ipl-logo

Henrietta Lacks Arguments Against Euthanasia

875 Words4 Pages

Thesis Statement: Unethical medical practices are unacceptable procedures that can be used for the benefit of mankind.

Issues in unethical procedures in the medical field are common context discussed in debates. The main question among these procedures is its violation in the moral context of such activities. Such procedures do not satisfy laws, principles and theories based on the accepted norms and ideas and influenced by customs, cultures and beliefs that are generalized as good. However, results on some unethical procedures brought beneficial results on mankind such as the development of polio vaccine and discovery of human telomerase which was made possible in the extraction of Henrietta Lacks’ cells without her consent. Moreover, euthanasia may also serve as an option for families to prevent further expenses for patients that only exist due to life support. Aside from that, international codes and laws for human protection against medical …show more content…

According to Bartel and Otlowski (2010), this procedure is defined as ending a person’s life to cease their suffering from fatal condition. The issue on this matter is that life will be taken away in the application of this methodology which makes the procedure immoral. However, according to Emmanuel (1999), euthanasia can provide other advantages. Based on his studies, he said that euthanasia or Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) is beneficial to patients through the alleviation of unremitting and excruciating pain to 25,000 or lower than 2.3 million Americans who die each year. Moreover, euthanasia can also provide psychological assurance. In around 40 percent of Americans, this is possible because by just knowing that euthanasia or PAS is a possible alternatives if they perceived their death as excruciating. Such benefits holds possible escape for patients from experiencing extensive pain and their families will no longer witness patients dying from

Show More
Related

  • The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

    1459 Words  | 6 Pages

    Henrietta Lacks, the “Patient” HeLa cells made history beyond polio vaccines and outer space experiments. In Rebecca Skloot’s bestseller, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” HeLa cells went beyond just the successful research, cures, and treatments - they told the story of the Lacks family, and the unethical behaviors in the medical field of the 1950s. Henrietta Lacks was treated as a research subject, rather than just as a patient. Her physicians unethically withheld information relating to informed consent, and uses of her biospecimen, while sharing her private information. They ignored her rights of voluntary choice, disrespected her confidentiality, and lacked communication with both her, and her family, discriminating against her race.

    Read More

  • Why Is Henrietta Lacks Unethical

    428 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The historic dream of public health…is a dream of social justice” (Health Affairs, Vol. 25, Number 4). In the story of Henrietta Lacks, it is hard to say that the use of her cervical tissue is ethical, because it is not. Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer and Dr. Gey decided to isolate those cells. When he found that these cells could grow in a culture medium and last, he shared them with the world of science.

    Read More

  • The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

    1559 Words  | 7 Pages

    My Tissue or Your Tissue? Where have the ethics gone in medicine today? Rebecca Skloot’s novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks discusses the life and influence of Henrietta Lacks within the medical community. Henrietta Lacks was an African American tobacco farmer from Clover, Virginia, whose cells were wrongly stolen from her without her knowledge or consent in 1951. Cells that would inevitably become the world’s first immortal cell line, thus transforming modern medicine forever.

    Read More

  • Four Myths About Doctor-Assisted Suicide

    274 Words  | 2 Pages

    As mentioned, physician- assisted suicide is a debate that has been discussed for decades. A newspaper article written by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Four Myths About Doctor-Assisted Suicide, provides information about the arguments that have been debated decades ago. Emanuel informs the reader both the arguments and the realistic statics since 2012. The first myth is concerning of the pain patients endure, Emanuel quotes the main argument advocates gave, “Most patients want to die are suffering from depression, and not pain”(1). Emanuel claims the statement to be false, due to statics done in 2012.

    Read More

  • Commentary On Physician Assisted Suicide

    1246 Words  | 5 Pages

    Commentary On A Medical Dilemma Physician-assisted suicide is a large moral controversy in the medical field. Jukka Varelius explains the key points about the dilemma on whether medical patients should have the right to ask doctors to terminate their lives, in order to end their suffering. In “Voluntary Euthanasia, Physician-Assisted Suicide, and the Right to do Wrong”, the author addresses how assisting suicide is morally wrong in our society, but yet patients insist that they have the moral right to end their lives if they are in agony and facing significant torment due to their ill status. Jukka, in his point of view, outlines the multiple problems that go along with the main conflict, such as should a doctor be forced to end a suffering patient’s life even if the physician does not wish to do so and should the patient have the ability to ask for euthanasia even if there is still a possibility that the patient’s status can improve. Mr. Varelius does a successful job portraying the key points in this conflict, but does not strongly support any side in the

    Read More

  • Euthanasia Vs. Physician Assisted Suicide

    1546 Words  | 7 Pages

    Threatening to diminish the value of life is very dangerous. Euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is the practice of doctors intentionally ending a terminally ill patient’s life in what is purportedly a gentle and dignified manner. The term originated in ancient Greek and means “easy death.” Doctors perform euthanasia by administering lethal drugs or by withholding treatment that would prolong the patient’s life. Physician-assisted suicide is also a form of euthanasia, but the difference between the two methods is that in euthanasia, doctors end the patient’s life with lethal injections, whereas, in physician-assisted suicide, patients kill themselves with a lethal amount of drugs prescribed by the doctors.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Euthanasia By Philippa Foot

    937 Words  | 4 Pages

    The possible legalization of euthanasia can cause a great disturbance in how people view life and death and the simplicity of how they would treat it. "There are many fairly severely handicapped people for whom a simple, affectionate life is possible." (Foot, p. 94) As demonstrated, the decision of terminating a person 's life is a very fragile and difficult one, emotionally and mentally. Nevertheless, it’s a choice we can make if it is passive euthanasia being expressed.

    Read More

  • Thesis Statement For Physician Assisted Suicide

    522 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Right to Die 1) Introduction a) Thesis statement: Physician assisted suicide offers patients a choice of getting out of their pain and misery, presents a way to help those who are already dead mentally because of how much a disease has taken over them, proves to be a great option in many states its legal in, and puts the family at ease knowing their love one is out of pain. i) The use of physician assisted death is used in many different countries and some states. ii) Many people who chose this option are fighting a terminal illness.

    Read More

  • Henrietta Lacks And Ethics

    462 Words  | 2 Pages

    The final violation of ethical principles, in the story of Henrietta Lacks, was the violation of justice. Without the contribution of Henrietta’s cells, many discoveries and vaccines, such as the vaccine that conquered Polio, would not have made their pivotal breakthroughs in biomedical research. Her direct and unknowingly, supportive contribution helped save many people’s lives all over the world. Unfortunately, her named did not receive the recognition it deserved, and her family never received any compensation for profits made from direct use of her

    Read More

  • Ethical Essay: The Role Of Euthanasia In Medicine

    870 Words  | 4 Pages

    This prolonging of life brings about many ethical dilemmas in the field of medicine. One of the issues is patient autonomy. The practice of euthanasia has been established to put the choice back into the hands of the patient. To better understand euthanasia, there are five different types.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay Pro And Euthanasia

    1749 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ethical Arguments Against Euthanasia

    1234 Words  | 5 Pages

    A controversial practice that invokes a debate over how beneficial its intentions are is the use of euthanasia. The argument switches between whether or not putting terminally ill patients to death with the assistance of a physician is justifiable and right. Legalizing the practice of euthanasia is a significant topic among many people in society, including doctors and nurses in the medical field, as it forces people to decide where to draw the line between relieving pain and simply killing. While some people see euthanasia as a way to helping a patient by eliminating their pain, it is completely rejected by others who see it as a method of killing.

    Read More

  • Pro Euthanasia Speech

    1014 Words  | 5 Pages

    From an economic standpoint, euthanasia is a brilliant alternative. Though many see it as unethical, it may be relieving for the victims to know that once they’ve passed they’re no longer considered burdens to their families. Though harsh, keeping a terminally ill person alive for a year costs no less than $55,000, dying in a dignified way is their last resort when they know their condition is not going to improve. Many patients with incurable diseases have stated that the lengthy and expensive time and operations granted by their families are not worth the few extra months they get of spending time on Earth.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Euthanasia

    1075 Words  | 5 Pages

    Euthanasia is usually used to refer to active euthanasia, and in this sense, euthanasia is usually considered to be criminal homicide, but voluntary, passive euthanasia is widely non-criminal. Voluntary Euthanasia is conducted with the consent of the patient while Involuntary Euthanasia is conducted against the will of the patient. Beginning with the philosophical aspects of euthanasia we must first understand the importance of the sanctity of life. Human life is sacred because God made humankind in His own image, and that each individual human

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Euthanasia

    1016 Words  | 5 Pages

    INTRODUCTION Euthanasia alludes to the act of deliberately close a life keeping in mind the end goal to assuage torment and enduring. There are different euthanasia laws in each country. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering".[1] In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient"". Euthanasia is sorted in diverse ways, which incorporate voluntary, non-voluntary, or automatic.

    Read More

More about Henrietta Lacks Arguments Against Euthanasia

Open Document