suicide. Particular words are so sensitive that individuals across the world are still, to this day, attempting to delete theDeath with Dignity Act. The notion legalizing assistedsuicide frightens citizens; however, they do not know how the patient feels. Laws like this should be used to open the minds of citizens who believe that physician–assisted dying is morally wrong and help patients in pain. Patients with a terminal illness should be allowed assisted suicide because their organs can be used freely to save another's life, they can pass knowing it was their choice, and it can decrease the hospital costs of the patients.
Every ten minutes, someone is added to the national transplant waiting list and ninety–two transplants happen each day. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, one transplant saves eight lives. Organ donors who have chosen assisted suicide will impact this life–saving process. Furthermore, assisted suicide patients will pass away during the early stages of a disease since it has not completely engulfed their organs. For example, if a patient has Leukemia, the origin of the disease will be the bone marrow or the lymph nodes. In the first and second stages, the disease will stay dormant in the bone marrow. The paitent's organs can then be used for transplants. Moreover, paying for organs is absolutely absurd, but some patients are so desperate that they are willing to pay a high price. In the United States, a kidney is worth two hundred and sixty–two thousand dollars in the black market. The black market is illegal and is a dangerous way to get an organ. If someone was willing to illegally donate their kidney in exchange for money, the patient would have to pay for the organ and continue to pay for the hospital bills. Mark J. Cherry, an author in the Journal of Medicine, states that " Hospitals, highly skilled transplant surgeons and their surgical teams have significant professional incentives to encourage virtuous
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Killing someone can be okay in some circumstances. Euthanasia is having a doctor assist in killing a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or irreversible coma. It comes from the Greek words eu meaning well and thanatos meaning death. Currently this practice is illegal in most countries. However many doctors have different viewpoints whether this should be legal or not. Legalizing euthanasia gives terminally ill patients the option to end their suffering, gives them a right to die with dignity, and have the right to die based on their beliefs. Many people that have incurable diseases suffer a great deal of pain, wishing the pain would go disappear and euthanasia would give them this opportunity to end their suffering. In Chile a fourteen year old girl was granted her wish for euthanasia because she had an incurable disease, cystic fibrosis, and she could not live with the pain anymore. (Murano) At the time euthanasia was illegal in Chile, however the child begged to speak with the president to allow her wish to be granted. After a long conversation with the child the president of Chile had given the ok to end the suffering through euthanasia. In another case two identical twins in Belgium had already been suffering major problems from birth which progressed as they got older. Both were born deaf and all their life they both had major complications, at the age of 45 they were told that they will soon become blind. They could not bear the thought of never
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Euthanasia – The Right to Decide
The definition of euthanasia from the Oxford Dictionary is: "The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or is in an incurable coma." Consider the words "suffering," "painful," "irreversible" and "incurable." These words describe a patients terrible conditions and prospects. Euthanasia is known as "mercy killing" for a reason, it is the most, humane, moral and logical form of treatment available to patients that have no hope in fully recovering. If you had to choose between lying in bed dying a slow and painful death, or dying a quick painless death at the time you choose so that you can be surrounded by all your loved ones, which would you choose? With euthanasia, ...show more content...
Be that as it may, take into consideration that when someone is euthanized nothing is being taken away from them against their will, it is physician–assisted suicide not physician–assisted murder. It is by the patients free will that they can choose to end their suffering, and isn't free will a fundamental right? Shouldn't we have the entitlement to choose how we live, and by default how we die? Being able to make this choice is what defines us. Euthanasia is simply the liberty to choose, to not be forced into a situation that causes you pain and suffering. In the famous words of Bob Marley, "Love the life you live. Live the life you love." In essence, without the free will to make these kinds of choices regarding the value of our life, how can we be expected to love life and truly treat it as a gift.
"Euthanasia is known as mercy killing [or assisted suicide] in order to painlessly terminate one's life with the humane motive of ending his or her suffering," states Dr. M. Maisie. Even though it can be argued that euthanasia is no different from a homicide, euthanasia is no the chance to alleviate agony of terminally ill patient. It is unfair and inhuman to force suffering upon any living thing, and we see animals being shown the compassion that many patients wish they had. Euthanasia saves money that could be used to cure patients. Furthermore, death is inevitable for everyone; it is one of the few things promised in life. But isn't
Around 7 million people are diagnosed with a terminal illness each year. Fifty–five percent of terminally ill patients die in pain. Some are forced to be bed ridden for months knowing a slow death is coming. Would you want to live, knowing you are completely dependent on nurses and family to take care of your every need? Patients should be given the option to end their life early with a painless death, instead of waiting for the inevitable to happen.
Euthanasia the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. Many people believe euthanasia is wrong and cruel. Euthanasia is not inhuman because the patience asks or wants the doctor to do the process. Patients that are bed ridden and in constant pain can choose to die on their own terms.
Every single patient deserves to be given an honest opinion by the doctor. "In Britain, a 2012 study discovered as many as 57,000 patients each year die without being told that efforts to keep them alive have been stopped, instead being shoved onto a "death pathway" designed to alleviate suffering by never being told" (Morris par 5). Doctors could mention euthanasia as a last resort instead of the patient being on life support. If euthanasia is legal, doctors may not be as scared to bring up the sad truth, knowing there is one last option, so the patient and the family must suffer no more.
Before euthanasia was legal some families were put into situations that were very uncomfortable.
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Euthanasia is sometimes referred to a "mercy killing." This controversial topic has been debated for decades. Some argue that euthanasia causes more harm than good, and with modern medicine it is simply unnecessary. Others argue that it is an act of mercy sparing a suffering individual from days, weeks, or months of unnecessary pain and anguish. However, there are moral and ethical questions surrounding euthanasia. It could be argued that killing of any kind is murder. No matter the situation or circumstances surrounding the action, it is just wrong and should never happen. Euthanasia laws vary all over the world. For example, "In January 1936, King George V was given a fatal dose of morphine and cocaine to hasten his death. At the time...show more content...
Do you? Many people base their lives and health in their spirituality, making religion a key ingredient in the decision making of patient end of life care. For example, some do not agree with resuscitation when it comes to the heart stopping. This to them is a death–delaying action, challenging their values and beliefs that this act is altering the course of nature. With euthanasia doctors will feel the same tug at their ethics and values as they will be letting this patient make him or her own choice about ending their life. I view euthanasia as being very similar to this practice. If I chose to end my suffering months before the end it should be my choice only or those that know my way of life. I think the same laws should apply to protect euthanasia. Is it harmful to want to go before or once the pain and suffering has become too much? American Medical Association says that euthanasia will ultimately cause more harm than good. There are many reasons why the practice would be a good thing for many. This be economically the perfect decision for most. End of life care is a very dollar process, people could put themselves deep debt for the years following the passing of a love when they only received these services
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Euthanasia: Right to Die v. Right to Life
"I'm not afraid of being dead. I'm just afraid of what one might have to go through to get there." ― Pamela Bone
Every human being hopes to live and enjoy the fruits of life until death arrives. But at times he is compelled to end his own life through unnatural means. When a person ends his life by his own act, it is called "suicide" but to end the life of a person by others though on the request of the deceased, is called "euthanasia" or "mercy killing".
Euthanasia is derived from a Greek words "eu" and "thanatos" meaning "good death". According to Black's Law Dictionary (8th edition) euthanasia means the act or practice of killing or bringing about the death of a person who suffers from an incurable disease or condition, for reasons of mercy. It is the practice of killing a person for giving relief from incurable pain or suffering or allowing or causing painless death when life has become meaningless and disagreeable. Euthanasia can be voluntary, that is according to the choice of the patient or can be a result of the decision of the patient's family member, in cases where the patient is mentally incompetent or physically incapable of making a decision. It can be classified into following categories:
1)Active Euthanasia: It involves painlessly putting individuals to death for merciful reasons.
2) Get more content
There are people all over the world who are dying, and are suffering, why would we not let them die on their own terms? When the term "assisted suicide" or "euthanasia" is used, most make the assumption that it is illegal. On the other side when "aid in dying" and "death with dignity" are used, most come to the conclusion that it is okay (Clark). "For some people ending a human life on purpose is morally wrong because of how valuable life is and is a topic that should not be taken lightly" (Minton–Beddoes). However, terminally ill patients should get to die on their own terms, because they are suffering and as bad as it sounds, they are going to die anyway. There are many reasons why terminally ill patients should be able to die on their own terms, with assisted suicide or with the help of a doctor. In some states the process of helping one die is legal. There is also a very famous doctor, Jack Kevorkian, who was one of the first doctors to do assisted suicide and spent prison time for what he did (Biography.com). Yes, terminally ill patients should be able to die on their own terms. Euthanasia is another term that is commonly used for assisted suicide. Euthanasia is defined as the direct killing of a person, mainly by injecting a lethal drug (Fast Facts). Under the homicide laws in all fifty states, euthanasia is illegal. Euthanasia can be categorized into four different categories, voluntary, involuntary, active, and passive.Voluntary euthanasiais when a competent person Get
Euthanasia is defined as, "the practice of intentionally ending a life to alleviate pain and suffering" without legal consequence ("Euthanasia", p.1). Euthanasia is a Greek word meaning "good death" and it is also known as physician assisted suicide or mercy killing. This topic has been a controversial topic of debate all over the world, and there is even controversy among doctors. There was a survey conducted in the United States on physicians' opinions about euthanasia, which indicated that fifty–four percent concur that it should be allowed, and forty–six percent oppose it. Currently in the United States it is only legal in six states: California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Montana and Washington. This means forty–four states do not allow patients the right to choose their own death. The focus of this paper is on the controversy over euthanasia, the physician assisted suicide of patients who have been diagnosed terminally ill and have asked to die rather than live in pain. Euthanasia is beneficial in many aspects, and therefore this method to achieving a "good death" should be open to any patient that is suffering with a terminal illness. It is beneficial because it gives patients the right to choose, it is properly regulated, it protects self–hood and human dignity, and it relieves pain and suffering.
The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self–evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with Get more content