Running head: Effects of Euthanasia 1
Effects of Euthanasia 8
The Positive and Negative Effects of Euthanasia
Yasmina S. Davis
Florida Institute of Technology
Keywords: doctor-assisted suicide, euthanasia, consequences, positive effects
The Positive and Negative Effects of Euthanasia
As humans, we have basic rights like freedom from discrimination, freedom from slavery, or the right to life, liberty, and personal security. But what about the right to peacefully end our suffering in a humane way? Should we not also have a right to die if our quality of life is receding and there is no chance that it will get better? Terminal diseases which is defined as an illness in which there is no hope of recovery, such as some forms of cancer, muscular dystrophy, malignant brain tumors, or just being severely depressed without hopes of reaching recovering are some reasons that people have the right to die. While there are some ethical and professional issues, along with many controversies, if a person is suffering, they deserve the right to choose if they want to keep living or not. Euthanasia and doctor or physician assisted suicide are quite similar, but Euthanasia is backed by a legal authority, whereas doctor-assisted suicide is done with only the approval of the doctor.
Now with this topic there are ethical arguments, and arguments that are practical. Ethical arguments include that legalizing euthanasia, or doctor-assisted suicide could weaken people’s respects for the sanctity of life, that some lives are worth less than lives of others, that people may abuse it and kill people intentionally, or euthanasia may not be in the best interest of the person. Practical arguments include that palliative care done correctly makes the act of euthanasia unnecessary, and that allowing it will lead to less good care for terminally ill and that there is no way to regulate it properly. It could also pressure people to end their lives and could give doctors too much power than they can handle and could potentially abuse it (BBC 2014).
In 1961, Britain installed the Suicide act which states that deliberately killing or killing someone that asks you to do so is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years, but some authorities have dropped charges because of the events and information pertaining to said person who had died. 80% of people in Britain said, according to a survey done in 2007, that they would like if terminally...
