Assisted Suicide Argument Against Euthanasia

Assisted Suicided Every 16.2 minutes, there are people in the world that take their own life by killing themselves.(Purity, 9) There are are over 40,000 people every year that commit suicide.(Purity, 10) Suicide is the leading cause of death for those of the age of 15-24 years old.(Purity, 13) However, coming up in the media through the last 20 years has been the idea of ending your life by assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is the practice of ending someone 's life.(Newton, 7) A terminal illness is when you have a disease that will end your life within the near future.

Euthanasia is a Greek word that stems from the prefix eu- and noun thanatos. The word thanatos means death, and eu- means good. Therefore, euthanasia literally translates to “good death”. Currently, assisted suicide is only legal in the states of Oregon, Vermont, Washington, California, Colorado, and the District of Columbia. In Montana, assisted suicide is legal after there is a court ruling.

In the United States, nine states criminalize assisted suicide through common law. Alabama is among one of those states. Only Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, and California have legalized physician- assisted suicide (Emanuel). According to Oxford English Dictionary, Euthanasia is defined as "A gentle and easy death" (Oxford). It would benefit the state of Alabama to enact euthanasia laws because a person should not have to suffer unnecessary pain, Hospice only prolongs impending death, and Medicare expenditures would decrease significantly.

Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is an act in which a terminally ill patient should have all rights to participate in such actions. Many individuals mistaken the difference between the two, euthanasia is the act of which the doctor or third party is performing the final act of death. In the case of physician assisted suicide, the last and final act is performed by the terminally ill themselves. No matter which option a patient decides to choose, it is their choice on how they decide to handle their bodies. We often forget as a society that abortions and living wills are examples of how we choose to govern and treat our own bodies.

Assisted suicide has been extremely controversial because of the different views of individuals. Many believe that assisted suicide is a bad act because of moral issues, yet many others believe that euthanasia should be an option because of their ethical views. Euthanasia is a problem because many people want it to be illegal in their country; however, euthanasia has become legal in some countries such as Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Colombia, Luxembourg and assisted suicide has become legal in places such as Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Japan, Albania, Mexico and some US states like, California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and Montana. Therefore, having this practice become legal or illegal will still be an issue because people will

Some people believe that the family would be sad and do not want their family member to die before God has planned for them to die. However, they should be relieved that the person is not suffering anymore and that they will be in a safe place. Even though they died before they were planned to, it does not mean they are a bad person for making that choice. The family also will not have to see the family member struggling to be happy. Brittany Maynard, a woman who died from assisted suicide to cure her terminal brain cancer, moved from California to Oregon in order to find the treatment she wanted.

“I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion.” The intent of a doctor is one that should be pure and selfless, one that should prolong the life of a patient, not terminate it. In the noble profession of medicine, there have been great controversies that have left one world split into two. Euthanasia, by definition, is the “painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma.”

Assisted dying refers to a situation in which a mentally competent adult with a terminal illness makes a voluntary and informed choice, after meeting specified legal safeguards, to be provided with medically supervised assistance to end their own life. Assisted dying is currently illegal in the United Kingdom . The topic of its legality has been subject to continuous debate both in Parliament and among the general public. On 11 September 2015, the Assisted Dying (No. 2) Bill, aimed at legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, was debated and defeated in the House of Commons, with Members of Parliament expressing compelling and contrasting arguments.

Imagine having to endure so much pain and suffering for a majority of your life that you would just want it all to end. Well, there is a way one can stop their own pain and suffering and it is called euthanasia. Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease. The act may only be done solely to those diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as cancer, aids, and heart disease. Many people agree with the idea of euthanasia as it can help those who are suffering be stripped of all the pain they are enduring.

Justified Euthanasia “How terrible it is to love something death can touch” (Albus Dumbledore), is something everyone questions to themselves. There is a great desire to avoid it, but death is inescapable. Death approaches over time or unexpectedly and happens to everyone. In hospitals, a patient’s chance of life can hang by a choice.