Euthanasia and the Americans Right To Die Essay - 706 Words

Euthanasia and the Americans Right To Die ...no-one is truly free to live, until one is free to die. -Martin Luther King The issue of euthanasia has been hotly debated in America over the past several years. Like drug decriminalization and abortion, such personal liberty issues can be seen from a multitude of viewpoints, and public opinion varies widely. Recent events concerning euthanasia have brought this issue to a higher level of visibility and raised the publics awareness of the American political landscape. Most notably among these events: the first-degree murder arrest of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the infamous advocate and practitioner of physician-assisted suicide, and the 1997 passage of the Death With†¦show more content†¦Passive Euthanasia is the discontinuation of life-sustaining medical procedures by the attending physician, thereby allowing the patient to die without intervention from the lack of medical treatment. This is commonly known as Pulling the Plug. Physician Assisted Suicide is the act of the physician providing the patient with the means and knowledge to perform life-e nding acts, but allowing the patient to carry out the lethal act alone, at his or her own discretion. If a doctor provides a terminally ill patient with a large quantity of morphine, but leaves the patient with the option of if and when to take a lethal dosage, this is considered physician assisted suicide. There are many arguments both for and against euthanasia. Many faith groups within Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other religions believe that God gives life and therefore only God should take it away. Suicide would then be considered an interference of Gods plan for that individual. Therefore, such groups argue that the patient should continue living and suffering until God decides otherwise. Some religious extremist groups take this idea to the extent that they will not seek medical treatment for any condition at all. On the other hand there is a significant percentage of Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, secularists, non-Christians and liberal Christians in North America who do not accept these theologically based arguments. These groups believe that each person hasShow MoreRelatedResearching Physician Assisted Suicide801 Words   |  3 PagesEuthanasia Euthanasia, or physician assisted suicide, is an important and controversial topic in our society today, and (under the correct conditions) should both be considered legal and morally acceptable. In fact, throughout history euthanasia has been a debate in many countries, some areas accepting the practice, whereas others find it unacceptable. 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