Euthanasia: Your Right to Die!

A Library Research

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements in English III

by Derick S. Ilagan Year III

Submitted To: Ms. Josie B. Lingao

Introduction
If asked, most people would probably want to live to a ripe old age, and then die painlessly in their sleep. Unfortunately, this is not the reality most people face. Some people will die after a long struggle with a painful disease. Others will find that their body deteriorates to such a degree, that they wish they were dead. Those who can might choose to end their suffering, by committing suicide. However others might find that despite wishing to end their life, they are physically incapable of doing so, and as such will need the assistance of someone else to do so. It is with these latter cases that the debate about euthanasia is chiefly concerned. Today there are five to ten thousand comatose patients in long term care facilities. There are countless elderly people in care facilities that have repeatedly expressed a desire to die. There are countless terminally ill patients that have also begged for death. Should these people be allowed to die, or should they be forced to keep on living? This question has plagued ethicists and physicians throughout the years. Throughout a persons life they have many choices to make. Probably the most difficult and important choice for them to make is that of their right to die. Todays society has this set view in a structure functionalism type of mindset that no person should be in control of his or her own life in choosing whether to live or die. It is said that life should be lived to the end and no sooner than that. In this library research, youll know the meaning and the difficulties about Euthanasia. It is about our knowing about the true meaning of this. In the Philippines, maybe its not a big issue for now but the other countries in the world are all talking and debating about the result in doing this kind of thing that will harm yourself. Maybe others dont know the true meaning of life but it doesnt mean that you want to kill yourself or you want to die. Just live your life to the fullest and protect yourself, and someday youll realize

that youre so lucky that you have given the chance to live your life.

Meaning
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. There are different euthanasia laws in each country. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering". In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient". Euthanasia is categorized in different ways, which include voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries and U.S. states. Non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries. However, in the Netherlands, physicians can avoid prosecution by following well described and strict conditions when nonvoluntary euthanasia is performed on infants. Involuntary euthanasia is usually considered murder. Euthanasia is the most active area of research in contemporary bioethics. In the Netherlands, courts have begun to permit the administration of lethal injections to terminally ill patients. To many people, this is a barbaric practice. To others, it is the only humane thing to do. When a person is dying of a terminal illness with no hope of recovery, that person should be allowed to die if they wish. Deliberately keeping them alive to endure the pain and suffering of their illness is the barbaric practice. If they wish death, death should be given to them. Activists for the "Right to Life" don't stop to consider the right to die. I believe that the Right to Die is as sacred a right as the Right to Life. People who believe in the Right to Die are not alone. The Hemlock Society, which advocates the right to die for terminally ill patients claims to have 28,000 members in forty chapters nationwide. One of the controversies over the right to die is: who should choose? If the patient is comatose or is unable to make rational judgments, should the doctor or a family member be permitted to make the final decision? If family members were allowed to make the decision Right to Life advocates claim, a family member could get away with the murder of a relative just

because that person can't make up their own mind. Right to Death advocates have a simple answer to this problem. Every person should have a 'Living Will' which simply states that that person wishes death if they are fatally injured or become terminally ill. A 'Living Will' would permit people to make their own decisions about life and death with no possibility of being misunderstood. Today, Holland has legal euthanasia where an estimate for the figures for deaths from active euthanasia would be in the range of six to eighteen thousand deaths. This number may seem horrible to some, but to others, it simply means another six to eighteen thousand people who are no longer suffering. I do not know why the Advocates for the Right to Life insist on keeping people who are suffering alive, but I do know that they have no right to dictate to a person whether or not they have the right to die. I can understand the concern of these people that euthanasia might be used for unethical killings, such as the Nazis did in World War II, but if euthanasia were strictly regulated to include only those who had specifically asked for euthanasia, or those who had asked for it in living wills, then what happened in Germany could be prevented. When someone is suffering extreme pain from an injury or a terrible disease, do we deny them drugs to make them more comfortable? Of course not. I see no reason to deny the same suffering and dying people the comfortofdeath

Conclusions
Though legal in many countries, suicide is still frowned upon, except when it amounts to sociallysanctioned self-sacrifice. Assisted suicide is both condemned and illegal in most parts of the world. This is logically inconsistent but reflects society's fear of a "slippery slope" which may lead from assisted suicide to murder. Imagine killing someone before we have ascertained her preferences as to the manner of her death and whether she wants to die at all. This constitutes murder even if, after the facIs murder, therefore, merely the act of taking life, regardless of circumstances - or is it the nature of the interpersonal interaction that counts? If the latter, the victim's will counts - if the former, it is irrelevant.t, we can prove conclusively that the victim wanted to die. It is commonly agreed that every person has the right not to be killed unjustly.

Admittedly, what is just and what is unjust is determined by an ethical calculus or a social contract - both constantly in flux. Still, even if we assume an Archimedean immutable point of moral reference - does A's right not to be killed mean that third parties are to refrain from enforcing the rights of other people against A? What if the only way to right wrongs committed by A against others - was to kill A? The moral obligation to right wrongs is about restoring the rights of the wronged. There is no such right because there is no moral obligation or duty to save a life. That people believe otherwise demonstrates the muddle between the morally commendable, desirable, and decent ("ought", "should") and the morally obligatory, the result of other people's rights ("must"). In some countries, the obligation to save a life is codified in the law of the land. But legal rights and obligations do not always correspond to moral rights and obligations, or give rise to them. If the continued existence of A is predicated on the repeated and continuous violation of the rights of others - and these other people object to it - then A must be killed if that is the only way to right the wrong and re-assert the rights of A's victims.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
* Derr, Patrick. (1988, December 3) Euthanasia and the Future of Medicine. Hastings Center Report. * Jacoby, Tamar. (1988, November 7) I Helped Her on Her Way. Newsweek: pp.101 * Moody, Harry R. (1988, October) Legal and Ethical Issues in Elder Care: The Right to Die. Gerontologist: pp.711-712 * Wheeler, David L. (1988, November 9) Euthanasia: an Increasingly Pressing Issue for Ethicists and Physicians. Chronicle of Higher Education. Vol. A1, A6 * Rachels, James (1986). The end of life: Euthanasia and Morality. Oxford University.