Killing vs. Letting Die - Essay Example

Killing Verses Letting Die Killing medically to get rid of the pain and suffering a patient is undergoing and who is definitely about to die is called Euthanasia. Euthanasia laws are different for different countries. In Britain, Euthanasia is seen as an act which is recorded as the deliberate intervention of the medical practitioner with an intention of reliving the life of the suffering and in Netherlands the practice of euthanasia is viewed as the termination of life of a patient upon the plea of the doctor.

This essay however shall try to explain the conflict arising out of the debates prevailing across the globe pertaining to the sanctity of the process. Death is inevitable and every man is mortal. However, killing a man at a point shows crudity and shall not be supported at length because there are many reasons for which people die. The reason of death can vary from natural disaster to epidemics. Nonetheless, killing someone might evoke a sense of guilt or a feeling of being a murderer which is more crucial at times.

Letting someone die is more inherent and complying with the law of natural order than forcibly taking away someone’s life. It might happen as well in cases of certain patients that they suddenly start reacting positively to a medical treatment or a medicine which requires a certain time span. In fact, there are even cases recorded in medical science where patients have revived from comma after many years. Lastly and most importantly, the duty of a doctor or a nurse or anyone associated with the medical profession is to save the life of a dying.

Therefore, under such circumstances, if a person practicing medicine takes away the life of a dying patient, it somewhere indicates the defeat of medical science and methodologies (Rachels, 2001). ReferenceRachels, J. (2001). Killing and Letting Die. Retrieved from http://www.jamesrachels.org/killing.pdf