Person Is in Inexorable Pain, Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 1279 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 4

Certainly in nature, one who was too ill to move would not last long. They would certainly not be placed on a feeding tube, having a machine breathing for them, mechanical devices doing all but forcing their heart to beat. Does having the power to extend life mean that physicians then have a duty to do so? According to Lachs, "Medicine does not surrender its vocation in serving the desires of individuals: since health and continued life are among our primary wishes, its career consists in just this service." If the primary duty of a physician is to honor their patient's wishes for health, then if a patient desires death as an end to suffering, that physician does not have a duty to prolong that patient's life. Rather, prolonging life against the wishes of the patient breaches the duty of the profession.

Why, then, do physicians continue to take incredible measures to prolong the life of those who wish to die? What would happen if we were to legalize euthanasia? Critics of euthanasia state that decriminalizing euthanasia would lead us down a slippery slope; that this would lead to the mass killing of all those deemed too poor, or too disagreeable, to warrant continued life-saving measures. These critics paint pictures of "Little Johnnies" in hospital rooms across America encouraging their grandmas to pull the plug or take the nice injection the doctor is offering, so that they can stop being such burdens. Is this criticism supported by evidence in areas where euthanasia is legal? No. According to Peter Singer, "The outcomes of open practice of voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands, and of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, do not, however, support that allowing patients voluntary euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide leads to a slippery slope.

Stuck Writing Your "Person Is in Inexorable Pain," Term Paper?

View All Our Example Person Is in Inexorable Pain, Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

" If the practice of permitting euthanasia has not lead to negative consequences in areas where it is legal, perhaps other jurisdictions should allow physicians to do their jobs, and patients to make their own choices regarding their care.

What is life? Is it the drawing of breath, the beat of a heart? or, rather, is it the ability to use one's facilities to create, to contribute to society, to determine one's future through one's actions? Is the right to self-actualization inherently linked to what it means to be alive as a human being? Many philosophers and laypeople alike would argue that it is not breathing in and breathing out that makes a life, but rather, the choices the person makes and the actions they take. When a person can no longer take actions to further life, to life their life in comfort, when their only reality is more pain, their final act of autonomy and self-actualization may well be choosing to end it. Forcing a patient to live on in pain and anguish against their wishes is reprehensible when they could find surcease of their pain. If the patient is unable to carry out their final act of self, physicians should be free to help them achieve their final wish.

Works.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Person Is In Inexorable Pain " (2011, March 21) Retrieved May 21, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/person-inexorable-pain-3536

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Person Is In Inexorable Pain " 21 March 2011. Web.21 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/person-inexorable-pain-3536>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Person Is In Inexorable Pain ", 21 March 2011, Accessed.21 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/person-inexorable-pain-3536
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example