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EUTHANASIA.   Term Paper ID:28083 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses passive & active euthanasia; political, legal & family issues; views of Pope Paul II; medical ethics.... More...

8 Pages / 1800 Words 11 sources, 15 Citations, MLA Format $32.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Discusses passive & active euthanasia; political, legal & family issues; views of Pope Paul II; medical ethics. Paper Introduction: Euthanasia has become an important issue in the protection of human dignity. As medical science becomes more capable at prolonging life, but not necessarily at making that life valuable, euthanasia becomes an option to be considered by those who suffer, those who love them, and those who are charged with their care. Passive euthanasia refers to the withdrawal of "heroic" measures that keep a moribund person alive, and active euthanasia means taking a positive action that leads directly to the death of another person, and active euthanasia is considered murder in most legal and religious systems (Urofsky 15). However, active euthanasia should be legalized. It is first of all a humane way of ending life in the event of a terminal illness or debilitating and incurable injury. The legalization of active euthanasia would also end the physical and emotional Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. As medical science becomes more capable at prolonging life, butnot necessarily at making that life valuable, euthanasia becomes an optionto be considered by those who suffer, those who love them, and those whoare charged with their care. . "Euthanasia in the 199 s: Dying a "Good" Death." Current (July-August 1993), 27-33).Urofsky, Melvin I. Freeman, 1989.Shertz, Edward and Robert J. In nonvoluntary active euthanasia,physicians (or family members or friends) make the decision to immediatelyend the lives of incompetent patients who seem to be in enormous pain orsuffering, and since physicians are more and more wary of making any suchdecision which will leave them open to legal action, the process devolvesto the family. However, surveys show thatpublic opinion is on the side of withdrawing all "invasive" and"extraordinary" treatment in such cases ("Euthanasia: What Is the 'GoodDeath'?" 21). Blendon. As noted, among these patients may be incompetent adults whopreviously expressed the will to be killed under such circumstances as wellas infants who it is simply presumed would, if they could, express the samewish (Tong 31). Physicians usually assume that what patients and families want in acrisis is resuscitation--life at all costs. Society faces a number of issues of life anddeath, and because of developments in medicine and technology, these issuesbecome more difficult all the time. Few of us like pain and suffering, and only those of us who are profoundly religious can find meaning in them (Tong 33). Suffering takes many forms, and the suffering of the family of thepatient should not be ignored. In addition, the family itself islikely to be suffering in sympathy with the patient as well as beacuse ofthe decision that has to be made. It is this attitude that comes under the heading of what the popecalls a "culture of death," though he is placing a certain value judgmenton the matter by his choice of terms. Supporters of euthanasia undercertain circumstances see their position as a "culture of life," as adedication to the quality of life, to the prevention of suffering, and topersonal choice in the matter. The legalizationof active euthanasia would also end the physical and emotional sufferingnot only of the patient but also of the immediate family members.Furthermore, such a move would help cut the nation's soaring health costsby eliminating expensive extended--and ultimately fruitless--hospital care. Euthanasia has become an important issue in the protection of humandignity. . According to the RandomHouse Unabridged Dictionary, there are two definitions for the word"euthanasia." The first is that the word is a synonym for "mercy killing,"or "the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as bywithholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from anincurable, esp. Are the burdens resulting from their treatment excessive, or are they reasonably bearable for the amount of benefit to be gained? Will the treatment offer relief of suffering or alleviate pain? Because we have to ask thisquestion, the idea of euthanasia has also become more important--should we"pull the plug" on people whose quality of life will never be "normal"again, who may be suffering great pain, or who cannot continue to livewithout being attached to machines? The fact is that death has becomevery expensive for some patients because there has been a change in howpeople die. It came swiftly, "a thief in the night." It came without significant resistance from medicine; little could be done to ward off impending death. These issues have become more open for many people because of theAIDs epidemic, and the many people dying of this disease have made dyingitself visible as it was not before. (Burnell 75).Essentially, though, the conflict ultimately has to be decided withoutclear guides because every case is different, but the nature of the issueto be decided should be made more clear: There is a difference between helping a person live all the life he is entitled to and prolonging the act of dying. While physicians and the pope might be closer together thanthey think, what is needed is a clearer set of guidelines showing whenprocedures can be withdrawn and when they cannot. It typically follows a long pattern of chronic illness and decline. In many cases, the patient who is being kept alive alsosuffers great pain and indignity, which cannot necessarily be measuredobjectively. Tong finds that the idea of active euthanasia,while distasteful to many, is also something most Americans today feelshould be a matter of personal choice, to be judged on an individual basis: The fact that so many people are interested in euthanasia is not necessarily a sign that this is a death-driven culture. Now death is generally an event of old age. As science can keep people alive longer, it does so at a muchhigher cost just prior to death than was paid in the past: In all of our prior history, death for those who reached adulthood came generally in what is now midlife. Intensive Care. Certain questions are asked in the hospital situation tohelp physicians make ethical decisions regarding treatment or thewithholding of treatment and can serve in an analysis of issues of activeeuthanasia as well: Will a proposed treatment or procedure offer you a reasonable hope of benefit, an improved condition, and a better quality of life? Let Me Die Before I Wake. The OEDalso offers three definitions for the word. "Euthanasia Should Not Be Based on Economic Factors." In Euthanasia, Neal Bernards (ed.), 138-143. Quickly, without pain, without anguish and sparing loved ones a protracted deathbed watch. Yet hundreds of people in America still do help their loved ones to die every year (Humphry, Final Exit 3 ).Yet, euthanasia remains a controversial subject, and the word itself can beconsidered controversial as some see it as a euphemism hiding the truenature of the action it describes. New York: The Grove Press, 1984.Humphry, Derek. "The Common Good, Terminal Illness, and Euthanasia." Issues in Law & Medicine (Fall 1993), 151-166."Euthanasia: What Is the 'Good Death'?" The Economist (July 2 , 1991), 21- 23.Humphry, Derek. The approach suggested by Pope John Paul II is notunreasonable, but it is not clear how different his view is from that ofphysicians who also use painkillers which may shorten life or who mightwithdraw certain procedures believing them to be extraordinary andintrusive. the law holds that a person who takes an active role in causing another person's death has committed homicide (Urofsky 119).This has not stopped the practice, and it has not stopped the confusion.The courts and legislators have been reluctant to deal with this issuedirectly. If people can then interpret that purpose consistently in all situations, even in situations with a conflicting ethic, they can still feel that they are doing right (Raffin, Shurkin, and Sinkler 129).However, it is apparent that the conflicting ethics in the decisionregarding active euthanasia are each so strong that the conflict may not beeasily resolved. Physicians are dedicated to promoting a body of ethics related tohealth issues, but in truth "ethics" is not as precise a term as manybelieve: Ethical decisions become relatively easy to reach of we start with a clear purpose on which we all agree. The first is that the wordmeans a "gentle and easy death"; the second, the "means of bringing about agentle and easy death"; and finally, "the action of inducing a gentle andeasy death," said to be recent use of the word. Life in the terminally ill need not be prolonged by "aggressive medical procedures." And drugs that reduce suffering are acceptable even if they shorten life (Woodward 59). a painful, disease or condition." The second is that theterm means "painless death." The word derives from the Greek for "easy death," based on eu foreasy and thanatos for death. It comes only after exhaustive medical interventions, some of which plainly increase the length and intensity of suffering and all of which increase costs to the health care system (Dougherty 153).Active euthanasia would reduce suffering, fulfill the wishes of many, andcreate a viable option for a grieving family. More often, they will not, yet the family is still thedecision-making unit faced with the need to balance the suffering of thepatient with the possibility of relief. Euthanasia implies theparticipation of medical personnel in some manner, though strictly speakingthis might not be the case. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989.Raffin, Thomas A., Joel N. Final Exit. . Eugene, Oregon: The Hemlock Society, 1991.Johnson, Dana E. However, active euthanasia should belegalized. Final Choices to Live or to Die. Recently, Pope John Paul II statedthat we are creating a "culture of death" by deciding that there are timeswhen euthanasia is acceptable, and he instead believes there is no timewhen "pulling the plug" is acceptable. The problem is that we have learned to cope with one aspect of ourmedical problems without being able to carry it through as far as we wish.Medical science today may be able to prolong life but may not be able torestore full functioning to the sufferer, in which case the human sufferinginvolved is prolonged, not reduced: When technology becomes an end in itself, unduly prolonging the dying process, it creates a paradox in which human dignity may be undermined and where the goals of treatment are distorted to accommodate the imperatives of technology. Often, they will have discussed thematter beforehand. More and more Americans today are seeking the right to terminate lifewhen it is no longer livable, as is seen in the success of books like FinalExit, which offers a rationale for active euthanasia and suicide: It is against the law everywhere to assist a suicide--no matter what the reason. . New York: Plenum Press, 1993.Dougherty, Charles J. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1993.Woodward, Kenneth L. "Euthanasia: should the public decide?" JAMA (February 3, 1993), 59-591.Tong, Rosemarie. Or will the treatment just prolong a dying process already in motion? Several definitions of the word can befound, differentiated according to the approach being taken, whether it isetymological, legal, religious, or philosophical. The only way to be reasonably certain of a good death is to plan, if at all possible, when one is still in good health (Humphry, Let Me Die 7). Shertz and Blendon cite surveys that showthat half of those who say they would want euthanasia would accept death soas to not burden their families and not, as is widely supposed, becausethey had pain (Shertz and Blendon 59 ). An absolute position ignores thereality of human suffering for both the patient and his or her family andmakes both agree to allow suffering as something that has to be endured.In truth, the pope's position is not completely rigid, but he is not clearas to when he would be rigid and when he would not. On the contrary, we are a culture very much enamored with life and almost obsessive about our physical and psychological well- being. "Life, Death and the Pope." Newsweek (April 1 , 1995), 56-59. New York: W.H. Pope John Paul II discusses a number ofthings he sees as part of the "culture of death," but he is not always asabsolute about the matter as some see him to be: John Paul is equally adamant in his opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia. Shurkin, and Wharton Sinkler III. The dilemma facing the medical profession is similar to that facingthe legal profession, which has also had a difficult time coping with thefact of euthanasia and with the growing desire for some guidelines: There is indeed a line between assisting suicide and murder, but it is often hard to know where to draw it. It is, of course, best when the patient has explicitlystated that he or she does not want life to be prolonged through "heroic"measures or suffering to be prolonged when there is no cure, and suchwishes should be in writing: Everyone wishes to die well. It is first of all a humane way of ending life in the event ofa terminal illness or debilitating and incurable injury. Works CitedBurnell, George M. The family faces difficultdecisions when there is a terminally ill patient dependent on that familyto make this important decision. There is also a difference between letting nature take its course in a dying life and speeding the death of an individual by whatever means and for whatever purposes, no matter how well intended (Tada 181). Euthanasia is a political issue in America today, though the termthat has come to be used more commonly is "assisted suicide," which couldbe differentiated from the more general idea of euthanasia in that assistedsuicide implies the active participation of the afflicted individual, whileeuthanasia could be accomplished in other ways. Decisions that subordinate the humane dying of a terminally ill man or woman to the technological imperative, or personal or institutional self- interest--legal, financial, professional--are not consistent with Christian values and traditions (Tong 27).The purpose of medical science is to alleviate human suffering, not toprolong it, and the rule against active euthanasia can contribute to thecontinuation of suffering. Passive euthanasia refers to the withdrawalof "heroic" measures that keep a moribund person alive, and activeeuthanasia means taking a positive action that leads directly to the deathof another person, and active euthanasia is considered murder in most legaland religious systems (Urofsky 15). . We can keep people alive when in thepast they might have died, but should we? In cases where a physician is himself a family member of asufferer, there is evidence that the physician reacts more as a familymember than a physician: Sometimes physicians become frustrated in dealing with their colleagues and take over the care of their loved ones in an attempt to reduce their suffering (Burnell 119). The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) offers amore extensive history of the word based on the same Greek roots. . Letting Go: Death, Dying & the Law. Both practices are "intolerable and burdensome." But here he makes distinctions. 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