Euthanasia & Protection of Human Dignity
This is an excerpt from the paper...
Euthanasia has become an important issue in the protection of human dignity. It has been in the news a good deal lately because of the crusade of the so-called "suicide doctor," Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has "assisted" at some 17 or 18 suicides over the past few years, all of people who were facing some debilitating and painful degenerative disease. As medical science becomes more adept at prolonging life, but not necessarily at making that life valuable, euthanasia becomes an option to be considered by those who suffer, those who love them, and those who are charged with their care. In his book Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, Michael Manning, himself a medical doctor as well as a Catholic pastor, analyzes the issues involved, beginning with a historical examination of how the issue has developed over the centuries and then turning to questions of medical necessity, morality, and law. Manning explores the Roman Catholic point of view while also considering other arguments that have been raised, and he concludes that society must maintain its prohibition on legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the United States. Euthanasia comes from two Greek words meaning "good death" or "happy death," and the term refers to any action that brings a painless death to a person suffering from an injury, disease, or the ravages of age. There is a distinction between active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia refers to the withdrawal of "heroi
. . .
hile being something most Americans state they would not choose, is also something most Americans today feel should be a matter of personal choice and should be judged on an individual basis. Pope Paul II argues that the term "mercy killing" is wrong because it is really mercy perverted: "True compassion leads to sharing another's pain, not to killing him or her to end it" (23). There are clear arguments against physician-assisted suicide. For one thing, the decision by a physician to aid a patient in committing suicide implies moral approval for such an act, and this changes the nature of the relationship between physicians and their patients. Such changes are morally substantial because when this happens, several important moral requisites of the community are violated and moral cognition is severely undermined.
"Informed choice" is the term used to indicate that the patient has been told the nature of the illness and the various consequences that can be expected. One opposing argument would be that the patient is not in a position to make an informed choice because he or she is suffering and is not clear-headed. When the physician gives his tacit approval and even helps in persuading family members, he is doing someth
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
God God, Paul II, United Euthanasia, Catholic Church, God Manning, Jack Kevorkian, Michael Manning, Dr Kevorkian, Roman Catholic, , active euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia physician-assisted, informed choice, euthanasia physician-assisted suicide, health care, sometimes abuse patient, terminally ill, manning indicates, catholic doctrine, couched terms, medical science, euthanasia passive euthanasia,
Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
More Essays on Euthanasia & Protection of Human Dignity
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
