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EUTHANASIA

Uploaded by aljor2001 on Jan 17, 2013

Euthanasia is the practice of painlessly putting to death of people who have incurable, painful, or distressing diseases or handicaps. ‘Euthanasia’ comes from the Greek words for 'good' and 'death', and is commonly called mercy killing. Euthanasia may occur when an incurably ill person asks their physician, friend or relative, to put them to death. A considerable size of society is in favor of Euthanasia mostly because they feel that as a democratic country, we as free individuals have the right to decide for ourselves whether or not it is our right to determine when to terminate someone's life.
The Hippocratic Oath also directly says that no physician can take a human life intentionally. “…I will neither prescribe nor administer a lethal dose of medicine to any patient even if asked not counsel any such ting not perform the most disrespect for every human life from fertilization to natural death and reject abortion that deliberately takes a unique human life” (The Hippocratic Oath). Major medical profession groups such as American Medical Associate (AMA) and American Geriatrics Association (AGS) strongly oppose physician-assisted suicide. The overall concern of these two large medical associations is that “…linking PAS to the practice of medicine could harm the public image of the medical profession” (Collections for Journal of the American Geriatrics Society).
The American Medical Association has approved the withdrawing of treatment. A medical intervention is either not given or the ongoing use of the intervention is discontinued, allowing natural progression of the underlying diseases state. The use of machines, water or food to keep a person alive can be withheld, upon the request of the patient. Ultimately, the goal for a physician/patient relationship has been to comfort and cure. If this relationship is changed, to say that comfort will include the termination of life, PAS could definitely weaken the trust between the patient and the physician. This expectation is a significant element of a doctors’ obligation under the Hippocratic Oath, “I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgment, and I will do no harm or injustice to them” (The Hippocratic Oath).
The main reason for the use of physician-assisted suicide is supposedly to give compassion and to care for the terminally ill patient. Case and point, physician assisted suicide is said to be ethical because it is used to end suffering to the...

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Uploaded by:   aljor2001

Date:   01/17/2013

Category:   Social Issues

Length:   3 pages (641 words)

Views:   1999

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