Euthanasia
Should people who are terminally ill or handicapped for life, have the choice to end their lives? Or should they be forced to continue living even when they are suffering? Many people have different opinions on whether a person in these extreme conditions should be able to choose to die or be forced to proceed with their life.
Euthanasia is the act of either painlessly causing the death or failing to prevent death from occurring in an individual with a terminal illness or in an irreversible coma. Although advances in medical technology have made it possible to prolong the life of patients with no hope of recovery, at times, the quality of life of the terminally ill individual is called into question.
The term "passive euthanasia" is used to describe the practice of withholding or withdrawing extraordinary means of preserving life. However, the term "active euthanasia" involves any direct intervention to cause death, such as injecting a legal drug or participating in a form of assisted suicide in which another person provides the means for the patient to die. Active euthanasia is often called mercy killing.
The right to refuse life support has been a widely accepted concept among the general public and physicians alike. There is no law in the United States that requires a competent person to receive life support involuntarily. However, euthanasia raises many legal issues. These issues often times come from cases in which parents and doctors decide not to pursue extraordinary life-saving measures for children born with severe birth defects. The problem is intensified because machines that can artificially maintain breathing and heart function have essentially altered the definition of death.
There are arguments for and against the controversial topic of Euthanasia. Many people feel that euthanasia is no better than murder and think that it should most definitely be illegal. Most of the population at present thinks that...
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