Euthanasia

Euthanasia

Types
1. Voluntary
  1. The patient asks a friend/ doctor to help them die painlessly with dignity
  2. Also known as 'mercy killing' or 'assisted suicide'
2. Non- Voluntary
  1. When a patient's life is ended because it is felt that to keep them alive is to make them suffer
  2. Without consent of the patient (e.g. he/she is in a coma)
3. Active
  1. The ending of a patient's life deliberately (e.g. fatal injection)
4. Passive
  1. Withdrawing/ withholding medical treatment
Definitions
1. Quality of life: measurement of how fulfilled your life is
2. Self determination= the right to make decisions for oneself in life
UK law
1. Illegal in UK
2. Expections
  1. Powerful painkiller, even if a secondary effect is the patient will die sooner
  2. Withdrawal of medical treatment, if recovery is not possible
3. Legal in Netherlands and Switerland
Arguements for
1. Self dermination
2. Poor quality of life
3. Inhumane to allow them it suffer
4. People have the right to end their lives with dignity
5. Some people have no chance of survival
6. Their family are suffering by seeing them in pain
Arguments against
1. Some elerly and disabled might feel pressure to be euthanaised because they are a burden ti their families
2. Harold Shipman murdered over 250 people in England- making it legal could lead to similar advances
3. Normal people could abuse the euthanasia if they wanted inheritamce
4. Unhappy or depressed people may take the option of Euthanasia instead of getting help
Hospices
1. Care for medical, emotional, social and spiritual needs
2. Allow people to die with dignity
3. If enough spaces for those who wished to you there, euthanasia would not be needed

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	Created by hollyweber about 11 years ago