Is Euthanasia Immoral - Research Paper Example

Euthanasia should be illegal Is Euthanasia Moral? al Affiliation: Is Euthanasia Moral? Euthanasia isthe termination of life of a very sick person by a physician in order to relieve pain or suffering. Mainly, persons who undergo euthanasia are those suffering from incurable diseases as well as undergoing through a lot of agonies. In United States, this practice is illegal. Nevertheless, some states such as Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Vermont have legalized assisted suicide. It entails self-administration of life termination drugs by the patient rather than the physicians. Euthanasia can be conducted through giving a person a lethal injection or by not putting any effort required to keep the patient alive, for instance, removing the feeding or gas pipes. On the other hand, voluntary euthanasia is one which includes the consent of the patient while involuntary euthanasia does not include the consent of the patients because they are not in a position to make any credible decision (Kon 459). Lastly, involuntary euthanasia occurs when a person requests not to be killed only to end up being killed. This paper will give reasons why it’s immoral for the physicians to assist in suicide. According to the constitution of United States, every citizen has the right to live. The constitution also states clearly that there is no one who has the right to take the life of the other. As a result, it’s illegal and unethical for any person to decide if the other person will live or not. With the increasing stress levels in the world, making such a move to be legal will lead to increased cases of euthanasia (Pereira 1075). Many physicians will be faced with many cases of voluntary euthanasia. It’s immoral for any physicians to help either in voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Research indicates that when patients are in very intense pain, they are likely to take actions that are regrettable. As a result, voluntary euthanasia is an unethical way of giving a person who is not of sound mind an opportunity to make a critical decision about his existence. Allowing physician assisted suicide will increase cases of negligence in our hospitals. Currently, the number of negligence cases in the health facilities has increased tremendously. As a result, when physicians are given the ability to terminate the lives of patients suffering from painful and terminal diseases, they will not put any effort to prolong the lives of these people. Instead, they will just be administering lethal drugs to such patients in order to end their lives. Therefore, they will get an escape route, an aspect that will reduce their levels of accountability. Euthanasia is unethical because it gives human being the right to determine if other people will live or not. According to human religious values, only God has the power to terminate the lives of the people. Giving human such powers will lead to very many unnecessary deaths (Keown 56). In some instances, patients who are not even suffering from terminal diseases will opt to undergo voluntary euthanasia instead of fighting the disease. The utilitarianism theory focuses on the best interest of every person. When physicians choose to end the life of a patient, he is not serving the interest of the family members. This is because their interests are to continue living with the person for a longer period of time. In addition, the interests of the patients are not taken into consideration because he might not be willing to die. Therefore, physicians can be morally wrong when deciding to terminate the lives of the patients. When the patient voluntarily decides to terminate his life, the interests of other dependants are not taken into consideration. As a result, there is no person who is mandated with deciding if the other person will live or not (Somerville 56). This is because the decision might not serve the interests of other persons. In many cases, physicians have been faced with a dilemma to save one person especially when the mother is giving birth. In many cases, the birth ends up being successful with both lives saved. In case euthanasia is allowed, physicians will not give a try when they are faced with such dilemma. This aspect of ending lives of patients will violate the moral values that are held by the society. Many people fear suffering. With the increasing number of people suffering from chronic diseases, the experiences of handling a person suffering from a terminal disease have become common in the society. Some immoral individuals may compel the physicians to end the life of their beloved in order to avoid this traumatizing situation (Truog 7)). Therefore, euthanasia should be condemned by all means because some corrupt physicians can take this opportunity to end the life of an individual after receiving some bribes. Therefore, giving physicians such powers would reduce their transparency as some members of the family would like to eliminate one of their own for their personal interests. There exist laws that are against any form of capital punishment. The government has been instrumental in ensuring that all people are protected from this form of punishment. Allowing euthanasia is contradicting this law. This is because it will give the physicians power to kill other people. This is illegal and against the spirit of the constitution. Moreover, this move will create conflict of interest in the medical sector. This is because it will change the ethos of the health system from preserving life to providing death. The physician vows are to protect human life. Therefore, they are mandated to ensure that they provide the best services in order to save the patient’s life. As a result, it is immoral for them to go against the set guidelines and assist the patient in committing suicide. In addition, patient seeks medical care in hospital because they believe that these are places where their lives are to be protected. As a result, assisting the patients to commit suicide is a behavior that is not accepted in the society. Physician role is to treat patients and not to decide if they will live or not. Therefore, they are supposed to give their best during treatment. Their mandate ends up in treatment and not determining the destiny of the patients. In addition, patients have no power to determine if they will live or not. They should give the physicians an opportunity to offer their services and try to save their lives. Hospitals are mandated with protecting humanity from death and not facilitating death (Cuttini 21). As a result, physicians should be part of the personnel to protect this philosophy. Therefore, any attempt to terminate or assist the patient to terminate their lives is unethical and immoral. In addition, they should be in the forefront in trying to save patient’s lives. Helping the patient to commit suicide will reduce the value for human life. This will make it easy for people to end their lives. This is against the society values and therefore, immoral. Moreover, it denies the patients the final stage of growth. It is during the time of terminal illness that people have a very rare opportunity to reflect on how they have lived. During this time, many people opt to spend it with their loved ones and amend any wrongs in the society. They also ensure that the future of those who will be left behind is secure. This plays a significant role in preparing them mentally and spiritually before the person departs. Those to be left are also given an opportunity to prepare enough for the departure of one of their loved one. On the other hand, legalizing euthanasia would deny us an opportunity to care for the vulnerable people which are an essential part of humanity. Therefore, legalizing this heinous act shortens someone’s life. In conclusion, physicians should not be allowed to assist in suicide. This is because it’s immoral and against the society values and believes. In addition, it’s against the law of the land. We have the right to protect our morals and ensure that all people observe the ethical guidelines and human rights. Physicians are part of the society. Therefore, we need to stand still towards preventing any legalization of euthanasia in our healthcare centers. This is because euthanasia will undermine research as researchers are working hard to ensure that we get a cure for the current diseases that are incurable. Cuttini, M. et al. "Should Euthanasia Be Legal? An International Survey of Neonatal Intensive Care Units Staff." Archives of Disease in Childhood-fetal and Neonatal Edition 89.1 (2004): 19-24. Print. Keown, John. Euthanasia, Ethics, and Public Policy: An Argument against Legislation. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print. Kon, Alexander A. "Neonatal Euthanasia Is Unsupportable: The Groningen Protocol Should Be Abandoned." Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 28.5 (2007): 453-463. Print. Pereira, José. et al. "Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Should Not Be Practiced in Palliative Care Units." Journal of Palliative Medicine 11.8 (2008): 1074-1076. Print. Somerville, Margaret A. Death Talk: The Case against Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide. Montreal: McGill-Queens UP, 2001. Print. Truog, Robert D. "End-of-life Care: is Euthanasia the Answer?" Intensive Care Medicine 32.1 (2006): 6-8. Print. Read More