So far, Mr Kervorkian is known to have more than forty patients. Each were said to be suffering from a terminal disease. These included diseases such as PVS, M.E and Motor Neurone Disease. But in a post-mortem carried out by a coroner, called Llibusia Dragowich, it was discovered that out of thirty-nine patients: Ten were suffering from a terminal disease, twenty-six were in a little pain but death was not an option and three had nothing wrong with them at all. People say that how was Jack to know? He had carried out thorough investigation into the patient. He had talked to them and got an idea into their reasons for dying.
His 37th patient was a woman called Rebecca Badger. She was thirty-nine years old and had been diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS), but in a later autopsy, it was revealed that she had been diagnosed wrongly. She was one of the three who were wrongly helped to commit suicide. Rebecca had a history of alcohol abuse and had tried to commit suicide twice.
Raymond Voet is a lawyer who strongly disagrees with what Jack is doing. His arguments are that Jack’s patients are not in that much pain and are just depressed about being handicapped or being diagnosed as having a terminal illness. A part of me agrees with what Raymond says, but I still feel that some patients maybe truly in that much pain and suffering.
There are many arguments for euthanasia. One of these arguments is that it is a quick and humane ending to someone’s suffering and it is what he or she wants. It cannot always be in the best circumstances because of social ideas.
Another dispute is that it can help to relieve and shorten the grief for the sufferers loved ones. It can also help people to realize that they can die with dignity. Then they could face death "face on".
There is a myth that the human body is sacred, but Jack says, “try to stop a vet from putting an animal to death and you would be arrested. Try to stop a man from putting another man to death and nothing would happen”.
People are all different and that they should have a choice and it depends on the quality of life for the person.
Another argument for euthanasia is that people have the right to decide – this means that everybody should have the right to choose how he or she lives or dies. Each person has value and is worthy of respect, has basic rights and freedom and the power to choose their own destiny.
One major argument is passive euthanasia against active euthanasia – This simply means that doctors can legally practise "passive" euthanasia – by taking away or withholding treatment even if the person will die. However, doctors cannot help the person to die, by for example, the lethal injection. This can be argued that passive euthanasia has exactly the same moral and practical results as active euthanasia, lethal injection at the patient’s request.
Euthanasia already goes on – this literally means the euthanasia already goes on. As you are reading this, the probability is that someone is considering or is undertaking the procedure known as assisted suicide.
There are also many arguments against euthanasia. One of these arguments is that if we make it legal then people will take advantage of the system.
There are many painkilling drugs on the market, which can help the sufferer die naturally. People use this as an argument against the legalisation of euthanasia.
One other argument is that a person may not be able to make a rational decision because of being depressed.
A big argument against euthanasia is that old people might think that they are a burden to others, when they actually want to live on. This can be easily undiscovered when people like Jack talk to his patients.
A religious argument is that euthanasia devalues life by making it disposable, many people claim that life is a gift from God and only God can take it away.
Another argument against this case is that if there were better facilities for the dying, and then euthanasia would be less of a problem.
Increasingly new ways of dying are being invented for use in euthanasia. The particular "death machine" that Dr. Death prefers to use, is a machine which firstly injects the patient with a tranquilliser which makes you partly unconscious then it relaxes your muscles then finally injects a substance which stops your heart beating. This is only one of the many ways you can die with the help of euthanasia.
