Euthanasia
Euthanasia in my opinion has many circumstances yielding many different
opinions on this subject. The first circumstance that comes to mind is that of a
person such as that discussed in the text, where a person, young or old is
suffering from some type of terminal illness. This circumstance is obviously one
in which the patient is destined to death and is in obvious pain. Though I would
not want to make this decision myself I do not think that the patient should be
denied of their “right to die.” I think that if all involved are consensual in
the ending of the person’s life the doctor should not be legally persecuted for
their actions. There will always be the argument that doctors are not always
correct in their assumption of a person’s life. This argument is definitely
valid in many cases, but in the circumstance where there is no doubt of the
patient’s ultimate death the patient should not be denied of his or her wishes.
I think that in the free and democratic society that we live in today a person
should not be restricted by law that tells them that they must endure a painful
death.
In the situation where a person is on a life support machine the
law should not decide the fate of a person, these situations should be left up
to the patient’s family. Though it may sound greedy I don’t think that a
hospital should be able to profit by pinning someone with the legal binding of
keeping a person facing inevitable death on life support.
The argument of
passive euthanasia is also very broad in my eyes. The circumstance where a
person is the victim of a sudden accident or violent criminal act, yes I feel
like if there is a capable and able person present at the scene that they should
be held responsible for at least attempting to do everything in their power to
save the victim’s life. Even if the victim is not coherent the doctor, EMT, or
whatever they may be, should try to save that person. In my eyes this is not
even a legal matter but one of personal ethics.