Euthanasia and types of euthanasia

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Introduction

In the UK,  a lot of ideas for improving the lot of the disadvantaged has been formulated although the lead is not always maintained.  Doctors are believed to be giving their patients euthanasia far too often and the law however takes no perception of euthanasia; whether the motive is merciful or merciless and greedy, the deliberate taking of life is classed as murder.

        Arguments about euthanasia often hinge on the ‘right to life’ and the ‘right to die’.  The first is a widely accepted basic human right and moral value, based on the fact that people generally want to live.  But the question is, what should be done to those who are seriously ill or in vegetative state and no longer wants to live?  A century ago, most people died quite quickly if they had serious injuries or illnesses.  Nowadays they can be treated, sometimes cured, and often kept alive almost indefinitely.  Codes of conduct formulated centuries ago, for example the Hippocratic oath, cannot necessarily help us with twenty-first century problems of medical ethics.  In this project, I will outline the issues and views from Religious groups, different cultures, and medical opinion on the above. I will follow a survey which will be conducted by the public and will help establish their views.


Chapter One

Euthanasia and types of euthanasia

Euthanasia comes from two Greek words whose literal meaning is ‘well death’.  Today it is also referred to as ‘mercy killing’ and is understood as causing or bringing about a person’s death painlessly, usually because the person is suffering greatly, terminally or irreversibly ill, severely mentally or physically disabled. (Donnelan 1995). Superficially it can seem an ideal solution for some people with particularly distressing problems, the elderly, and such.

        Euthanasia is one of the biggest controversies of this decade. It originally meant ‘a gentle and easy death’ but is now used to mean ‘the act of inducing the painless death of a person for reasons assumed to be merciful.  (Henrickson et al., 1986). It means doing something or omitting to do something with the intention of causing death.  

        There are four types of euthanasia, which are; voluntary and direct, voluntary but indirect, direct but involuntary, and indirect and involuntary.  Voluntary and direct euthanasia is “chosen and carried out by the patient. Voluntary but indirect euthanasia is chosen in advance.  Direct but involuntary euthanasia is done for the patient without his or her request.  Indirect and involuntary euthanasia occurs when a hospital decides that it is time to remove life support (Fletcher  1986).

        Voluntary euthanasia is sometimes called ‘physician-assisted suicide’ which means helping people to die painlessly if they feel that their lives have become hopeless, with no prospect of relief before death.  It only applies to people who wish to be allowed to die hence the word ‘voluntary’.  It is not legal here in Britain but the British Humanist Association (BHA) supports attempts to start a rational debate in Parliament on possible legislation.

The medical methods and effects have a large impact on how people view euthanasia.  Lethal injection, gas, and the removal of life support equipment, the withholding, can perform euthanasia of food and fluids, and the removal of necessary medicines.  Patients are allowed to choose passive euthanasia but not active euthanasia.  Passive euthanasia is when nothing is done to prevent death.  Active euthanasia is when one deliberately causes death (Twycross 1993) 

What is the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide?

An example that would distinguish the two is giving a patient a lethal injection or putting a plastic bag over her head to suffocate her would be considered euthanasia.  On the other hand, it would be assisted suicide if a person swallows an overdose of drugs that has been provided by a doctor for the purpose of causing death.  It would also be assisted suicide if a patient pushes a switch to trigger a fatal injection after the doctor has inserted an intravenous needle into the patient’s vein.


Chapter Two

History

Euthanasia can be traced as far back as to the ancient Greek and Roman civilization.  It was sometimes allowed in these civilizations to help others die and as time passed, religion increased, and life was viewed to be sacred.  Euthanasia in any form was seen as wrong. (www.euthanasia.com)  While presumably mercy killing as been practiced throughout history and in different cultures, attempts to make euthanasia legal have been made only fairly recently.  In 1936, legalisation of euthanasia was defeated and still today some similar attempts have also failed.

        Euthanasia has been a large issue in the courts today.   Dr. Harold Blazar was the first doctor who was charged for performing euthanasia in 1935.  He was charged for the death of his daughter who was a victim of cerebra spinal meningitis. Harold killed her daughter by placing a handkerchief soaked with chloroform over her face until she died.

        The most recent and most controversial euthanasia doctor is Dr. Jack Kevorkian who connected a patient to his “suicide machine” Which allowed the patient to inject lethal drugs into her body at any time.  He was also connected to deaths of more than forty people and was hence charged with first-degree murder in December of 1990.  (Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization 1995).

        The Voluntary Euthanasia Society in the UK, which began as a fringe organisation just before the war, now has some 20,000 members.  The World Right to Die Society, which did not exist until a few years ago, now has some 30 branches in more than 20 countries. The move to legalise voluntary euthanasia has therefore gathered pace in recent years for one reason only being that modern medicine has lengthened the span, but not the quality of people’s lives.  Opinion polls in every Western country show that between 75 and 85 per cent are in favour of the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia.(Donnellan 2001).

        In countries like the Netherlands, voluntary euthanasia has been permitted since 1980 and is openly practised.  It has also been legalised in the Northern territory of Australia and in the United States of America, the state of Oregon has also approved it too.

        Voluntary euthanasia is an alternative to palliative care or helping someone to get the most out of their life.  The Scottish Voluntary Euthanasia Society for instance keeps an extensive database of help groups devoted to supporting people in particular ways.  These range from cancer specialist groups, such as cancer links, the Age Concern and Help the Aged, to support groups for those with mental or emotional problems, such as the Keil Centre (clinical psychology) and the Samaritans.

        Voluntary euthanasia is not about doctors deciding who should live and who should die.  It is about scrutinising rational requests from individual patients and without that strong request; no possibility of voluntary euthanasia could be entertained.

        In Britain, hundreds of people have their lives terminated without their specific request.  The method used is increasing dosages of painkillers.  This they call ‘double-effect’ because the intention is to relieve suffering even if death is a secondary result and  is usually seen as good medical practice, and the double-talk makes it legal.  According to a report in the British Medical Journal, many doctors have at some time, performed voluntary euthanasia when faced with a specific and convincing request from a patient.  The patient is rarely asked even if competent to do so would be to admit that life was being foreshortened and so lose the defence of ‘double-effect’.

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        The Voluntary Euthanasia Society wants to allow people “with a severe illness from which no relief is known” to be lawfully killed” if they wish.  One US euthanasia campaigner has suggested people could be killed on the basis of their previous instructions, even if they now want to live.(www. globalchange.com


Chapter Three

Laws and Legalisation

Laws are there to protect the innocent, and many believe that the innocent would be at risk if voluntary euthanasia is legalised and practised here in the UK.  People may begin to feel that they ought to request euthanasia in order to ...

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