My point of view on assisted suicide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My point of view on assisted suicide - Essay Example Jack Kevorkian, an unrepentant medical practitioner who openly engaged in euthanasia among terminally ill patients and a recent case in the United Kingdom in which Mr. Alan Reyes of East London publicly helped his partner end his life and was subsequently arrested for the subsequent death of his partner of twenty eight years. Dr. Kevorkian, was incarcerated for eight years for helping people to die, and is reported to have participated in at least 130 assisted suicides. To understand the complexities surrounding euthanasia today as the debate continues, the followin will address both sides of the coin and explore euthanasia from a holistic perspective. This essay begins now with a concise introduction to euthanasia and the ethical, social and legal aspects of euthanasia in America (CNN 1999; BBC 2009; StopPain 2009). From an ethical and legal standpoint the euthanasia issue is heavily charged and polarizing. Anti-euthanasia advocates argue that doctor assisted suicide is murder and that it must be opposed on both ethical and legal grounds. Pro-euthanasia advocates believe that the right to life is an intrinsic right and no one can tell a person when he or she can end their life. The decision end one’s life is thus a personal decision and the state has no place telling a terminally ill person that he or she cannot make a conscious decision and choose to put an end to his or her life. From a purely legal standpoint, all forms of euthanasia remain illegal in all 48 of the 50 states of the United States (both Oregon and Washington presently allow a limited form of doctor-assisted suicide) and most of the Western world. In Europe, notable exceptions include Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Despite this, all forms of doctor assisted suicide remain illegal in much of the deve loped world including the United Kingdom, France,