Nowadays, euthanasia is a classic example of a moral dilemma that is yet to be resolved with the help of law regulations. It is necessary to discuss this issue and contribute to finding the solution to the dilemma.
I decided to write my essay on this issue to help you come up with your own ideas.
Definition
A lot of people talk and write about this issue, but not everybody can define the notion and set the limits of its usage. So, before arguing this point, you should clarify the definition you take as a basis. It will give you a key to understanding of your own position.
Euthanasia is a practice of shortening the human’s life. Euthanasia becomes the choice of a person who suffers from an incurable disease or a strong pain, as well as just the satisfaction of his or her individual request, without a medical recommendation for that. It is usually carried out in a painless or minimally painful form.
Types to Consider When Giving a Solution
Since the issue is controversial, you may need to offer a classification in your essay to find different solutions for every type. There are passive euthanasia and active euthanasia.
Passive euthanasia is conducted when life support and medical aid are stopped, which leads to the natural death of a person.
When active euthanasia is conducted, a suffering patient is given a deathly dose of medication, after which he or she dies fast and without pain.
There are the following forms of the active euthanasia:
- Killing due to mercy. This occurs when relatives or a doctor see the sufferings of a patient and, unable to cope with them, decide to give him or her a deathly dose of painkillers. The patient cannot agree or disagree, since he or she is not able to speak and thus, make conscious decisions.
- The suicide. It is assisted by a doctor and carried out with the consent of a doctor. So, the doctor just helps to complete the process.
- Euthanasia with the assistance of technology. It is carried out without the help of the doctor. A patient turns on the device that causes his or her death. So, it is a kind of suicide which the doctor and the patients’ relatives are aware of.
Basing on this classification, you can try to define which types should be legalized and which types should not be allowed under any conditions. Your personal opinion is what matters the most in your academic essay writing.
To offer you a few directions for thinking, here are a few arguments for and against euthanasia. Please note that no matter which side you aim to support in your essay, you will need all of them: to convince that one side is right and that the other side is wrong.
Arguments Pro Euthanasia
- In some cases, patients suffer too much even though their fate is already known, based on the doctor’s practice and theoretical materials (such as the final stages of HIV/AIDS or cancer). Refusing such patients’ requests for euthanasia will equal to torturing.
- People are free to choose their fate, and they are the owners of their lives. We cannot choose the way we enter this world. But there is an opportunity to choose how to leave it with pride and smile on the face.
- It is necessary to take care of the genetic heritage of human population. Legalizing euthanasia will lead to reducing the threat of spreading genetic diseases and deviations within human beings. However, if you want to support this point in your essay, you should not mention that this was a part of the fascist ideology in Germany at the time of World War II.
- The financial aspect of life support also matters to the people who experience unfavorable economic conditions. Indeed, it is quite expensive to support a heavily suffering patient. This may drain out the budget of the whole family, significantly decreasing the level of life of the patient’s family.
- Another argument for euthanasia that can be used in your essay is connected with the definition of life. Can a person under life support or without the fully functioning brains be considered alive? Some people think that life is a conscious existence. Thus, terminating the biological life of a person who is psychologically dead cannot be considered unethical or illegal.
Arguments Against Euthanasia
- Have you ever thought why this practice is illegal in the US? It is necessary to emphasize this in your essay. The process is illegal and has been so for a long time. Most people agree. The thing is that legalizing euthanasia would lead to legalization of killing and assisted suicide, which is a clear violation of the human right to life.
- If euthanasia is allowed under certain conditions, people may aim to commit a suicide, getting themselves into under conditions which do justify their actions. Such legalization will diminish the value of a human’s life.
- Allowing euthanasia in cases where a person is not able to inform about his or her decision cannot be possible. Otherwise, it may turn into legalization of evil intentions of the person’s relatives who aim to inherit his or her property. If this person cannot decide who can speak for him or her, nobody can find out about the true relations between this person and his or her family.
- Even if a person is conscious, he or she may be psychologically unable to make decisions due to fear, pain, or other conditions. Therefore, even if the person asks to terminate his or her life, we cannot know for sure that such patient will not change their mind if the circumstances change for the better. Also, there are enough examples of how seemingly incurable diseases got treated. These stories still give hope for the better.
- From the religious point of view, taking someone’s life or one’s own life is a sin. Violation of these principles at a legal level will offend believers, no matter whether they are a patient’s family or not.
- Rather than thinking about whether assisted killing is right or wrong, it is better to develop alternative ways and find compromises between supporters and opponents of euthanasia. Taking such approach may help to improve people’s lives and reduce sufferings of those who face incurable diseases.
So, there are the tips for your essay about euthanasia. Now it is up to you to filter them and organize your thoughts in an essay that expresses your personal point of view.
Good luck!
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