EUTHANASIA
Euthanasia is the act of ending the life of a person because they are perceived as living an intolerable life, in a painless or minimally painful way either by lethal injection, drug overdose, or by the withdrawal of life support. Euthanasia is a controversial issue because of conflicting religious and humanist views.
THE FAMOUS DR. KEVORKIAN
Jack Kevorkian, M.D. is a controversial pathologist. He is most remembered for publicly championing a terminal patient's "right to die" and claims to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He is famous for his quote "dying is not a crime." Imprisoned in 1999, he is currently serving out a 10 to 25 year prison sentence for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, of Oakland County, Michigan.
On the November 24, 1998 broadcast of 60 Minutes, Kevorkian allowed the airing of a videotape he had made on September 17, 1998, which featured the voluntary euthanasia of Thomas Youk, an adult male with full decisional capacity who was in the final stages of ALS. After Youk provided his fully-informed consent on September 17, 1998, Kevorkian administered a lethal injection. This incited the district attorney to bring murder charges against him, claiming that Kevorkian single-handedly caused the death. Kevorkian filmed the procedure and the death and submitted it for broadcast on "60 Minutes."
THE LAW ON ASSISTED SUICIDE
On July 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld decisions in New York and Washington state that criminalized assisted suicide. These decisions overturned rulings in the 2nd and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal which struck down state statutes banning physician-assisted suicide. Those courts had found that the statutes, which prohibited doctors from prescribing lethal medication to competent, terminally ill adults, violated the 14th Amendment. In striking the appellate decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court found that there was no constitutional "right to die," but left it to individual states to enact legislation permitting or prohibiting physician-assisted suicide.
QUESTIONS:
Do you agree with Euthanasia in anyway? (consider being in a vegetative state and never coming out of it) If you dont agree with it, why? (religious reasons, morally)
Should this law stay the same? Could you ever see our country being ok with this practice?
8 comments:
Do you agree with Euthanasia in anyway? (consider being in a vegetative state and never coming out of it) If you dont agree with it, why? (religious reasons, morally)
Personally, I support euthanasia because I do believe that individuals should have control over their own lives. If I am terminally ill and am going to die a long, painful death, say from lung cancer, wouldn’t the logical option be euthanasia? Euthanasia allows for a relatively painless and dignified death. Although humans and animals are different, we believe it is humane to euthanize animals when living would be more painful and so I think there is a contradiction in our culture as to our beliefs surrounding euthanasia.
Should this law stay the same? Could you ever see our country being ok with this practice?
I think the example of euthanasia shows how a society’s culture influences laws that are in place and how laws can influence the way society thinks about a certain issue. Due to the Judeo-Christian roots of the United States, it is not surprising that the Supreme Court ruled against the “right to die”. Along the same lines, it is also not surprising that many citizens of the United States are against euthanasia. In Oregon, physician-assisted suicide is legal, and so I think this is an early example of how the culture of society is changing. I do not know if the Supreme Court will ever find a constitutional backing to support the “right to die” in the near future, due to the conservative sway the Supreme Court currently has. However, I do believe that more and more states that are considered to be “liberal” will move towards legalizing physician-assisted suicide.
--PopBritni
I agree with Britni in that even though we may wnat certain laws dealing with Euthanasia to change, having a strongly conservative Supreme court currently obviousluy leads to some degree of favoritism from the right no matter what.
PopTony
There are many different forms of death, because at any minute or second your life can be changed for ever. Durkheim examined the ways in which people committed suicide and the social impact of the act. I would like to see more of that aspect or interpretation from your project. I think the way you have divided the different religions and included their views of death were interesting but I don’t understand the relationship to assisted suicide.
Calley Pop Culture
I am actually fine with euthanasia in some instances and I do not view it as suicide. I think suicide is in a different category. I think that when a person chooses to die through euthanasia it is because the life they once had and were able to live in any sort of enjoyment has ended. Take the case of Terry Schiavo, much publicized in 2005. she was in a constant vegetative state with brain damage and NO chnace of recovery, however her brain waves were still registering and she could keep her eyes open. Can it really be argued that she was "alive" in the sense we all know life? I think personally her life or the one that brought any sort of meaningful existence for her had ended long ago. I think the doctors prosecuted in these sorts of cases were acting in the most ethically way possible. These people in many cases are suffering horribly and being judged that they must stay alive by people who are not suffering and cannot imagine their misery. The insistence to preserve what is left of their life is in my opinion ultimately selfish. the doctors have the know and the how to end their lives with as little complication and pain as possible.
I would have to say that I do not agree with Euthanasia at all. Even if a person is in a vegetative state they still have a quality of life and I feel that that factor is a key point in this disscussion. If a person is in a vegetative state, then they have no ability to agree with or disagree with a family member or spouse who is the one that wants the Euthanasia. Concerning religion, I feel that God created life and has the power to take it away as well. To me He is the only one that should have the right to take a life. I believe that there is quite a fine line between Euthanasia and murder.
-popcaroline
Yay.
I saved your blog for last because I thought I'd find the subject the most intriguing. I must apologize since I'm posting 28 minutes after the set deadline, so hopefully you're not counting up your comments right now. :)
I think this is a great ethical question to bring into social dialogue. I love exploring the socio-religio-political-whatever pros and cons of assisted suicide and observing the different reasons why people do or do not support it. I personally support euthanasia and am horrified by the thought of being in intolerable pain and anguish and being cancerous or what have you and being unable to dictate what I do with my life because I happen to be located in a hospital. I know that with the mindset I have now, anyway, if I knew I was going to die in a horrible, painful, life-support-demanding type way, I'd prefer to have a nice time with my loved ones, say my goodbyes, and pull the plug. I could do that on my own but if I'm in a hospital they won't let me, which brings up the question of, does the law against assisted suicide decrease the amount of terminally ill patients willing to seek professional medical attention? I would guess it might because I know if I got diagnosed with terminal cancer I would just live my life to the fullest before going out with a bang (maybe not literally, but you know what I mean). I have an ethical issue with the concept of medical supervisors having more say over what you do with your life than you have. I understand it in some cases - for example, if a depression victim attempted suicide and would recover with proper medical treatment, I probably wouldn't advocate observing that person's slow death and being like, "well, it was their choice, so oh well." I'd probably aid the person, then address the issues surrounding their attempted suicide. If the reason was something along the lines of, "if I don't off myself now, I'm going to die because of my chemotherapy," or something similar, I'd be all for allowing that person to make the decision of euthanasia. But if their reasoning was something like, "my boyfriend was cheating on me and I just can't take it anymore," then I'd probably opt out of the euthanasia and encourage some kind of emotional aid. But then we get into the issue of deciding who has more say over what reasons "qualify" you for having a "good" reason to kill yourself. What's to say your opinion is any better than someone else's? It's an interesting debate that I love taking part in. I personally have had some issues that have put me in questionable circumstances where in retrospect, had I done anything drastic, I would have preferred that someone try and logically, emotionally, or psychologically work me through it so I could hopefully resume my life. But had I done anything drastic, that would not have been my opinion at the time. I suppose my own personal opinions lead to my analysis of ethical conduct in medical situations, and that in itself seems to settle in me uneasily. Why do I think that my experiences make my moral judgements more valid than those of a doctor I have never met before? The issue of assisted suicide, long story short, raises a whole lot of questions that I am absolutely fascinated with and that lead to a multi-dimensional conversation that is perplexing to say the least.
(Kind of rambling. It's late. I'm tired. I'm sure you understand. You have two thumbs up from me for your subject and the research you added to your topic. Good job.)
PopErin
I am absolutely fascinated with this topic and up until reading your blog had never heard of, or at least registered, the term "euthansia." I remember watching that episode of 60 minutes when i was younger and thinking Dr.K was a sick and disturbed man for making a profession out of assisting suicide. Now, i feel quite differently. In regards to Dr, Kavorkian himself, he may be sick or disturbed or just a really kind man just out to do the next miserable guy who comes his way a really huge favor- i wouldn't know. But, when it comes to a fully capable person wanting to end their own life i don't really see why they need assistance. On the other hand those who are in a vegetative state and on life support have a very different story. I don't believe in a life that cannot be recognized by those living it. I'm a firm believer quality over quantity and that applies to "the big picture" too. The unfortunate thing with Euthansia is that it's so case-specific. i don't know how we can make laws or even judgments when everyone's situation is so different. I guess all we can hope for is that the person who's life is pending made their wishes clear before encountering such awful circumstances or that they have very trusted loved ones. They say that it is not our respnsibilty to "play god" in determining someone's death, but does the same rule not apply when keeping someone alive by way of machine?
popbrittany
I support euthanasia as well. I don't know if I would choose to end my life if I where very ill, but I do know that I have a living will that says that I don't want any Heroic Measures if my life is not of the quality that would allow me to live well. I sort of think that ones views change as we get older. How much pain are we willing to live with just in order to be around one more day? I know my own limits have changed with every decade longer I live. I think is is good to talk about the specifics and regulations, but this concerns me much less than the fact that I would have the choice to make over my own body. poppat
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