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Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (Facts and Examples (Netherlands are the…
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Differences Between Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Euthanasia: a doctor is allowed to end a person's life by painless means, as long as the patient and their family agree.
Assisted Suicide: If requested by a patient, a doctor prescribes a lethal dose of pills to the patient, but doesn't actually end the patients life directly. The patient will receive the pills and has the option to take them at any time. The patient also has the option to not take the pills at all.
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Facts and Examples
Netherlands are the most popular country for assisted suicide.
18 y/o w/ ALS. Diagnosed w/ 3 years to live. Currently 75 y/o. If assisted suicide was available when he was alive, he would have used it.
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Johnson, 66 w/ terminal brain cancer. Family ruled it was the right thing to take advantage o assisted suicide.
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Assisted suicide is now legal in Oregon, Vermont, Washington, California, and Colorado
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70% of assisted suicide cases are suicide related.
Couple ends their life together using death with dignity act, both has terminal illness.
http://time.com/5179977/assisted-suicide-couple-death/
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Netherlands experiences a lower suicide rate when offering this treatment.
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My Opinion
I'm pro assisted suicide. I think it is an awesome option to someone nearing the end of their life. The awesome part is that if a patient doesn't want to die, then they don't have to use assisted suicide. However if a patient qualifies for assisted suicide and wants to end their life, it may be beneficial. Religion shouldn't affect this procedure, as the United States and its laws are suppose to be neutral on religion.
Euthanasia shouldn't be legal. The slippery slope argument is strong for this topic, but can be avoided with using assisted suicide.
Who is this Topic Involving? Why is it Important?
Euthanasia and assisted suicide is important to everyone. We all have the possibility of facing an issue one day where assisted suicide might benefit us. The main example of this would be getting cancer and only having months to live. Assisted suicide provides a beneficial option towards the end of someones life to prevent suffering. I see no case where making assisted suicide legal could cause issues.
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Pros and Cons
PROS: Freedom/Right to die, End of suffering/prevents slow death, Saves lives (Decreased wanted death in the Netherlands), Makes economic sense and can help families prevent from spending tons on life support, Improves quality of life. (
https://listverse.com/2013/09/12/10-arguments-for-legalising-euthanasia/
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CONS: Slippery slope to legalized murder, Hippocratic Oath, Healthcare spending implications, social groups at risk of abuse, Religious concerns.
Slippery slope can be avoided by assisted suicide. The patient would be killing themselves instead of the patient.
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Hippocratic oath is an old and outdated document directing doctors to make ethical decisions. Since the doctor is doing no harm in assisted suicide cases, it shouldn't be violating the oath.
To avoid the "ending life early" argument, we should have requirements to have several doctors consent before someone can use assisted suicide. EX. 18y/o w/ ALS.
Religion shouldn't be a concern. Law is required to be neutral with religion. And the user would be committing the crime anyways. If the patient is religious, then they don't have to use assisted suicide on their own.