Euthanasia as Assisted Suicide - Essay Example

?Assisted suicide also referred to as euthanasia is a debatable act. It is also known as mercy killing mostly encountered and committed by people whocannot tolerate their loved ones suffer, but also defined as someone being intentionally killed with his benefits in mind. There are many conflicting beliefs and opinions regarding this and for a lot of cases, the legality of this act is worth checking into. There are three types of euthanasia; passive, euthanasia by omission and active euthanasia. Active euthanasia is when someone is killed or assisted in their suicide, but lethal injection also falls into this category, also known as euthanasia by action. Passive euthanasia on the other hand is not by performing the act itself, but allowing someone to commit suicide. Passive euthanasia therefore is much easily accepted as compared to active euthanasia. Euthanasia by omission is the act wherein a person intentionally hastens the death of someone by not providing normal needs like food and water, and other needs that could prolong life. There also different classifications of euthanasia, there is voluntary, involuntary and non-voluntary. Euthanasia is voluntary if the patient made the request to die. If a patient for example made no actual request due to the incapability to express it, either by the severity of illness or unfit mental state, then it will be non-voluntary. The third classification is when a patient expresses a desire to live but is killed or allowed to die anyway; it is then called involuntary euthanasia. However, there are opposing views on passive euthanasia. Many claims that this type does not intend to take life and is therefore cannot be classified as such. Failure to treat a patient due to the knowledge that it will not help the patient and stopping treatments that are not effective and is not wanted or just proves to be a burden to the patient are in this category, 1 as well as giving fatal doses of pain-killers due to the patient’s need for it to alleviate pain. These practices are in fact considered as good medical practices by the law when done right. England is probably one of the latest to tackle the ethical issues regarding assisted suicide. A number of nations in Europe such as Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg have legalized different forms of physician-assisted suicide in the past few years. In the U.S., the state of Oregon has also legalized this practice, by permitting doctors to prescribe fatal doses of medicine to mentally capable but fatally ill patients. The current law in England pertaining to assisted suicide, under the 961 Suicide Act, entails that encouraging or assisting in a suicide can face up 14 years of imprisonment. Unfortunately, it has been found that more than a hundred United Kingdom citizens opted to travel to other places in order to end their lives.2 Recently Debbie Purdy, a patient with multiple sclerosis appealed to the House of Lords which ruled after the hearing, that there is a need for greater clarity. Purdy wanted to know if her husband will be prosecuted if he will help her to go abroad to die. Draft guidance was published by Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, soon after, acting out of his own free will and despite his lack of authority to change the law. The draft though has been taken into effect right away. Starmer laid down factors that could possibly influence the possible prosecution of a person which has now been updated after a consultation that received approximately 5000 submissions. Factors that are to be considered before prosecution includes whether the patient made a voluntary decision, if is well-informed and if he is settled with the action to be undertaken. The motivation and agenda of the accused must also be emphasized, acting entirely out of compassion and not for any financial purposes or gain of it. The set of guides are intended to make individuals with a death wish dwell on whether the person they are asking help from will need to face prosecution or not. However, this guide offers no guarantees putting into consideration the individuality of each case that will each undergo investigation. Despite the guidance published and the seeming acceptance, it does not change the existing law on euthanasia and is still punishable by law as murder or manslaughter. The DPP, however, hopes that the published draft would enlighten people on similar situations better, particularly the ones who choose to travel elsewhere to fulfill their wish. However, they emphasized that the suspect must know the patient well and must only involved in a similar scenario once, which apparently means that suicide medical services are out of the question. Though, theoretically speaking, despite the fact that an individual can help a patient obtain fatal drugs like barbiturate solutions used in Switzerland, it is not easy to acquire. The most recent attempt to change assisted-suicide laws in the country was made in 2006 but had been rejected, among several others that have failed in the past. It lost in the House of Lords by 100 votes to 148 votes contrary. It is probable that more attempts will be made in the future but currently, public opinions are still highly diversified and hard to gauge. "It is my job to ensure that the most vulnerable people are protected while at the same time giving enough information to those people, like Ms Purdy, who want to be able to make informed decisions about what actions they choose to take." Keir Starmer QC Director of Public Prosecutions 3 Going over the factors to be considered when facing prosecution, first off, would be financial factors. Financial benefits should not be a factor in their assistance in the suicide and must be acted solely out of compassion. Secondly, the person making the request to end his life must be mentally competent, “clear and settled”, with his request. Concerns such as being of legal age and mentally incapacitated would be greatly considered. Thirdly, the patient must not in any way, coerced or pressured into committing suicide. The idea must be solely their own. This guideline, however, raises concerns of being mistaken as encouragement in participating in the act. According to Dr Peter Saunders, a person contemplating suicide has the duty of considering all option, and those who are thinking of helping must know very well all things involved in the situation before actually assisting. 4 i As of today, approximately 15% of terminal cases have specified their wills to health care representatives to advise their families or physicians their desires of ending their life. The most logical question will then be the cases of those patients who are incapable of speaking for themselves but required to make decisions. The dilemma will be on the part of selected representatives who might feel guilty with delivering the message and question themselves as to whether they have delivered the message too soon. As a preparation for end-of-life intricacies, medical and nursing programs incorporate the importance of discussing with patients discussing future plans and wishes. However, physicians themselves have expressed their unwillingness to discuss this concern with their patients. To address this, new techniques are being used by the programs which includes the analysis of cognitive abilities of the patients to make decisions, ensuring that the patients are well-oriented and fully aware of options available to them regarding their medical treatments, provision of counseling and supports for the kin of the patient facing the dilemma of removing life support and stopping of treatment, and lastly, encouraging physicians to open up end of life discussions with their patients. There are various reasons expressed by patients requesting for euthanasia. One of the major reasons cited is unbearable pain. Due to the medical advances in alleviating pain, the number of patients is getting weaker, and using this reason as a point of argument is rapidly losing ground due to the advances. However, advocates of assisted suicide soon added the drugged state as a new reason, for those cases that unbearable pain is not the issue. Advocates argue that being in drugged state has no dignity. People who are contrary to euthanasia, however, claims that almost all pain can be alleviated, and in the rare cases that it is not totally removed, it is still significantly reduced with the use of proper treatment. They claim that instead of focusing on legalizing euthanasia, the efforts should be directed in educating the medical practitioners. The second most common reason cited is the demand to their right to die, which is contradicted by claims that suicide is a tragic but not a criminal occurrence. The goal then is not about having the right to die, but giving someone the right to kill. Many fear that this right will be exploited and abused which could lead to the wearing down of care to the ones who are most vulnerable. 5 The third reason is the demand that people should not be forced to stay alive, but since there is no law forcing everything to be done to keep someone alive, it’s not really the case. The only concern is keeping someone from suffering too much and that is what pain killers are intended for. In order to sum it up, the arguments commonly used for euthanasia are the means to relieving extreme pain, providing relief from a low quality of life, will free the medical funds in order to help other people and lastly, the freedom of a choice. The other side of the argument which is against euthanasia argues that the act diminishes the human life, can be abused a means to contain health care costs and lastly, medical practitioners should not be a party to intentionally causing death. Life is extremely valuable, and probably, only those who are facing the reality of losing that life know how important it really is. The will to survive and face another day is not something that we can award to another individual with sheer strength of will. One person cannot breathe in life into those who stopped living before life actually left them. Correlated to this is the concept of abortion or, less complicated, morning after pills. There are certain choices made by individuals and no one has the right to say who is right or wrong, it is all relative. Morality can be looked at in two ways. Is it morally right to watch someone suffer extreme pain? Is it morally right to watch someone watch someone suffer extreme pain when they have expressed their desire to die? Humans are selfish; dwelling on this subject made me think of the people I care about and wondered how I would feel if they were the ones requesting for the release from pain. Admittedly enough, I would never want to go to the hospital only to find that my loved one has found a way to escape. I would want to utilize as much time as that life would allow. In another perspective, there are also people who just want an easy way out, people who would take advantage and abuse the legalities. There will always be cases that the requirements can be negotiated on, which would be the prerogative of physicians. The views on assisted-suicide are diversified. 6One of the more interesting incidents concerning this occurred in France, where a controversy brought about the legalization of euthanasia. A man named Vincent Humbert was involved in a car accident which left him robbed of his senses of speech, sight, smell and taste, as well as the incapability to walk; he wrote a book entitled “I Ask the Right to Die”. After his appeal to die legally, his mom helped him commit suicide through an overdosed injection of barbiturates which resulted to him falling into a comma and finally ended his life after two days. Though his mother was arrested for assisting his suicide, she was acquitted and the whole incident helped push the legislation forward, which entailed that anyone who was only living through artificial support can opt for assisted7 suicide. There are many different factors and arguments that should be settled before legislation can be and should be passed by the parliament. The rigor and specifics must be scrutinized very well. How severe should the case be before assisted-suicide can be contemplated? What are the specific requirements and protocols to be followed? In addition to the existing draft published by DPP, which of course pertains to cognitive capabilities, financial factors and age, there still remain loopholes, and the fact remains that the guideline is still not a law. What will happen to the cases of patients who can no longer make decisions? Comas, for example, have rare cases of waking up after several years. Supposing that the case is not as helpless as it seems? How severe should the case be? People with diabetes are continuously dependent on insulin. Will that be considered a degraded life? Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is another long struggle and morally difficult. It is best to have specific cases considered. Despite the vast improvement of the medical field, there are still very difficult cases that would find patients opting for death. Patients will mostly refuse to be a financial burden to their families, and health care providers would most probably prefer to save their money. People are generally scared of getting old in fear of not having anyone to take care of them. Another factor is the financial gain of the suspect. It must also be more specific. Does this pertain to inheritance and insurance alone? Factors such as unwillingness to pay for medical bills, if the relationship can involve such factor, must also be considered. As defined on the former part of this article, there are various types of euthanasia. It must be specified which particular types of mercy killing will not be prosecuted. In cases of patients who can no longer make decisions, it is best to have another set of guidelines set for them. Also, it must be specified who can perform euthanasia. Is it going to be physician assisted or can it also be through the help of friends and family members? It is best for the assistor be specified so it will not be abused. The doctor must have had a long relationship before the patient and must know the patient’s case very well in case the request is made out of depression. Counseling must also be given to the patient in order to see if the decision is being made as a result of great suffering or if it is just made because it is the easy way out. There must be a proper and thorough screening of such requests and documentations must be made so it will not be abused. It is best not to award this right to family members and best to have the decisions made by the patient himself and not by a family member. A study of polls particularly cases that are prone to request assisted-suicide, must be implemented in order to have a more specific guideline that can encompass all issues involved. References: Read More