It looks like we are waiting in vain for your colleague, Seung Joon's article choices on our next blog topic, euthanasia. So I will go with Bejjanki's articles, and post them, so that you have the rest of the week and the weekend for posting your opinions.
The following are the links for you to read:
http://www.stolinsky.com/news/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=249
and
http://www.lifenews.com/bio951.html
Feel free to read other sources as well to be able to post an informed opinion, since I believe these two articles are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Please, enjoy,
Kinga
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6 comments:
As I commented on capital punishment before, Economical arguments for or against Euthanasia should not be taken into account. Legal factors can not be the basis for judgement either, for they themselves are built on ethical considerations. Euthanasia is considered a controversial topic because it needs to be! Agreeing on a general supportive or opposing view would be highly detrimental to individuals. Everybody’s situation is different: some incurable people want to die, some do not. Here, it is important to differ between people who can and people who can’t communicate. I personally think as long as there is hope for betterment, people need to be given the chance to live. Furthermore I believe that as long as there is life, there is hope. Therefore, I oppose Euthanasia, as a matter of killing people who are not able to communicate any more. On the other hand, I feel that people who are capable of resonable thinking should be given a chance to end their lives voluntarily, as long as there is a good reason for their choice (physical, only rarely mental handicaps). Of course, very strict regulations including a long delay for reflection need to be required. The argument that doctors are not allowed to kill is ridiculous. The Hippocratic oath may be outdated and could be changed. As an alternative, hospitals could hire “professional executioners”, like they have them in prisons.
I think there is no writen law about euthanasia. Euthanasia can be legal depends on the situation. As I recall how my grandfather died, I would agree with euthanasia acts. He was very old and his disease could not be cured. He couldn't do anything, not even speaking, as if he were a doll. Furthermore, he also couldn't eat, so we had to give him all the nutrients and medicines he needed through infusion. He really losed his conscious, but he still had a feelings that sometimes his eyes looked tearful. That was a very hard time for all members in the family. We all love him and wanted the best for him. After 6 months, there was still no improvement at all. Doctor said there was really no hope unless miracle happened. Besides, the cost was really expensive. It was such a difficult decision that at last, we decided to stop giving him medicine. And that's the end of the story.
That is my own experience about Euthanasia. I think to commit euthanasia, we need a lot of logistic consideation.
First of all, I agree with Markus’ opinion. I think that every human has their own right to choose what best for them. Our lives are our responsibilities, and we are the ones who should decide to live or not. For some cases, there are people who suffer in pain more than we could ever imagine. They are suffering of sicknesses that could not be cured, such as cancer or AIDS, simply because there are no suitable medications available up until now. Of course, they will fight at first with every power they have, just like each of us will do if we get sick. But as time passed by, there is a time when they feel there is no hope anymore. They are tired of keep fighting against the sickness, their strengths are weaken, and they know it will be just a waste of time and money to keep trying and hoping that they will be healed in the end. At this point, if these people request the euthanasia, I will support their decisions with respect. However, an extreme thorough medical check must be done before it is executed, because we deal with a situation where there is no place for errors to happen. Nevertheless, if there is still a chance to survive, we should not give that up. Our lives is a gift, therefore, we are supposed to protect it as best as we could. Even in the most impossible moment, there is still a possibility for a miracle to happen. We just need to have a little faith.
I really can not make my mind up for this topic. I can not say euthanasia is the wrong thing to do, or it is the right thing to do. However, I feel that I am more on the “it is the wrong thing to do” side. I think that if a patient is in a state in which he can not make reasonable decisions concerning his health, doctors should let him live, because maybe he will be fine if they try hard enough. On the other hand, it may all be in vain. Perhaps, the doctors will do everything possible to get his health back, but he will not get better. Sometimes, the decision is made by the family members. I find this both reasonable and unreasonable. As for the reasonable part, I think that the family members have a pretty good idea about how the patient would react, or what he would do if he was able to express himself. That’s why I would say it is okay for the family to decide what should be done. In contrast, there is a possibility that even the family members think that the patient would want to be dead rather than being in his current condition, maybe he still wants to live. The last thing I would like to talk about is about the doctors. Let’s say there is a patient diagnosed with X illness who is not able to decide what should be done, and the doctor kills him thinking he will not be cured. What is the doctor going to do if a cure is found for X illness the day after he kills the patient? Because of all these reasons, I should say that I am neutral on this topic. It is hard to make a decision in another’s place.
to me euthanasia is somehow the same as the capital punishment but they do have difference....
since there is no written law on euthanasia, it can be either legal or illegal and it really depends on the situation.
it's like if one people has been suffering from a serious cancer for more than ten year and s/he wants, we can give her/him an euthanasia.
another common situation might be like if there is a born handicapped. it is not his or her parents' choice to give him or her a euthanasia. the society should give him or her the opportunity to try out life. this is related to humanity.
all in all, i will argue for euthanasia if the patient really wants so, but i will against it if it's the patient's own choice~!
For me, I can't really say whether I agree or disagree with the enthanasia. I personally think that a person's life can't be decided by others. However, deciding whether enthanasia is good or not really depends on the situations. For the case, the medicine doesn't work any more and miracle is the only one way to save that person, then enthanasia would not be a bad solution to the situation.
If people have a lot of money to wait and support him or her until the miracle happens, then it would be much better than having an enthanasia. However, the situations are not always like that. As I said, I see good and bad sides of enthanasia, so I don't know.. It is really hard to decide whether I agree or disagre..
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