The Ethical and Legal Implication of Euthanasia

ETHICAL AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF EUTHANASIA

Ioana Nedelcu Semester : Fall

MGT 510

Prof . Robert J . Nobile , Esq

INTRODUCTION

The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek words eu ' which means good and thanatos ' which means death . Hence the literal translation of euthanasia is good death . Majority of countries around the world has prohibited euthanasia yet particular countries and states still apply this concept without much regard to the laws governing this issue Unfortunately , cases of euthanasia still flourish because the physician conducting euthanasia is often left unharmed . Among all

the countries around the world , the Netherlands has been identified as the prime country that allows the application of euthanasia in hospital cases

THE DEFINITION OF EUTHANASIA

The of euthanasia is a controversial in human health Euthanasia has been associated with medical issues , as well as ethical legal , cultural and religious issues . Euthanasia has been originally defined as a method of accelerating death of a patient in for the patient to avoid additional pain and misery due to his current medical condition . Since this classical definition is very sketchy , it is important that the different forms of euthanasia be described in detail . Voluntary euthanasia pertains to the hastening of death based on the consent that has been provided by the patient . It is a common situation in voluntary euthanasia that the patient signifies his wish to end his life because of the hardships he is currently experiencing as a consequence of his medical illness and another individual accomplishes euthanasia to fulfill the patient 's wishes . In the case of involuntary euthanasia , the patient remains competent is signifying his wishes and even decide what he wants to happen to himself , but euthanasia is still performed on the patient without even discussing this option with him There are also cases wherein the patient is not able to express his wishes because he has lost his ability to communicate and non-voluntary euthanasia is conducted on the patient . The loss of ability to communicate is often observed among adult patients who are in a comatose or mentally deficient condition . The condition of not being able to communicate may also be observed among newborn babies that have congenital anomalies

There are also different forms of euthanasia that is based on how it is conducted . Active euthanasia pertains to the accelerating of the death process through the act of injecting a toxic substance that would result in death of the patient . Passive euthanasia , on the other hand , refers to euthanasia that involves the removal of treatment or the refusal in providing treatment to the patient . This type of euthanasia entails giving up the use of any life support systems or treatments and reflects an individual 's intention that the patient die after soon after the act is performed . The word passive often confuses the public because the word connotes not performing any particular act but the phrase passive euthanasia technically means the induction of death through the removal of supportive systems to the patient...