Essay on Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide - The...

Euthanasia and the Will to Live The denial of food and fluids to Terri Schindler-Schiavo, the 36 year old Florida woman in a vegetative state since a heart attack, has caused Americans to ponder the fact that any one of them could be in this womans place for a variety of reasons, like an auto accident, fall, mishap, etc. And most Americans dont want to be treated by their family as Terri is being treated by her husband - being denied food and fluids in order to hasten death. It is appropriate to be appalled, but no one should be shocked. Denial of food and fluids to people who cannot speak for themselves has been going on for fifteen years in this country. It is routine practice in hospitals and nursing homes across the†¦show more content†¦The surrogate decision-maker is normally whomever is classed by the particular state as the closest relative, but if no relatives are available may be a guardian or even the persons doctor. Such surrogates are daily authorizing the cutoff of food and fluids to patients who are unable to speak for themselves and never gave any indication that they might want to be starved. Only in the comparatively rare cases when there is some dispute among relatives, such as in the Wendland case in California, the earlier Hugh Finn case in Virginia, and the Schindler-Schiavo case now in Florida, do these cases reach public attention, normally in the context of lawsuits. It should come as no surprise that, with important exceptions, the prevailing view in the judiciary, as in the medical profession, is receptive to the quality of life ethic. Judges are often dismissive of the pro-life position that all human beings possess dignity and the right to live, regardless of their age or degree of disability. When the relative or other individual designated by state law to make health care decisions for an incompetent person who has left no clear advance directive chooses to cut off food and fluids, courts are rarely willing to agree with other relatives who seek to overturn that decision. Indeed, the current battleground is over efforts by health care personnel to cut off food, fluid and life-saving treatments from patients they think have a poor quality of life AGAINST THEShow MoreRelatedEuthanasi Euthanasia And Euthanasia1483 Words   |  6 Pages Euthanasia is a long smooth-sounding word, and it conceals its danger as long, smooth-sounding words do, but the danger is there, nevertheless. As Pearl S. Buck explained through this quote, Euthanasia and medically assisted suicide to present a real danger. Although society refuses to see these dangers, euthanasia creates countless problems that shake society. Euthanasia remains a conditional based issue; therefore, the laws created rely on weak ideas that allow for easy manipulation, asRead MoreDefending Euthanasia Essay1034 Words   |  5 Pagesnumber of books and newspaper articles opposing the use of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and who also is the Samuel Gale Professor of Law, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, and Founding Director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics, and Law at McGill University, Montreal, wrote the internet article titled â€Å"Against Euthanasia.† In the article Somerville blatantly states that any type of euthanasia or physician -assisted suicide is completely and totally wrong under all circumstances. Read MoreEuthanasia And Assisted Suicide : A Patient s Choice1742 Words   |  7 Pages Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: A patient s choice in their type of death. 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