Explain what Christian teachings might be used in the discussion about Euthanasia.

Euthanasia Paper 2-Christian Perspectives on personal, social and World issues A2- Explain what Christian teachings might be used in the discussion about Euthanasia. Euthanasia is a Greek word that translates into English to mean a 'good, easy death.' The main points addressed by the people opposed to euthanasia. One main point is that euthanasia activists have dropped references to terminal illness, replacing them with such phrases as "hopelessly ill," "desperately ill," "incurably ill," "hopeless condition," and "meaningless life." Another point is that we as humans don't have the right to take another human beings life and god didn't create humans to kill each other. The argument of euthanasia is not just peoples point of view, Christian teachings can be used to explain euthanasia and if it is right or wrong. These 5 Christian teachings will help explain the discussion of Euthanasia: ) Progress in medicine means that doctors are able to cure more illness and people live longer. Old people wonder about asking for an 'easy death' so that they can keep their human dignity. The life, death and resurrection of Christ have been given a new meaning to death for a Christian. This declaration is about the human rights of a person concerning their death. The value of human life: God's people see life as a gift of his love. Therefore- * No-one should try to take the life

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Should Euthanasia Be Legalised In England?

Tom Rubashow 26th March 2001 RE Essay Should Euthanasia Be Legalised In England? Euthanasia, a dignified death, causes such controversy all over the world. During this essay I will discuss whether euthanasia should be legalised in England. Within the essay, I will put my opinion across. This opinion will become very obvious from very early on but I will try and not let the opinion get in the way of the facts. I would first like to bring up the subject of Holland. In Holland euthanasia has been legalised and there people have been allowed to die via means of euthanasia, when consent is given. This in most cases has been successful, however there have been too many cases where consent has not been given. Is this a risk that should or should not be taken? Another key factor is what has happened in America. Over there, euthanasia is illegal, but still happens. As it is illegal it can cause less professional and more painful variations of euthanasia. Many would say that the only way to stop euthanasia is to legalise it over there and I feel the same needs to be applied here. We cannot afford these illegal, painful, unprofessional variations of euthanasia spreading. We must also realise euthanasia takes away pain from the person dying which many, myself included would say that it is better to die with honour, dignity and less pain, than live on with those factors getting

  • Word count: 508
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Euthanasia and types of euthanasia

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

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Why is Euthanasia such a controversial issue?

Bryony Upson 10J – RS (Miss McAuther) Why is Euthanasia a controversial issue? Euthanasia is given to terminally ill person or someone in a great pain and has a poor quality of life. This is to end their lives in a gentle and easy way using an overdose of a very powerful drug. This can be given by: assisted suicide, voluntary euthanasia or Non-voluntary euthanasia. Although British law says all of these methods are Illegal, the law does agree with passive euthanasia, when treatment is withdrawn. (e.g. hydration tubes or life support machine) This is when a person receiving intensive treatments machines are turned off, providing they have no chance of recovery and are too ill to make the decision themselves, however in order for this to happen there must be a strong reason as to why the person would do this is they could make the decision themselves. This according to the law is not classed as murder, as ensuring they have a peaceful death when they are so ill is priority. There have been many requests and cases in Britain during the last few years to make euthanasia legalised in the UK, however each and every one of them has failed, as many of the British judges and the government feel it will turn in to a slippery slope and a bypass of murder if they were to change the law but there are many controversial opinions and concepts of this idea. Why do people believe

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Should Euthanasia be Legalised, Discuss.

Amit Wangoo 13/02/2013 3.5 “Euthanasia should be legalised” The word Euthanasia stems from the Greek, phrase ‘euthanatos’, which in turn means a gentle and easy death. In the modern world, Euthanasia refers to when a person choses to have their life ended, usually due to the fact that they are suffering or are terminally ill from for example cancer or motor neurone disease. It is in some ways the humane way of ending someone’s life. Euthanasia is only legal in three countries, they are Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, however Euthanasia is debated widely by many countries into whether it should be legalised or not. Euthanasia is illegal in Britain. To kill another person deliberately is murder or manslaughter, even if the other person asks you to kill them and anyone doing so could potentially face 14 years in prison. In the countries that it is legal there are two types of Euthanasia; voluntary and involuntary. I will now be talking about a Christian response on the issue and any alternative arguments. Voluntary euthanasia is when the person concerned asks them to aid and assist them to die. The person may persuade another person to help them end their life, or in some cases write a living will which explains their wishes to

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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The Issues of Euthanasia in Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Caroline Piggott How Does Brian Clarke raise December 2000 The Issues of Euthanasia in Whose Life Is It Anyway? Brian Clarke raises the issues of Euthanasia in a play "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" He first raises it with a man who has a car accident and he has been paralysed from the neck down. His injuries are limiting and he will never recover from them. This character "Ken" does not want to die but wants to be discharged from the hospital, this will cause his death, as life outside the hospital for Ken would not be possible. He wants to be discharged from the hospital because he wants to feel free and die with dignity, but the doctor that is looking after him "Dr Emerson" is trying to save his life at all costs. Ken eventually takes his case through the courts and wins. The language and the structure of the play is moralistic as it tells the story of whether euthanasia should be legalised or not and what a difficult subject it is to discuss. It is descriptive and detailed in the medical sense, which makes the play more realistic. "He was suffering from a fractured left tibia and right tibia and fibia, a fractured pelvis, four fractured ribs, one of which had punctured the lung and dislocated the fourth vertebra, which had ruptured the spinal chord". The language from the medical staff towards Ken and others in the hospital is very professional and realistic. "What

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Should Voluntary Euthanasia be allowed in the U.K.?

Should Voluntary Euthanasia be allowed, by law, in the U.K? Assisted Suicide, also called Voluntary Euthanasia, is currently a contentious issue in many countries. The question in the debate is this: if a terminally ill person decides that they wish to end their life, is it acceptable for others to assist them? This would normally take the form of a doctor administering a lethal injection, which would end their life painlessly. A clear distinction must be made with involuntary euthanasia, by which someone is ‘put down’ against their wishes, and which is simply murder by another name. To this date, voluntary euthanasia is not allowed in the U.K. Most people, if determined to end their lives go to Dignitas. Dignitas is a Swiss euthanasia group that helps those with incurable physical and mental illnesses to die. The problem is families are scared that if they take their son or daughter to Dignitas, they might be arrested upon re-entering the country. The family of Dan James, a famous rugby player are being investigated after flying with to their son to Switzerland where he ended his life. Dan James had a promising rugby career ahead of him until he had an accident in a scrum where he dislocated his spine. Even after many operations, he was left unable to move his body other than his fingers’. As with every debate, there are pros and cons for both sides of the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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There is no excuse to take your own life. Discuss.

“There is no excuse to take your own life.” There has always been a serious debate about why people take there own lives and why the should and should not do it. Most religions strongly believe that committing suicide is a horrific act and that should someone do it they will be condemned to hell for eternity. They think this, as they believe that God was kind enough to give them life so they should show him respect by worshipping him and living their life. It is believed to be a very bad sin to take your life. It is also “frowned upon” in the modern society today and you will find many non-religious people who strongly appose the idea of suicide. Suicide is often viewed as an act of cowardness. It gives people the impression that the person who has committed it had problems in life and didn’t have the moral or physical strength to overcome this problem and therefore took the “easy” way out. By killing yourself you may vanquish your own problems but you will cause pain and grief for everyone in the world you left behind that cared about you. However there are some moments in life when taking your own life could be considered to be ok. The most common instance like this is when people are terminally ill. If they are dying already and there is no way of them getting better people often consider having euthanasia. This is assisted suicide. People will go to

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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One of the main reasons behind the euthanasia ethical debate is the difference between passive and active euthanasia

RE – Task One – Ethics Essay Euthanasia is a broad topic, with many different types falling under the one term. However, the definition for the word 'euthanasia' is “the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit” (Euthanasia Definitions 2012). The word intentional is the key term in this definition, because if the killing is not intentional, then it does not fall under the jurisdiction of euthanasia (Euthanasia Definitions 2012). Euthanasia is an ethical issue as it involves the life of a human being being placed in the hands of another, and falls under Situation Ethics (Ray Elliott 2001). Situation Ethics state that as long as a person's actions are intended to be loving, it is right (Ray Elliott 2001). The only thing that is “wrong” is something that is intentionally unloving (Ray Elliott 2001). Euthanasia is based in Situation Ethics as people turn to Euthanasia to end suffering and allow a person in pain to be at peace. However, euthanasia is often essentially manslaughter (David Lanham 1993), therefore creating an ethical issue as to whether euthanasia should be allowed to occur. Euthanasia is also a difficult issue as there is more than one type of euthanasia. The 5 main types are Voluntary euthanasia, is when a person who wants to be killed is killed, Non-voluntary euthanasia, is when the person who

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Euthanasia - views for and against.

There are many differing views on the subject on euthanasia. Some are in support of it, some are opposed to it and others remain unsure. Those in favour of euthanasia have various principles found supporting their views. Firstly euthanasia may be favoured because it gives control back to the patient. If euthanasia is an option, a patient has control over when and how they die. It also means that a terminal patient does not have to suffer unnecessarily and prolong the inevitable. Surveys have found that more than half of medical practitioners in Britain are in support of euthanasia. Many claim that if a patient has no quality of life and plainly expresses themselves or via the next of kin that they would like euthanasia it should be on offer to them - everyone has the right to die. As well as medical practitioners, members of the public are found in support as well. In the same survey, 82% of the public asked said that they support euthanasia for the terminally ill or for those on life support. This is probably because they are able to see that if they or a member of their family was terminally ill or on life support they wouldn’t want any unnecessary suffering to take place. Some people are against euthanasia. Members of the public and medical practitioners are found with views against euthanasia. There are many reasons why people are against euthanasia. Firstly it can

  • Word count: 1085
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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