Euthanasia

Specific Purpose: At the end of my words, the you will be able to list reasons why euthanasia is a justified idea.

Central Idea:

Introduction:

Do you know who Dr. Jack Kyvorkian is and what he did?

He was an advocate for euthanasia and actually carried out the procedure.

We all have heard the term euthanasia but many of us do not know exactly what it is.

I have spent many hours researching euthanasia on the Internet and have learned a lot about it.

Today I will tell you what euthanasia is and why people should support the idea because it is not morally wrong if the patient asks for it, if a patient wants to die with dignity, and a family asks for euthanasia to move on in the grieving process.

Body:

Euthanasia is the act of bringing about the death of another person, but not in the sense of killing them for the mere sake of killing.

Most people who perform euthanasia is because the patient asks them to do so.

The main way euthanasia is performed is by poison injections intravenously—like lethal injections used in prison.

Euthanasia is performed because the person lacks the ability to commit suicide or is not able to make the decision to be pulled off life support himself.

Euthanasia can be voluntary or involuntary.

Euthanasia is not murder.

If a person is suffering from a long-term illness and feels as if he would be better off dead, one can ask for euthanasia.

Euthanasia is a way out of pain if one knows he or she will die in the next few months.

People ask to be euthanized to die with dignity.

In the society we live in, no one wants to be seen as weak, so people choose euthanasia to keep people from feeling sorry for them.

Some ask for euthanasia so there will not be tons of hospital bills left for his loved ones to pay.

A family asks for euthanasia so they will move on in the grieving process.

Parents and children who are comatose or on respirators are sometimes euthanized because the family feels like it is time to let go.

This is an example of involuntary euthanasia.

Family sometimes have this distorted perception of reality that someone in a coma for ten years will just wake-up and that reality is false—they are keeping them alive to keep from having to deal with pain of losing someone important.

Types:

I. Voluntary euthanasia -- that is, with those instances of euthanasia in which a clearly competent person makes a voluntary and enduring request to be helped to die.

II. Non-voluntary euthanasia -- instances of euthanasia where a person is either not competent to, or unable to, express a wish about euthanasia, and there is no one authorised to make a substituted judgment (wherein a proxy chooses as the no longer competent patient would have chosen had she remained competent) -- in the context of considering the claim that permitting voluntary euthanasia will lead via a slippery slope to permitting non-voluntary euthanasia.

Conclusion:

Now you have learned what euthanasia is and how they believe it is okay to be assisted in suicide. Some people want to die with dignity, and some people have no choice whether to be euthanized.

So next time someone brings up how wrong euthanization is you can tell them that you believe that since it is legal to kill yourself, if you are not able to commit suicide why can’t someone do it for you?

References

Dalbey, Beth. “Pets and People deserve to die with grace, dignity.” Business Record (Des Moines). 2002. 1 page. EBSCO. 29 Mar 2005.

“Last Rights; Euthanasia.” The Economist. Nov 2001. 3 pages. EBSCO. 29 Mar 2005.

Young, Robert. “Voluntary Euthanasia.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2002. 12 pages. Online. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary. 29 Mar 2005.

Robinson, B.A. “Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: All Sides.” Nov 2001. 9 pages. Online. http://www.religioustolerance.org/ 29 Mar 2005.

Rogatz, Peter. “Speaking out… ‘physician-assisted suicide should be legalized….’” Long Island Business News. Aug 1997. 4 pages. Online. EBSCO. 29 Mar 2005.