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Chanjuan Jia
Final Draft
Euthanasia: right to die
The debate of euthanasia has been a controverted topic since its invention,
especially for the last twenty years. The definition of Euthanasia is “good death”. But
what makes death good? For centuries, humans have been attempting to find a way to
evade death. Though death is usually seen as a negative event, some consider it as an
alternative to end suffering. The purpose of this essay is to discuss what justifies a “good
death”.
Although there are many different forms, the practice of euthanasia is the process
of ending a person’s life. The different forms of euthanasia are Active and Passive
euthanasia. There are also different ways that a physician may perform this type of
procedure. This course of action may be taken in situations for speeding up the death,
typically for patients who are severely ill. Statistics show that over 28% of physicians in
Canada have performed euthanasia on severely ill patients before Canada legalized
euthanasia (Schafer, 2013). Most physicians believe that euthanasia is to aid parents and
to put them out of their misery.
Euthanasia has been considered as mercy killing. In many cases, terminally ill
patients who suffer from immense amounts of pain would seek doctor’s aid to end their
life. Ethicists, doctors, and scientists also argue that patients deserve the right to die or to
live (Bevacqua et. al, 2011). However, many disagree with the idea of “right to die” and
Chanjuan Jia
Final Draft
consider such a decision as the same as suicide. Suicide has been a touchy topic due to
the fact it is heavily religiously involved. Christianity condemns those who take their own
lives, considering such an act as a betrayal to their creator. Buddhism also sees suicide as
the ultimate sin. In 2002, European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case of Diane
Pretty that a person does not have the right to die. As of today, there are less than 30
countries that have legalized euthanasia and physician assisted suicide(PAS) (Emanuel et
al, 2016). Statistics prove that countries with greater religiosity are less likely to approve
and support euthanasia and physician-assisted-suicide (Bevacqua et al, 2011).
Moreover, many argue that a doctors and physician are supposed to heal, not kill.
