Opponents of euthanasia, on the other hand, declare that euthanasia should not be legalized because it opens the door to involuntary suicide and it also increases the rates of suicide by terminal care patients. Euthanasia for palliative care patients sends forth the wrong and sad image that since they are no longer able to contribute to society, they should be discarded. For some patients made to feel that way, they often opt to just choose death rather than be targets for euthanasia. Those who oppose euthanasia also point out that the right to die should be withheld up to the very end.
There is indeed no dignity in assisting someone to die because life is still life up to its very last breath. For those who oppose euthanasia, they emphasize that there is a moral difference between watching someone jump off a bridge and pushing him off. This paper shall attempt to discuss euthanasia based on personal observations and the personal experiences of this student. This paper shall attempt to break down the issue at hand and to come up with a well-argued and well reasoned assessment of euthanasia, its merits, and its demerits.
The debate on euthanasia is deeply rooted on personal rights. For advocates of euthanasia, they insist that a person has a right to die and for those who oppose euthanasia, they also point out that a person has the right to live and to fight to live to his very last breath. In assessing these two statements, I favour the argument of those who oppose euthanasia. A person has the right to live and to fight for his very last breath. There have been many observations made in health care wherein miraculous recoveries have been made by patients; in some instances, terminally ill patients have been known to live beyond their expected life expectancy as mandated by their physicians.
Physicians and other health care
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